Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

JCCC softball team finishes second at nationals

OVERLAND PARK, KS -- The Johnson County Community College softball team recorded a second-place finish at the 2007 NJCAA Fastpitch Championship in Normal, Ill., over the weekend.  The second-place finish by the Cavaliers is the best in team history.  Phoenix College, the nation’s top-ranked team, defeated JCCC in the championship game, 5-0.

The Cavaliers opened the 2007 tournament on Thursday, May 17, with a 13-6 win over Black Hawk College, which advanced JCCC to a match up against Phoenix College, the top-ranked team in the country.  Phoenix led 6-0 in the top of the fifth inning, but JCCC battled back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a double by Katie Mathis, and with three in the sixth on a three-run shot by Jill Peters.  Phoenix added one run in the seventh to bring the final score to 7-5.  

The loss dropped JCCC to the loser’s bracket, and the Cavaliers stayed alive with a come-from-behind 9-8 win over Parkland College.  JCCC twice trailed in this game, but managed to mount a rally in their bottom half the inning.  In the sixth inning and trailing 8-5, JCCC scored four runs to take the lead for good.  Mathis had three hits.  Krista Cummings had two hits and three RBI, and Jill Peters had two hits and drove in two runs in the game.

JCCC continued to advance through the loser’s bracket with wins over Black Hawk College and Mississippi Gulf Coast.  JCCC downed Black Hawk 9-1, but had the game in hand after exploding for eight runs in the first inning.  JCCC eight-run outburst was fueled by a grand slam home run by Peters. Talia Bodine went the distance, allowing just one hit, one run with seven strikeouts.  

JCCC earned a spot in the title game with a 3-0 win over Mississippi Gulf Coast.  The Cavaliers scored single runs in the first, third and fourth innings, and Emily Dye scattered five hits and registered the complete game shutout.  That victory advanced JCCC to the championship game and rematch with Phoenix College.

Dye followed her shutout over Mississippi with another  amazing outing against the country’s top-ranked team.  She again scattered five hits, had four strikeouts and held Phoenix scoreless.  The offense was provided by Cummings, who belted a three-run home run, forcing another game to determine the 2007 national champion.   

JCCC lost the final game to Phoenix 5-0, but were in the game until the seventh inning, when four Phoenix runners crossed the plate. Offensively, JCCC couldn’t not get anything going against Patricia Moreno, the tournament’s MVP.  Moreno held the Cavaliers to just two hits, and struck out seven.

Five players from JCCC were named to the all-tournament squad; Dye, Cummings, Mathis, Peters and Tiffany Carter.  Dye was second to Moreno in strikeouts in the tournament, mowing down 24 batters. Mathis was second in hits with 12, runs with eight and led the tournament with four doubles and 22 total bases.  Peters was third in hits with 11, first in RBI with 12, tied for second in home runs with three and second in total bases with 21.  Cummings finished fourth in hits with 10 and Carter tied for second in tournament play with three doubles.  

The Cavaliers finished the season with a record of 46-14 under interim head coach Kelly Gartner.