Lady Wolves Dominate Bears to Advance in National Tournament

OXFORD, Ala. – The Co-Lin Softball team faced off against Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) in the winner's bracket at the NJCAA DII National Tournament on Wednesday, May 21. The No. 5 seeded Lady Wolves beat the No. 4 seeded Bears ,8-2, to stay in the winner's bracket.

The game was scoreless after the first two innings, but the Lady Wolves struck first as Brelie Phillips stepped up to the plate with one out, took one swing of the bat, and crushed a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence for a solo home run. Her team-leading 11th of the season gave the Lady Wolves an early 1-0 lead in the top of the third. The Bears then hit a leadoff double and later took advantage of an error by the Lady Wolves to score a run and tie the game, 1-1, in the bottom half of the inning.

However, the Lady Wolves responded with three runs in the top of the fourth as Kynlee Madere (Paulina, LA) hit a leadoff single to get the offense going.adere then advanced to third as Emeri Warren (Sebastopol) reached on a fielding error to put two runners on with no outs while Noelle Laiche (Gonzales, LA) was brought in as a pinch runner for Warren. Later in the inning, Laiche stole second, while Stella Roberts (Raymond) delivered a one-out, two-RBI double scoring Madere and Laiche to give the Lady Wolves a 3-1 lead. Roberts advanced to third on a groundout by Carson Hughey (Brookhaven) and then scored on a two-out, RBI-single by Phillips to increase the lead to 4-1 

The Bears then took advantage of an error by the Lady Wolves to score a run in the bottom of the sixth and cut the lead down to 4-2. However, the Lady Wolves responded with four runs in the top of the seventh as Phillips hit a leadoff double and then scored on an RBI-double by Olivia Banes (Pelahatchie). Banes then scored on an RBI-single by Taylor Efferson (Holden, LA) to increase the lead to 6-2 while Emma Kate Fimiano (Petal) was then brought on as a pinch runner. Fimiano then took third on an infield single by Avery Williams (Olive Branch). After both runners stole a base to get into scoring position, Madere hit a two-RBI double scoring Fimiano and Williams to make the lead, 8-2.

The Bears then went leadoff single, groundout, single, lineout double play in the bottom of the seventh to seal the victory for the Lady Wolves.

The Lady Wolves totaled 11 hits as Brelie Phillips led the way with three hits while Olivia Banes, Kynlee Madere, and Stella Roberts had two hits apiece with Taylor Efferson and Avery Williams adding one hit each. Phillips, Madere, and Roberts led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with two apiece while Banes and Efferson had one RBI each.

Taylor Efferson improved to 17-2 with the complete game win allowing two unearned runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

Co-Lin is now 45-5 overall and will face off against the top-seeded St. Johns River State with a spot in the semifinals on the line. First pitch between the No. 4 seeded Lady Wolves and the No. 1 seeded Vikings is set for 2 p.m., at Choccolocco Park on Thursday, May 22.