Neosho, MO – No. 19 Indian Hills split the opening day of the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Softball Midwest District Tournament against Crowder College (MO). The Warriors took the opener 8-0 but dropped the nightcap 4-3 to force a winner-take-all matchup on Sunday afternoon.
Saturday's contest between the two respective region champions saw Indian Hills (44-8) use a late surge in the opener to move within one game of advancing to the 2023 NJCAA DI Softball World Series. Crowder (45-15) responded early in game two after jumping out to a 4-0 lead and held off a late rally from the Warriors to force game three Sunday afternoon at Roughrider Field.
The Warriors totaled 13 hits on the day, including two from freshman Abby Martin (Lamoni, IA/Lamoni) in the opener and a pair from Tatum Aragon (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) in game two. Sophomore Madie Anderson (Mt. Pleasant, IA/Winfield Mt. Union) was dominant in the circle in game one, scattering three hits in the shutout to pick up her 18th win of the year.
Indian Hills and Crowder will now square off at 12:00 PM on Sunday for the decisive game three and an automatic bid to this year's World Series in Oxford, AL May 23-27. The Warriors will be looking for their first World Series appearance since 2019 while the Roughriders are looking for their second straight appearance.
After a pair of scoreless frames from each side to open game one, the Warriors struck first with three runs in the third inning. TJ Stoaks (Lenox, IA/Lenox) singled and later scored on a Roughrider error. Claire Tipton (Unionville, MO/Putnam County) and Destiny Lewis (Indianola, IA/Indianola) later scored on a pair of passed balls to push the Warrior lead.
Anderson continued to thrive in the circle, allowing just two baserunners over the next three frames as the Warriors maintained its advantage. Indian Hills broke things open in the top of the seventh inning with five runs, highlighted by a three-run home run from Martin. Julia Kwakernaak (The Hague, Netherlands/Segbroek College) added a two-run double to cap the scoring for the Warriors and push Crowder to the brink of elimination.
Anderson struck out five batters while issuing just two walks and the three hits. The sophomore has now tossed four complete game shutouts on the year.
After getting shutout for just the second time this year, the Roughrider offense woke up in game two with a run in each of the first two frames and a pair in the fourth to stake an early 4-0 advantage. Indian Hills responded immediately in the bottom half of the fourth inning as sophomore All-American Sydney Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk) delivered a two-run home run to score Lewis. Jenna Lemley (Troy Mills, IA/North Linn) added an RBI double to score Kwakernaak and pull the Warriors within one.
Indian Hills threatened in the sixth as Aragon delivered a one-out double off the wall in center to put a runner in scoring position, but the Warriors failed to capitalize. With two outs in the seventh and the Warriors down to their last out, Lewis drove a pitch that appeared to be a double down the left field line, but after an official appeal, was ruled to have missed first base, thus ending the game and the Warrior threat.
Sunday's action can be seen live on GoHillsTV, the GoHillsTV Facebook Page, and the GoHillsTV app.
JUST ONE MORE! No. 19-rated @WarriorSoftball moved to within one win of a berth in the National Tournament with an 8-0 victory over @CrowderSoftball in the opener of the @NJCAASoftball Midwest District Championship Series in Neosho, MO. (cont.) pic.twitter.com/IrHonHnMM7
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) May 13, 2023
