Oxford, AL – The No. 14 nationally ranked Indian Hills Softball team secured its first signature win of the year, knocking off No. 2 nationally ranked Northwest Florida State on the second day of the JUCO Extravaganza on Saturday. The Warriors stunned the Raiders 5-4 before dropping Southern Union State Community College (AL) 13-5 in six innings.

The Warriors picked up a monumental victory in Saturday's opener vs. Northwest Florida State, the program's highest ranked win since knocking off No. 1 Seminole State College (OK) 4-3 on March 2, 2020. The win also marked the first victory over the Raiders in three all-time meetings dating back through the 2017 season.

The two teams found themselves in a back-and-forth battle at Choccolocco Park, home to the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Softball World Series. The pitching duo of Ashlynn Sheets (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) and Sara Reid (Central City, IA/Central City) combined to allow just one earned run while holding the Raiders scoreless over the final three frames to secure the win.

Freshman Alivia Ruble (Lacona, IA/Southeast Warren) sparked the Warrior offense with her most productive outing of the year at the plate. Ruble starred with three hits, including a double, to go along with a pair of runs and an RBI. Courtney Locke (Bow, WA/Burlington-Edison) and Hannah Simpson (Fairfield, IA/Fairfield) each aided the attack with a triple.

Following a run in the top of the first inning from Northwest Florida State, the Warriors answered with a run in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly from Yarah Zuiver (Zaanstad, Netherlands/Roc Van Amsterdam) to score Ruble. Indian Hills broke things open in the third as Simpson delivered a run-scoring triple to score Eva Fulk (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) before Ruble drove in Simpson on an RBI single.

The Raiders refused to go away, plating three runs in the top of the fourth to jump back on top, 4-3. After a scoreless fourth inning from the Warriors, the offense came back to life in the fifth with two more runs. Julia Kwakernaak (The Hague, Netherlands/Segbroek College) delivered a run-scoring fielder's choice for the equalizer while Reid's RBI single scored Ruble for the go ahead run.

Pitching in relief, Reid shut down the Raiders in the sixth and closed out the upset win in the seventh, stranding a runner in scoring position to secure the win. Reid allowed just one hit over 3.1 innings of work for the Warriors.

The nightcap saw the Warriors take an initial 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI double from Tatum Aragon (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins). Southern Union answered back with three runs in the top of the second followed by two more in the third for a 5-1 advantage. Indian Hills chipped away at the deficit in the fourth as Ava Smith (Waukee, IA/Waukee Northwest) drove in Zuiver and Peyton Raley (Arvada, CO/Arvada West) singled to score Kwakernaak. 

Sheets, who came on in relief in the second, silenced the Bison bats to keep the Warriors within striking distance. The offense came through in the fifth inning with an emphatic response, scoring eight runs to put the game out of reach. Aragon delivered another RBI double in the frame, the sophomore's third double of the game as Indian Hills completed the afternoon sweep.

Aragon finished the game 3-4 at the plate with two runs and two RBI. Fulk added a a pair of knocks and two runs while Smith and Raley came through with clutch at bats from the bottom of the order, combining for six hits and six RBI for the Warriors.

Sheets earned the win with 3.2 innings of relief work, striking out three batters while allowing just one hit and zero walks.

The Warriors close out their trip to Alabama with two more contests on Sunday from Choccolocco Park. Indian Hills will take on No. 3 nationally ranked Wallace State Community College - Hanceville (AL) at 10:00 AM followed by a date with Three Rivers Community College (MO) at 2:00 PM.

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