- Maddy Kearns drives in four runs in 6-2 win over South Mountain
- Emily Ades and Amaya Snyder drive in two runs apiece in 9-5 decision against Murray State
- Sydney Kennedy and Courtney Donahue earn the victories
The DMACC softball team remained in the running for a national championship after a pair of upsets May 25 in the elimination bracket of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II World Series at Tyger River Park in Spartanburg, S.C.
The Bears, seeded tenth and sent to the elimination bracket following a 4-1 loss to second-seeded Louisburg College (LC) on May 24, eliminated top-seeded Murray State College (MSC) and third-seeded South Mountain Community College (SMCC) with victories on May 25.
The SMCC win came first and the Bears used three-run rallies in each of the first two innings to hand the Cougars just their second loss of the season. Sophomore Maddy Kearns of Glenpool, Okla., had a hand in both rallies, driving in four of the six runs.
Sophomore Emily Ades of Boone began the first-inning rally when she led off the inning with a single. Sophomore Kendal Clark of Humboldt followed with a double, sending Ades to third and both Ades and Clark scored on Kearns' triple. Kearns then scored on an infield grounder by sophomore Sydney Kennedy of Peosta.
Freshman Kelsey Palmer of Cedar Rapids began DMACC's second-inning rally with a bunt single. Palmer moved to second when Ades was walked and Clark was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Palmer scored and Ades and Clark moved up on a wild pitch and Kearns singled to drive in both runners.
Kearns and Palmer accounted for four of DMACC's seven hits with two hits apiece.
Kennedy pitched all seven innings and got the win. She allowed two runs on two hits, struck out nine and walked five. SMCC scored both of its runs against Kennedy in the third inning.
The Bears, 53-11, scored four runs in the second, two in the third, one in the fifth and two in the sixth in handing MSC its second loss of the season and in the tournament.
Ades, Clark, sophomore Kaylynn Salyars of Muscatine and freshmen Amaya Snyder of Cedar Rapids and Cameron Kelley of Rock Island, Ill., led DMACC with two hits apiece, including a home run by Snyder and doubles by Clark and Salyars. Ades and Snyder drove in two runs apiece.
Freshman Courtney Donahue of Marshfield, Wis., got the win. She pitched the first three and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on four hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Kennedy went the last three and a third innings, allowing two runs on three hits. She had one strikeout and walked two batters.
The DMACC softball team will get a chance to avenge its loss to LC when the two teams meet at 11 a.m. today in an elimination game. The winner will be guaranteed no worse than a third-place finish in the tournament. The DMACC-LC loser will be eliminated from the tournament.
Copiah-Lincoln Community College (CLCC) and Jones College (JC), the only two unbeaten teams remaining in the tournament, will also play today with the loser meeting the DMACC-LC winner in an elimination game. The CLCC-JC winner will advance to the national championship May 27 at 11 a.m.