BOONE — The Iowa Central softball team started off Region 11-B Tournament play in dominating fashion, topping Hawkeye here Friday, 14-6 in six innings.

With the win, the Tritons (39-16 overall) advance to take on No. 10 Des Moines Area back here on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bears (50-10) picked up a 5-0 victory over Northeast in the first game of the day.

Fort Dodge Senior High graduate Cadence Touney had a home run, finishing 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. Fellow freshman Jersey Hawf added a homer, going 3-for-4 with four runs scored and two RBI.

Kyra Kain had two hits, scored twice and drove in two. Natalie Rasmussen scored four runs.

“Cadence has been locked in,” ICCC head coach Bo Tjebben said. “She’s a kid who can lay down a drag-bunt and come right back and hit a home run.

“Jersey and Kyra have been clutch for us all season. They are gamers who have put in the extra work.”

Amber McKinney was 2-for-3 with two runs.

Iowa Central took an early 3-0 lead, but the RedTails answered with four in the second to go up. The Tritons came right back and plated three again in the bottom of the inning.

“It’s always huge when you can answer a team right back,” Tjebben said. “Our bats came alive when we needed them. It’s been a dogfight all year with Hawkeye, so we knew it would be another battle.”

After Hawkeye tied it at 6-all in the fourth, Iowa Central scored four in the same inning, followed by two in the fifth and two in the sixth to end it.

During the regular season, DMACC won all four meetings vs. the Tritons, with the last one being the closest at 11-10. The Bears are led by former Newell-Fonda all-stater and Creighton pitching commit Kierra Jungers, as she entered the postseason 20-6 overall with 291 strikeouts in nearly 160 innings.

“I tell the girls all the time that softball is a game of inches,” Tjebben said. “(Saturday’s) game is going to be just that. It will come down to who can get the timely hits and who makes a mistake.”

The winner between Iowa Central and DMACC advances to the regional final beginning Sunday at noon. The loser turns around and plays the winner between Northeast and Hawkeye in an elimination game at 4 p.m.