- Emma Dighton and Ellie Jacobson pitched Bears past East Mississippi CC in season opener
- Lexi Lander tosses shutout in 2-0 win over Hinds CC
- DMACC tops Meridian CC, Hillsborough CC and Hinds CC in last three games
The DMACC softball team opened the season with a successful trip to Mississippi in which the Bears won all five of their games.
DMACC began the season with three wins on Feb. 19 and closed out the trip with a pair of wins on Feb. 20. The Bears beat East Mississippi Community College (EMCC), Hinds Community College (HICC) and Meridian Community College (MCC) on Feb. 19 and recorded wins over Hillsborough Community College (HOCC) and HICC on Feb. 20.
Freshman Emma Dighton of Boone tossed a one-hitter, struck out four and walked two in DMACC's 4-2 win over EMCC on Feb. 19. Dighton threw the first five innings and sophomore Ellie Jacobson picked up the save with two hitless innings. She struck out two and walked one.
DMACC led 1-0 after the first inning, trailed 2-1 after two innings and gained a 2-2 tie with a run in the third before closing out the win with two runs in the fifth. Sophomores Abby Husak of Polk City, Delaney Kelley of Rock Island, Ill., and Jada Collins of Des Moines and freshman Madison Kearns of Glenpool, Okla., led DMACC with two hits apiece, a double by Kearns. Freshman Emily Ades of Boone also had a double. Kearns drove in three DMACC runs and Collins had an RBI.
Sophomore Lexi Lander of Onawa allowed four hits, struck out five and walked one as DMACC defeated HICC 2-0 in its second game on Feb. 19. Kearns led the Bears at the plate with two hits, including a double, and an RBI and freshman Kendal Clark of Humboldt also drove in a run with a home run. The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the third and added an insurance run in the sixth.
Collins had a pair of doubles and Dighton and freshman Kaylynne Salyars of Muscatine added one each as DMACC defeated MCC, 5-2, in the Bears' final game on Feb. 19. DMACC scored two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings and added another run in the second. MCC tallied single runs in the fifth and seventh innings. Salyars, Husak, Ades and Collins drove in one run each for the Bears.
Sophomore Abby Flanagan of Coggon threw five hitless innings and got the win. She allowed one run, struck out eight and walked two. Freshman Sydney Kennedy of Peosta got her first save of the season with two innings in the circle. She allowed one run on one hit, struck out two and walked two.
DMACC scored three runs in the first and six in the second in a 9-0 win over HOCC on Feb. 20. The game was called after five innings because of the mercy rule. Kelley led the Bears at the plate with three hits and Kearns had two, including a triple. Collins doubled in the win and Kelley and Collins drove in two runs apiece with Kearns, Clark, Dighton and sophomore Sami Miller of Mason City driving in one run apiece.
Flanagan went three innings and improved to 2-0 with the win. She allowed two hits and struck out three. Lander pitched two innings, allowing two hits and striking out two batters.
Kearns and Collins had two hits and three RBIs apiece as the Bears closed out the trip with a 10-1 win over HICC in a game that was called after six innings because of the mercy rule. DMACC had a 5-0 lead after two innings and led 6-1 after four innings. The Bears closed out the win with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Husak, Clark, Salyars and Ades had two hits apiece in the win with Clark getting a double, and Kelley drove in a pair of runs.
Dighton pitched the first two innings, allowing one run on one hit. She struck out two and walked one. Jacobson pitched four hitless innings and notched her first win of the season. She struck out five and walked two.