OXFORD, Ala. — In less than a 15-hour span, the 10th-ranked Iowa Central softball team played 17 innings of baseball.

The Tritons were on the bus at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday night heading back to their hotel room, after a walk-off 8-7 victory over Rock Valley secured their spot in the NJCAA Div. II tournament’s final eight.

Iowa Central (49-12 overall) went toe-to-toe with Johnson County (37-16) on Thursday afternoon before bowing out, 3-2 in 10 innings.

“This is a game of inches and making defensive plays,” said Iowa Central head coach Bo Tjebben. “We just kept battling. These girls kept playing and playing with all of their heart.”

The Tritons took a 2-0 lead against Johnson County after five, before the Cavaliers scored two in the bottom of the frame to tie it.

The two teams played four scoreless innings before Johnson County scored on a Jaylee Jefferson single, which plated Makenzie Yoder for the winning run.

Kyra Kain and Jayda Long had two hits each for the Tritons with Long recording an RBI. Natalie Rasmussen also had an RBI.

Iowa Central played on little sleep, after finishing off Rock Valley at nearly midnight on Wednesday.

“We were all tired after getting on the bus at 11:45 p.m.,” Tjebben said. “I don’t think I went to sleep until 3:30 a.m., but once you step onto that field at Choccolocco Park, you’re like a kid in a candy store and your energy is renewed.

“How can you not get excited to play here.”

In Wednesday’s nightcap, the Golden Eagles and Tritons fought back and forth. Iowa Central had a 4-2 lead after five innings before the Golden Eagles took a 5-4 lead, then went up 7-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

“When we came into the bottom of the seventh, I preached to them we are the home team for a reason,” Tjebben said. “You have to fight and give it your all.”

The Tritons wouldn’t go away quietly. Kennedy Palmer started the inning with a hit. Sydney Wilson then added an RBI-single. Kyra Kain singled to score Breanna Nolte, who had walked.

Reagan Enright put the ball in play to the shortstop, who overthrew first base, plating Natalie Rasmussen and pinch-runner Blessing Edititu for the tying and winning runs.

“We put the ball in play and hit the ball hard and good things happened,” Tjebben said. “We were loud in the dugout and fought back.

“The girls worked their tails off all year.”

Tjebben is proud of the way his group played, as the program was in the World Series for the first time since 2009.

“When you start the year, you never know what you are going to get,” Tjebben said. “When we started last fall and we were playing Northern Iowa, and it was 1-0 after seven innings, I knew we had something.

“This season was one for the record books.”