At the 2014 ACCC/Region 22 state tournament Friday and Saturday in Alabaster, the JDCC softball team went 1-2 to end their season. The Lady Warhawks finished their season with a 22-38 overall record.
The Lady Warhawks began tournament play Friday with a 5-4 loss to Snead State.
Against Snead, JDCC blew a 4-0 lead after the top of the third inning to fall by one.
JDCC led 1-0 after the first inning, 3-0 after the second and 4-0 after the top of the third. Snead cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the third and added two more in the fifth and one in the seventh to rally and get the win.
Jessica Swindle was charged with the pitching loss as she allowed nine hits, five runs, three earned, struck out two, hit one batter and allowed one homerun.
At the plate, Kaitlyn Kenfield was 1-for-3 with two stolen bases while Mindy Walker was 1-for-2 with one RBI. Swindle went 1-for-4 with one homerun and an RBI while Laura Zeegers was 1-for-4.
Caroline Clark went 1-for-3 with a double and one RBI while Chelsey Ramer was 1-for-2.
In their second game Friday, JDCC defeated conference opponent Bishop State 14-6 to advance to play on Saturday.
Kaitlin Hadaway earned the pitching win as she went four innings and allowed five hits, six runs, none earned, struck out four and allowed one homerun. Breanna Hall went one inning and faced three batters.
At the plate, Audrey Hamric went 2-for-3 with one RBI and scored four runs while having one stolen base. Kenfield went 1-for-3 with three runs and had one RBI while Zeegers went 3-for-4 with six RBIs, scored two runs, hit a double and one homerun.
Walker was 1-for-4 with one RBI while Clark went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs and scored one RBI. Ramer went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and scored one run while Rachel Seitz was 2-for-3 with one RBI, a double and scored two runs.
On Saturday, JDCC lost to Calhoun 6-4 to see their season end.
Against Calhoun, JDCC led 4-3 after the fifth inning, but saw Calhoun plate three in the sixth inning to get the win by two.
Calhoun led JDCC 1-0 after one inning and 2-0 after the second inning. JDCC scored in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 2-all. From there, Calhoun scored one in the fourth while JDCC added two in the fifth to grab a 4-3 lead. Calhoun’s three runs in the sixth inning propelled them to the 2-run win.
Swindle took the pitching loss as she went 3 1/3 innings and allowed four hits, three runs, two earned, walked one and struck out one. Hadaway went 3 2/3 innings and allowed four hits, three runs, three earned, walked one, struck out two and allowed one homerun.
Hamric was 2-for-4 with one RBI and a triple and scored two runs while Zeegers went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, a homerun, walked one and scored one run.
Hall was 1-for-4, Swindle went 2-for-4 with a double, and Clark went 1-for-3 along with Seitz.
“In our two losses, we hit home runs to go ahead in the games and then the opposing teams hit home runs that got them the win,” JDCC head coach Misti Nims said. “Unfortunately, that is part of the game. Overall, I am extremely proud of our team and the way the represented JDCC and the southern division. We have had a tough and long season, but I told the girls all year long that it was to prepare us for the state tournament.”
Nims said her team peaked at the right time and showed that JDCC can hang with the best in the state.
“This sophomore class stepped up and five of the six have either accepted offers to continue to play or are making final decisions,” she said. “Breanna Hall has accepted an offer to Point University in Georgia, Jessica Swindle accepted an offer to Huntingdon College. Laura Zeegers, Mindy Walker and Rachel Seitz are sifting through offers and will be making final decision soon. Kaitlyn Kenfield has deciding to hang up her cleats and focus just solely on her major.”
For JDCC, Kenfield made the first team All-Southern Conference while Zeegers, Hadaway, Walker and Hall made second team All-Conference.