- DMACC scores five unearned runs in the win
- Sophomore Courtney Donahue allows four hits and strikes out 14
- DMACC will face either Kirkwood CC or Murray State CC later today
The DMACC softball team kept its national tournament hopes alive with a 7-3 win over Jones College (JC) in a consolation bracket game earlier today in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Softball World Series at Tyger River Park in Spartanburg, S.C.
It was a must-win game for both teams, who suffered losses in their first tournament games. DMACC, seeded eighth, lost to ninth-seeded St. Johns River State College (SJRSC) and JC, seeded fourth, lost to Rock Valley Community College (RVCC). The Bobcats were eliminated from the tournament following the loss to DMACC.
DMACC took advantage of two JC errors for five unearned runs in the win. And sophomore Courtney Donahue of Marshfield, Wis., kept the Bobcats at bay behind a four-hitter and 14 strikeouts.
DMACC took the lead with a four-run rally in the top of the second. Sophomore Campbell Kelley of Rock Island, Ill., started things when she reached led off the inning by reaching base on an error. After freshman Josie McCuddin of Truro flew out, sophomore Ceara Swanson of Lincoln, Neb., got Kelley to second with a base hit. Sophomore Hannah Ironside of Swisher then struck out, but freshman Breanna Caffery of Bettendorf, sophomore Kelsey Palmer of Cedar Rapids and sophomore Elle Nelsen of Grimes hit back-to-back-to back singles to get three more runs home.
The Bears padded their advantage with a run in the top of the third. Freshman Delaney Milanowski of Spring Green, Wis., opened the winning with a walk and took second on Kelley's sacrifice bunt. After McCuddin walked, Swanson grounded to third baseman Emily Mizelle, who stepped on third to retire Milanowski but threw wildly to first in an attempt to complete the double play and the throw allowed McCuddin to score.
DMACC made it a 6-0 game in the fourth when Caffery reached on a bunt single and scored on a double by freshman Hilary Wilson of Solon.
JC got a two-run home run from Jayden Sawyer in the sixth and made it a 6-3 game when Mizelle and Makynlie Jones followed Sawyer's home run with back-to-back doubles.
Kelley closed out the DMACC scoring when she singled with two gone in the seventh, reached second on McCuddin's base hit and scored on a single by Swanson.
Donahue improved to 26-4 with the win. She allowed just three baserunners through the first five innings, two on walks in the first inning and another on a DMACC error in the third. Ten of Donahue's 14 strikeouts came in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings when she struck out all but three of the batters she face.
JC did not get its first hit off Donahue until Elise Jackson led off the sixth with a single, starting the Bobcats' three-run rally.
The DMACC softball team will play either Kirkwood Community College (KCC) or Murray State Community College (MSCC) in another elimination game today. KCC, DMACC's rival in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC), and MSCC meet in a championship bracket at 3 p.m. today and DMACC will face the loser at 6 p.m.