Softball: Season Comes to an End in District Championship

The Central Community College softball team took on the #9 ranked Kirkwood Community College in a three-game thriller in the Northwest Plains District A championship. The winner earned a trip to the NJCAA Division II National Softball Championships. A recap of the games is below.

Game 1: CCC 3  Kirkwood 2

Kirkwood was able to gain control early in the top of the first with an early run, but the Raiders answered right back and got one of their own for a 1-1 tie to end the inning. In the fourth inning, CCC logged two more runs with a Jordyn Trotta single and a Kami Kaskie walk to give the Raiders a 3-1 lead. In the top of the sixth, the Eagles added a run early to make the score 3-2 and threatened to tie the game with a runner on third. With one out, KCC popped one out to CCC's Hannah Dahlke in left field, giving an opportunity for the 3rd base runner to tie the game at home. Dahlke made a clean catch in the outfield and Kirkwood's runner took off for home. Dahlke threw a laser from left field right to catcher Ava Steinke, who had a great tag to get the double play to close the inning with the Raiders still holding onto the 3-2 lead. A well-played seventh inning got the job done for the Raiders. Jordyn Trotta led the bats with three hits and Claire Kreutzer with one. Shayla Sullivan pitched for the Raiders, giving up six hits in seven innings en route to the W.

Game 2: Kirkwood 3  CCC 2

CCC got behind early as Kirkwood posted two runs to start the game. In the top of the second, thanks to contributions from Haley Johnson and Trotta, CCC was able to tie it up at 2-2. The game shifted to a defensive battle until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Eagles hit a deep sacrifice fly to score the winning run and forcing game three. The two hits the CCC had belonged to Trotta and Danica Taylor. Raiders hurler Braelyn Sindelar started in the circle, allowing seven hits in seven innings. 

Game 3: Kirkwood 7  CCC 3

The Raiders were unable to keep up with Kirkwood as the Eagles scored two in the top of the second and another in the third and fourth innings, for a 4-0. In the bottom of the fifth, a sacrifice bunt from Dahlke and a single from Trotta scored two runs for the Raiders, making the score 4-2. Kirkwood scored two more in the sixth and one more in the seventh to stifle CCC's attempted comeback. Trotta, Taylor, and Johnson all had one hit and Steinke had two hits. CCC starting pitcher Shayla Sullivan gave up 12 hits in seven innings.

"This weekend left me speechless," said CCC head coach Caitlin Simon. "There are really no words to say how proud I am of the fight the girls put up. We were even able to make history for our softball program by winning its first district game. I never thought this team would end where they did, but it shows the grittiness and commitment they had all season. A big thank you goes out to our sophomore class. I am forever grateful for the commitment they had to me, this program and CCC over the past two years."