Photo courtesy of Iowa Central Athletics: Jayda Long of Iowa Central pitches earlier this season. Long, a former Southeast Polk standout, is 20-4 from the circle with a 2.17 earned run average.

The No. 14 Iowa Central softball team will enjoy all the comforts of home this coming weekend as they host the Region XI-B Tournament.

Action begins Friday at Rogers Park with the Tritons (45-8 overall) taking on Ellsworth (17-31) at 2 p.m. No. 12 Kirkwood (44-14) plays Northeast (21-34) afterward, with the winners squaring off on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The tournament is double elimination, with Sunday’s games taking place at noon and 2 p.m. if necessary.

Awaiting the Region XI-B champion will be the Region IX winner in the Northwest Plains-A contest on May 9-10. The NJCAA Div. II National Tournament takes place May 19-24 in Oxford, Ala.

Iowa Central, which went 24-4 in April, secured the runner-up position in the ICCAC regular season standings with sweeps over Iowa Lakes and 23rd-ranked North Iowa Area on the road last weekend.

“We knew what needed to be done in order to earn the right to host regionals,” ICCC head coach Bo Tjebben said. “These girls were focused from the first pitch until the last at-bat. It’s been a lot of fun seeing them achieve this kind of success.

“But we know it is only going to get harder from here on out, so we have to lock in again.”

Jayda Long, a sophomore who went over 200 career strikeouts recently, enters with a 20-4 record and 124 strikeouts in just over 122 innings. She sports a 2.17 earned run average with just 25 walks.

Jadeyn Stahr, also a sophomore, has gone 13-1 inside the circle with four saves, striking out 44. Freshman Jillian French is 7-1 with a save and 45 strikeouts.

Long is a Southeast Polk graduate; Stahr is a former Ankeny Centennial standout.

As a team, Iowa Central is hitting .350 with 50 home runs and 94 steals. Bre Nolte is batting .479 with 10 homers and 56 RBI. Long has a .368 average and 35 RBI.

Kyra Kain, Natalie Rasmussen, Kennedy Palmer, Cailyn Hardy, Carly Ryan and Sidney Wilson are all hitting over .300 as well.

The Tritons went 15-3 at home this season, their first on the new field installed at Rogers Park.

Iowa Central won all four regular-season games versus Ellsworth, outscoring the Panthers by an aggregate total of 38-13. The Tritons split at home vs. Kirkwood and were swept on the road. They also won all four games vs. Northeast.

The Region XI-A Tournament will be hosted by No. 4 DMACC in Boone over the same days. The Bears take on Hawkeye, with NIACC playing Iowa Lakes in the other semifinal.

Winner of the Region XI-A title will take on the Region 13 champion for the Northwest Plains-B district crown and spot at nationals. There will also be four at-large selections for the field.

REGION 11-B TOURNAMENT

(All games at Rogers Park)

Friday’s Games

Game 1: Iowa Central vs. Ellsworth, 2 p.m.

Game 2: Kirkwood vs. Northeast, 4 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

Game 3: Iowa Central/Ellsworth loser vs. Kirkwood/Northeast loser, noon

Game 4: Iowa Central/Ellsworth winner vs. Kirkwood/Northeast winner, 2 p.m.

Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 4 p.m.

Sunday’s Games

Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, noon

Game 7: If necessary, 2 p.m.