Delaware Tech Softball's National Tournament Experience Exceeds Expectations for the Second Straight Year

The Delaware Technical Community College softball team made a return trip to the NJCAA Division II Softball National Tournament after winning the NJCAA Region 19 and NJCAA Northeast District championships on May 17 in Georgetown.

And for the second year in a row, Delaware Tech entered the tournament as the 15 seed, picked up one win against Bryant & Stratton, and was two runs away from winning a second game. It is only the third national tournament win in Delaware Tech softball history and the second straight year Delaware Tech has won a game in the national tournament.

"I don't think anyone expected us to win a game since we were one of the lowest seeds," third baseman Macey Myers said. "But we proved that we could compete with the teams down here."

The tournament, held May 24-27 in Oxford, Ala., was plagued by weather delays due to persistent thunderstorms. Once the tournament got underway, Delaware Tech hung with the defending champion, and eventual repeat national champion, Phoenix College until a freak play allowed Phoenix to pull ahead for an 8-0 win. Delaware Tech had been down just 1-0 until centerfielder Couri Smith's leg got caught in the fence while she was retrieving a hit. That allowed two runs to score and Phoenix never looked back.

After more delays, Delaware Tech took on Bryant & Stratton in the elimination bracket. Delaware Tech entered the final inning losing 3-1 and ended up scoring four runs to claim a 5-4 win.

"We kept our heads up," outfielder Kaniah James said. "It was more important for us to think the game wasn't over just because we were losing, we were hitting their pitcher all game, but we just needed to make adjustments."

That win propelled Delaware Tech into another elimination game just a few hours later against Kansas City Kansas. A back-and-forth game came down to the last inning with Delaware Tech down one run. With runners on first and second and no outs, Myers hit a line drive back at the pitcher who deflected the ball with her glove. The ball popped up in the air near second base, and the Kansas City second baseman snagged the ball, tagged the runner, got the runner at second out as well, and threw to first to complete the rare triple play and end Delaware Tech's season.

"I thought the team played extremely well down here," Head Coach Guy Wilkins said. "We just had a little bad luck.

"In the second game, the girls had a lot of heart and never quit. We could've laid down, but they didn't, they showed a lot of drive. Against Kansas City, we just came up a little short. Macey hit a rocket, and if their pitcher doesn't knock it down that ball goes through the infield and a runner scores, the other runners advance, and we have everyone coming up that we wanted. But, it's just how it goes sometimes."

A majority of the 2022 softball team was on the team in 2021 for that trip to the national tournament. And a majority of this year's team will return next season with the hopes of getting back for a third straight year.

"We faced better pitching and we played in close games," infielder Kylie Kruger said. "Next year, if we are behind in any games, we are going to know how to fight back because we've done that in each game down here.

"Next year we want to return to the national tournament and win two games."

Delaware Tech earned the berth to the national tournament by winning the NJCAA Region 19 and Northeast Region championships. The three-team tournament between Delaware Tech, Lackawanna College, and Mercer Community College was a combined region and district championship tournament after colleges in neighboring regions declined to participate in postseason play. Delaware Tech entered the tournament as the top seed.

"This feels great," Head Coach Guy Wilkins said. "It's the first time in a very long time that this program has won back-to-back district championships, and it's a great accomplishment for the program and the school."

Mercer County started off the tournament pulling off upset wins over Lackawanna and Delaware Tech on May 13 to advance to the championship game. Delaware Tech rebounded from the Mercer loss to eliminate Lackawanna with a 6-4 win on May 13.

The championship games were scheduled for May 14, but rain postponed the first game in the bottom of the first inning with Delaware Tech leading Mercer County 8-0. Play finally resumed on May 17.

Once play resumed, Delaware Tech was unstoppable. Over two games, starting pitchers Lauren Smith and Carly Collins allowed just five hits and no earned runs. Meanwhile, the offense exploded with 35 hits as Delaware Tech won the first game 14-1 and the second game 18-0.

"We hadn't played in two weeks, and we hadn't seen live pitching in two weeks before we played the first game when Mercer beat us," Wilkins said. "Batting practice is totally different than seeing a ball out of a pitcher's hands.

"Against Lackawanna we had better swings, and the day we got rained out we started progressing. Then the championship game showed how good our team really is as far as hitting."

Kandice Schlabach batted a combined 6-for-8 with two 2-run home runs and 5 RBI. Myers also batted 6-for-8 with three doubles and 5 RBI, Jada Courtney batted 5-for-7 with two doubles and 4 RBI, batted 5-for-7 with 5 RBI, Kruger batted 5-for-8 with 4 RBI, and Logan Walls batted 5-for-9 with 5 RBI.

"They were all good hitters before they got here," Wilkins said. "We make sure we hit a lot during practice to improve the hand eye coordination.

"Lauren and Carly work extremely hard during practice. They throw every other day, get good time in to work on their spins, and both of them throw strikes."

Both pitchers were statistically the best in the region. Smith improved to 14-2 this year with a 1.89 ERA, while Collins had a 12-1 record with a 1.42 ERA.

Follow Delaware Tech on social media! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram at delaware_tech and dtccathletics, and follow us on Twitter at delawaretech.

PHOTO:
Delaware Tech's softball team competed in the 2022 NJCAA Division II Softball National Tournament in Oxford, Ala. from May 24-27. Back row, from left, Assistant Coach Eric Swanson, Student-Athlete Academic Development Specialist Charles Huntington, Macey Myers, Carlin Quinn, Jada Courtney, Logan Walls, Couri Smith, Kandice Schlabach, Lauren Smith, Kylie Kruger, Assistant Coach Stephany Courtney, and Head Coach Guy Wilkins, Front row, Colleen Cosbey, Carly Collins, Jenna Donovan, Camryn Quirk, Tori Henry, and Kaniah James.