OXFORD, Ala. — Jayda Long did it all for the Iowa Central softball team here Monday afternoon.

Long drove in both runs, collected three hits and pitched a six-hitter with nine strikeouts, lifting the 10th-seeded Tritons to a 2-1 win over No. 7 Pima at the NJCAA Div. II World Series inside Choccolocco Park.

With the win, Iowa Central (48-10 overall) advances to play the winner between Tuesday’s game which pits No. 2 Murray State against 18th-seeded Bryant and Stratton. That contest will take place Wednesday back here at 3 p.m.

Long drove in Kennedy Palmer in the fifth with a single and plated her again in the seventh on a double to left center. Palmer walked twice in the game from her leadoff spot, as the Tritons put the leadoff batter on four times.

“Jayda was just locked in,” ICCC head coach Bo Tjebben said. “Every time we would go out as a team for practice over these last couple of days or meet anywhere, you could just tell she was ready to go. And she wasn’t even getting the corner with her pitches like she has, but she adjusted and just pitched an incredible game.

“And I am so happy for her. She is a great kid who is constantly stopping by the office to talk to (assistant) Coach (Cassie Tjebben) about her pitches or me and her hitting because she just wants to get better.”

Earlier this year, Long committed to Truman State University to continue her playing career. She is currently 36-12 with 225 strikeouts in just over 235 innings pitched with the Tritons.

For Pima (47-8), they answered the first Iowa Central run with a sacrifice fly by Aubrey Marx that scored Clarissa Figueroa in the sixth.

Long, a sophomore who graduated from Southeast Polk who improved to 22-4 on the year, pitched out of a two-on situation in the seventh by recording a strikeout and a popout to Palmer, a sophomore from Ankeny, to end it.

“It was a great game,” Tjebben said. “We knew it would be tough because that’s just how it is when you come to the World Series. They are a great team who has some big-time hitters, but Jayda kept them off balance and we were able to get the timely hits when we needed them.

“You never know what to expect in the postseason because of all the variables. You just have to go out and play because you don’t play the games on paper, you play them on the field.”

The Tritons took advantage of six walked batters from Pima pitchers, including five from starter Arianna Flores. Bre Nolte, Sydney Wilson, Kyra Kain and Reagan Enright all had walks, as Kain had the other base hit.

Palmer also stole a base for Iowa Central, who is in the World Series for just the second time in program history. The other came under legendary head coach Rick Sandquist in 2009.

Two other ICCAC schools qualified, as Kirkwood fell to Johnson County, 6-5, while Des Moines Area plays Illinois Central on Tuesday.

Other winners from the day included Mercer County, Illinois Central, Bryant and Stratton, Black Hawk, Northwest Mississippi and Copiah-Lincoln.