West Burlington, IA – Top-seeded Indian Hills Softball cruised to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Softball Region XI Championship game after defeating No. 3 seed Southeastern Community College in the semifinal round Sunday.
The No. 16 nationally ranked Warriors reach the region title game for the seventh consecutive season with a shot at its seventh straight region championship. The Warriors will once again face Southeastern after the Blackhawks defeated No. 5 Marshalltown Community college in the elimination game of the consolation bracket on Sunday afternoon. The two teams will square off at 11:00 AM at the Dick Wagner Complex in West Burlington.
The Warrior offense continued to thrive at the plate after earning an 11-2 opening round victory on Saturday over Southwestern Community College. The Warriors pounded out 12 hits against Southeastern on Sunday, including a pair each from Destiny Lewis (Indianola, IA/Indianola), Alex Beard (Albia, IA/Albia), and Yanna Roberts (Davenport, IA/Davenport North).
Freshman Ryann Cheek (Eldridge, IA/North Scott) went the distance in the circle, allowing just four hits while striking out 10 batters to just two walks issued. Cheek improved to 10-1 overall on the year for the Warriors.
Indian Hills has now won 16 consecutive region tournament games dating back to the 2016 season. During that stretch, the Warriors have outscored the opposition 127-53.
The offense opened up the scoring in the third as Lewis connected on a two-run home run to right, the freshman's third home run of the tournament. Sydney Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk), Kennedy Preston (Carlisle, IA/Carlisle), and Abbi Cataldo (Altoona, IA/Southeast Polk) each added RBI singles in the frame to stake a 5-0 lead.
Beard delivered a solo home run in the fifth to make it 6-0. Anderson added an additional RBI in the sixth on a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring for the Warriors.
Cheek struck out the first five batters faced on the day and recorded at least two punchouts in an inning four separate times on the day, including a pair of frames where she struck out the side.
With two RBI each on the day, Lewis and Anderson rank third and fourth in the nation, respectively with 88 and 87 RBI. Anderson is tied for first in the nation with 31 home runs while Lewis ranks second with 30 on the year.
With a win on Monday, the Warriors will advance to the NJCAA Midwest District Championship. A loss will force the two teams to play a winner-take-all contest immediately following the 11:00 AM game.
Fans can catch all of the action on Monday live on GoHillsTV.
Alex Beard makes it 6-0 @WarriorSoftball with a solo shot to right center�� pic.twitter.com/4aws5I42Gv
— GoHillsTV (@GoHillsTv) May 8, 2022