Tritons open postseason play
BOONE — The postseason journey begins here for the 20th-ranked Iowa Central softball team Friday.
The Tritons, who earned the fourth seed, will face Northeast in the Region XI-A Tournament. First-pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. after No. 1 DMACC takes on NIACC beginning at 2 p.m.
A double-elimination format will be used, with the winners playing Saturday at 2 p.m. The losers meet at noon Saturday.
Finals are scheduled for Sunday at noon and 2 p.m.
The Bears won the regular season title and are ranked fifth nationally.
During the regular season, Iowa Central went 4-1 vs. Northeast, scoring 44 runs in the five games.
Alexis Egan, the current NJCAA leader in steals with 64, hit .477 for the Tritons (38-19 overall) this year. Shayla Kaeo had a team-high 13 home runs and 69 RBI, while Ashley Hahnbaum and Sonya McCormick each his 11 homers and drove in a combined 105 runs.
Inside the circle, Jessa May went 14-8 with a 3.09 earned run average and 153 strikeouts in 129 innings.
Northeast went 24-31 and is led by Savannah Robertson and Teanne Edens. Robertson hit .398 and drove in 47 runs, while Edens hit 13 homers and was 17-15 as a pitcher with 185 strikeouts in 224-plus innings of work.
The winner will host the winner of Region 9 on May 6-8 in the District G championship for a spot in the NJCAA National Championships.
The ICCAC will have a chance for a second NJCAA national bid, as the Region XI-B champion takes on the Region 13 champion May 11-12.
The NJCAA Div. II National Championships are May 17-20 in Clinton, Mississippi at Traceway Park.