Going into the weekend, the Tritons knew they needed to win four to secure the second seed in the upcoming Regional Tournament and be a host site for the Region 11-B side. They did just that with 6-0 and 5-2 wins over Iowa Lakes on Saturday (4/26) and 5-4 and 3-2 wins on Sunday (4/27) over #22 NIACC to sweep the weekend and finish in second place in the ICCAC conference standings. 

 

"Those were four tough games we had to win in order to stay #2 and host regionals," said Triton Softball Head Coach, Bo Tjebben. 

 

Jayda Long (20-4) and Jadeyn Stahr (12-1) both threw complete game two-hitters on the mound in Saturday's victories over Iowa Lakes. Long had eight strikeouts and surpassed the 200 strikeout milestone for her career.

 

Reagan Enright led the way offensively against the Lakers with two doubles and five RBI. Kaylee Cary added a home run, two RBI, and two stolen bases.

 

Sunday's series at NIACC saw windy game conditions and two back and forth battles with the Tritons taking the opener in ten innings. Cary was 3-5 with a double and three RBI in the series. Carly Ryan had two RBI with Kyra Kain and Cailyn Hardy each adding one. 

 

Stahr (13-1) thew another complete game in game two with three strikeouts. Abagail Winter (2-1) picked up the win in game one.

 

We got some big time hits when we needed them. Our pitching and defense were great too," said Tjebben. "We played really well all weekend, but we're not done yet."

 

Region 11 Tournament play for the #14 Tritons (45-8) begins on Friday (5/2) at Harlan Rogers with an opening round matchup against Ellsworth at 2:00 PM. The Tritons defeated the Panthers in their four meetings during the regular season. Awaiting the winner will be a matchup with the winner of #12 Kirkwood and Northeast. Tournament play continues through the weekend with the Region 11-B champion advancing to district tournament play against the Region 9 champion for a berth in the NJCAA National Tournament.