HENDERSON, Nevada – The fourth-ranked Jones College Bobcats opened the 2020 softball season with a 4-1 week at the CSN Kickoff Classic presented by Fiesta Henderson Hotel and Casino.
Eight different Bobcats combined for 13 home runs over the two-day tournament as JC hit .364 as a team.
Lauren Stringer,
Sterling James and
McKenna Polk all picked up wins in the circle.
Friday, Jan. 31
JC opened the tournament in style with a combined no-hitter on Friday afternoon against USU Eastern, as Stringer and
Carlee Nations helped the Bobcats to a 17-0 run-rule win.
Tyesha Cole and
Kristian Edwards hit back-to-back home runs in their opening at-bats of the season for JC and the rout was on.
Kayla Collins was 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs to lead a 14-hit attack.
Chantel Schurr had a pinch-hit, three-run double in her first career at-bat.
JC made quick work of No. 16 Yavapai, 18-1, in five innings to close Friday's games.
Ten different Bobcats combined for 14 hits, with Edwards going 4-for-4 and Collins adding four RBIs.
McKenna Polk tossed a complete-game three-hitter to earn the win.
Saturday, Feb. 1
Facing the tournament hosts, College of Southern Nevada, to open Saturday's competition, Jones jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three to knock off the Coyotes 8-2.
James tossed 4.2 innings, allowing nine hits and two runs, to earn the win, while Polk came on in the fifth to earn her first save. Polk entered with the bases loaded and the tying run on deck before getting a groundout to end the threat.
Freshmen
Meagan Wynne and
Paris Humphrey picked up their first hits in the victory.
Jones dropped its only game of the weekend against No. 3 Phoenix, 7-3, before a walk-off 5-2 win over Snow in eight innings to close the weekend.
Phoenix used a four-run third inning to take the lead and never looked back. Brianna Hardy held JC's top five hitters in check, who were just 3-for-15.
Snow tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning on Katie Tanner's RBI-double to force extras in the finale.
In the extra frame, after a sac bunt advanced the go-ahead run to third for the Badgers, Collins doubled up Kynlee Hogga at home to keep the game tied.
JC won it in the bottom of the eighth on
Maycee Knight's line drive, three-run shot to left-center to walk-off for a 5-2 victory.
The Bocats will take a two-week break from competition and return to action Feb. 14-15 at the Sun Chief Classic in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
