FORT DODGE – The post-season starts Monday for the NIACC softball team.
NIACC (14-18) plays Marshalltown (20-22-1) at 2 p.m. Monday at the Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in the opening round of the Region XI Division II softball tournament.
Because of the inclement weather, the tournament has been shortened. The first-round contests are elimination contests.
After the first round, the tournament will be played in a double-elimination format.
“We are excited to be playing the regional tournament,” NIACC coach Tyler Sisco said. “Hopefully, the weather cooperates.”
The winner of the NIACC/Marshalltown contest plays either top-seeded Kirkwood (48-3) or eighth-seeded Iowa Central (13-35) in the second round at 4 p.m. Monday.
The tournament resumes on Tuesday with the championship game of the winner’s bracket set for noon. Consolation-bracket games also will be played on Tuesday with the regional title game set for 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Marshalltown, the region’s fourth seed, won the season series against NIACC, 3-1. The Tigers won 11-6 and 3-2 at Marshalltown on April 13. NIACC won 5-1 and Marshalltown won 13-3 in five innings on April 28.
“Marshalltown has solid pitching and a balanced offense,” Sisco said.
Sophomore catcher Marissa Basham leads Marshalltown at the plate with a .433 batting average, 12 doubles and is second on the team with 35 RBIs. Sophomore infielder Erica White leads the Tigers with 37 RBIs and is second on the team with seven home runs.
NIACC, the fifth seed, is led at offensively by sophomore shortstop Hailey Eckstein, who is hitting .447 with seven doubles, three home runs and 18 RBIs. Sophomore Cassie Pappas leads the Lady Trojans with 36 RBIs and a school-record 11 home runs.
“Hailey had a fantastic year at the plate and with her glove,” Sisco said. “She also led our team in stolen bases (14). She is such a terrific athlete that nothing she does on the field surprises me.”
It’s been an unusual season for the NIACC softball team.
The Lady Trojans didn’t play a home game until April 16. They had two ICCAC doubleheaders canceled (Iowa Central and Southwestern).
They also had a stretch at the end of the regular season where they played games on seven straight games.
“The team’s resilient and selfless mindset has been their strength all year,” Sisco said.
Regional tournament pairings (At Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge)
Monday’s first-round games
Noon (Field 1) – No. 1 Kirkwood vs. No. 8 Iowa Central.
2 p.m. (Field 1) – No. 4 Marshalltown vs. No. 5 NIACC.
Noon (Field 2) – No. 3 Southwestern vs. No. 6 Ellsworth.
2 p.m. (Field 2) – No. 2 DMACC vs. No. 7 Iowa Lakes.
Monday’s second-round games
4 p.m. (Field 1) – Kirkwood/IC winner vs. Marshalltown/NIACC winner.
4 p.m. (Field 2) – SW/Ellsworth winner vs. DMACC/IL winner.
ICCAC LEAGUE LEADERS
Batting average – Ashley Brandt (SW) .520; Chelsy Krantz (IC) .509; Mackenzie Alstott (DMACC) .482; Kalli Wells (DMACC) .462; Jayden Ott (DMACC) .453; Sammie Hil-dreth (IC) .447; Hailey Eckstein (NIACC) .447; Marissa Basham (Marshalltown) .433; Kristen Winter (Kirkwood) .423; Leah Duffe (Kirkwood) .413.
RBIs – Haylee Krack (Kirkwood) 65; Kayla Tatge (Kirkwood) 65; Krysta Tutsch (Kirkwood) 57; Ott 49; Winter (Kirkwood) 49; Duffe (Kirkwood) 37; Hildreth (IC) 37; Erica White (Marshalltown) 37; Allie Fitz-gerald (DMACC) 36; Ali Miner (DMACC) 36; Cassie Pappas (NIACC) 36.
Home runs – Tatge (Kirkwood) 22; Krack (Kirkwood) 18; Ott (DMACC) 16; Tutsch (Kirkwood) 13; Pappas (NIACC) 11; Ba-sham (Marshalltown) 9; Winter (Kirkwood) 9; Hildreth (IC) 8.
Strikeouts – Amber Logemann (Kirkwood) 265; Mari Silliman (DMACC) 207; Britney Lee (DMACC) 148; Courtney Wagner (SW) 118; Leah Kipfer (SW) 108; Sam Belz (Kirkwood) 77; Stacy Roggentein (Marshalltown) 72; Nicole Duford (NIACC) 67.
ERA (minimum 100 innings pitched) – Logemann (Kirkwood) 0.44; Belz (Kirkwood) 0.86; Silliman (DMACC) 1.04; Roggentein (Marshalltown) 1.78; Lee (DMACC) 2.26; Wagner (SW) 3.19; Duford 4.15; Vaske (Marshalltown) 5.64.
