Ottumwa, IA – Top-seeded Indian Hills Softball cruised to a doubleheader sweep of Southwestern Community College to advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Softball Region XI Championship round. The Warriors took game one 16-4 and game two 22-0.
The Warriors upended the fourth-seeded Spartans to take the best 2-of-3 opening round series and advance to the regional championship for the eighth consecutive year. The Warriors have won seven consecutive region championships and 19 straight region tournament games dating back to the 2015 season.
Indian Hills will now host No. 3 seeded Southeastern Community College on Sunday in a best 2-of-3 series for the region title and a berth in the NJCAA District Championship. The Blackhawks swept No. 2 seeded Iowa Western Community College 4-0 and 3-2 in Council Bluffs, IA on Wednesday.
As a team, the Warriors connected on 10 home runs between the two games at R.L. Hellyer Field on Wednesday. Sophomore Destiny Lewis (Indianola, IA/Indianola) connected on three home runs to become the first player in school history to hit 60 home runs in her career. Lewis now owns two of the top three single season home run totals after finishing the day with 30 roundtrippers this year.
The Warriors erupted for five runs in the bottom of the first inning of game one to set the tone as Lewis and Sydney Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk) recorded back-to-back home runs. Southwestern answered with four runs in the top of the second, but Indian Hills struck back with three runs in the second, six more in the third, and a pair in the fourth to put the game out of reach.
Lewis finished the game 2-2 with six RBI, the fourth time in her career she has tallied at least six RBI in a game. Freshman Julia Kwakernaak (The Hague, Netherlands/Segbroek College) put together an impressive date at the plate with a 3-3 performance, including two home runs. Jensyn Jones (Swisher, IA/Cedar Rapids Prairie) went 2-3 with three RBI and a home run while Tatum Aragon (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) and Claire Tipton (Unionville, MO/Putnam County each added two hits.
Sophomore Madie Anderson (Mt. Pleasant, IA/Winfield Mt. Union) went the distance in the circle to pick up the win. Anderson is now 16-3 on the year and has won 33 contests in her career. With seven strikeouts on Wednesday, Anderson has now struck out 250 batters in her Indian Hills career.
The Warrior offense carried its momentum into game two with an explosive first inning, tallying 13 runs. Lewis and Abbi Cataldo (Altoona, IA/Southeast Polk) both homered in the frame before Sydney Anderson and Aragon added home runs in the second to stake an 18-0 advantage. The Warriors tacked on four more runs in the third to seal the opening round sweep.
Sydney Anderson and Aragon both collected five RBI in the win while Lewis added four RBI. Freshman Jenna Lemley (Troy Mills, IA/North Linn) drove in three runs of her own to aid the offensive attack.
Ryann Cheek (Eldridge, IA/North Scott) tossed four innings of scoreless work, allowing just two hits to move to 10-2 on the year. Freshman Sara Reid (Central City, IA/Central City) added a scoreless fifth to close out the game.
Lewis and Sydney Anderson continued to climb the all-time statistical leaderboards for the Warriors. The duo have now combined for 96 career home runs. Lewis moved into sole possession of second-place in the career RBI totals with 171, just six behind Kelly Uhde while Anderson is now fourth all-time with 152 RBI. Anderson also moved into fourth all-time with 314 total bases.
The Warriors will host the Blackhawks in the best 2-of-3 series Sunday afternoon with a tentative start time of 2:00 PM at R.L. Hellyer Field.
Wednesday's games also served as Sophomore Day for eight members of the program who are competing in their final season at Indian Hills - Sydney McNeeley, TJ Stoaks, Destiny Lewis, Ryann Cheek, Abbi Cataldo, Madie Anderson, Sydney Anderson, Carly Campbell.
