Oxford, AL – The Indian Hills Softball team kept its postseason run alive after defeating Gaston College (NC) 17-2 in the consolation bracket Wednesday night at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Softball World Series at Choccolocco Park. The Warriors advance to Thursday's consolation second round.
Originally scheduled to open play at the World Series on Tuesday, unfavorable weather forced the Warriors to begin its postseason action Wednesday afternoon. In its opening round matchup vs. No. 7 seed Seminole State College (OK), the Warriors dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 contest in extra innings to drop to the consolation bracket. The Warriors bounced back in a big way at Signature Field, drowning the No. 15 seeded Rhinos in five innings.
Competing in its 21st national tournament in program history, the Warriors will now take on No. 8 seed Butler Community College (KS) at 10:00 AM Thursday morning. The Grizzlies split their opening day at the national tournament, dropping No. 9 seed College of Southern Idaho before falling 5-2 to top-seeded Odessa College (TX).
Wednesday's opening round matchup saw a thrilling pitcher's duel between Warrior ace Madie Anderson (Mt. Pleasant, IA/Winfield Mt. Union) and Seminole State's Brittney Lewinski. The two arms combined for just five hits allowed – three for Anderson and a pair for Lewinski through seven innings of scoreless softball. Freshman Eva Fulk (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) provided both hits for the Warriors, a pair of bunt singles.
Meeting for the second time in national tournament history, and first since 1999, the Warriors looked to even the all-time postseason series after Seminole State dropped the Warriors 3-2 23 years ago. The Trojans, ranked No. 8 in the final NJCAA DI Softball national rankings this year, finally hit paydirt in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run to walk-off the win vs. the Warriors and advance. Seminole State eventually lost to No. 2 seed Florida SouthWestern State 2-1 Wednesday night in the winner's bracket.
The extra inning loss was just the second such occurrence in eight games all-time at the national tournament for the Warriors. Indian Hills is now 12-8 all-time in one-run games at the national tournament.
Anderson, who has made 28 apperances on the year, suffered just her fourth loss of the season. The sophomore has now allowed one earned run or fewer in 19 of her 28 appearances on the year to lower her earned run average to 1.42.
The nightcap saw the Warrior offense, which owned the eighth-highest batting average among the 16-team field entering the tournament, come to life against Gaston, making its first-ever appearance at the World Series. The Rhinos were forced to the consolation bracket after narrowly falling to Florida SouthWestern State, 5-2 in the opening round.
Playing as the visiting team, the Warriors erased an early 2-0 deficit with a pair of runs in the top of the third on a pair of extra base RBI knocks from Claire Tipton (Unionville, MO/Putnam County) and Destiny Lewis (Indianola, IA/Indianola). The Warriors broke things open in the fourth with 10 runs followed by a five-spot in the top of the fifth to close out the scoring for the Warriors and keep the season alive.
Sophomore TJ Stoaks (Lenox, IA/Lenox) was dominant in the circle for the Warriors. In 2.1 innings of relief work, the righty allowed just two hits without allowing the run to pick up the win and move to 3-0 on the year. Stoaks added a pair of base hits, including a double and an RBI-single to spark the Warrior offense.
Lewis added a pair of hits and three RBI while freshman Jill Smith (Walker, IA/North Linn) delivered a three-run pinch-hit double in the fifth inning to extend the Warrior lead. Abby Martin (Lamoni, IA/Lamoni) and Carly Carmpbell (Homestead, IA/Williamsburg) each added a base hit and two RBI.
Freshman Sara Reid (Central City, IA/Central City) closed out the game in the fifth for the Warriors with a 1-2-3 inning.
The Warriors set program records for most runs (17) and largest margin of victory (15) at the national tournament. The five-inning run-rule victory is the fourth such occurrence in program history for Indian Hills. The Warriors were the lone team in the tournament to reach double-digit runs on the first day of the 2023 World Series and the only program to win by way of run-rule.
The Warriors have matched up with Butler seven times dating back to the 2011 season with the Grizzlies holding a slight 4-3 edge, including the most recent matchup, a 9-1 victory over the Warriors on February 28, 2020 in Tyler, TX.
Fans can follow all of the action live on GoHillsTV which will provide a free simulcast in conjunction with the NJCAA Network.
WARRIORS ROUT RHINOS – No. 10-seeded @WarriorSoftball erupted for 10 runs in the 4th & tacked on 5 more in the fifth to break a 2-2 tie in rolling to a 17-2, five-inning run-rule victory over @GCRhinosSB in an elimination game at the NJCAA D1 World Series in Oxford, AL. (cont.) pic.twitter.com/8QSXhOOgNB
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) May 25, 2023