FULTON – The sixth-ranked Jones College Bobcats open play in the 2021 MACCC Softball Tournament on Wednesday on the campus of Itawamba Community College.

The Bobcats, under 12th-year head coach Chris Robinson, have won six conference titles since 2012 and enter the tournament on a season-long 13-game winning streak.

"We're excited to get the opportunity to compete this week against some of the top teams in the nation," Robinson said. "Everyone playing is capable of winning the tournament. We're all 0-0 going into Wednesday. The idea that some of these teams won't move on to the regional really is a shame since we play in the toughest region in NJCAA Division II."

Jones (35-7) is the tournament's No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Northeast (23-17) in the opening game of the day on Wednesday. 

The teams split their regular season matchup in Ellisville, with Northeast winning 8-1 and Jones rallying for seven unanswered runs in game two to walk-off the Tigers, 9-8. 

Jones has won 17 of its last 20 since that doubleheader. The Tigers have gone 12-8. 

"We feel like we're playing a good brand of softball right now and peaking at the right time," Robinson said. "We look forward to competing with our sister schools in a great tournament this week." 

Jones enters with one of the most potent offenses in the nation, ranking in the Top 15 in 10 different categories.

The Bobcats are hitting .381 as a team with 84 doubles, 18 triples and 84 home runs (3rd in NJCAA). Their 162 stolen bases rank second in the nation, led by Tyesha Cole (30-31) and Kristian Edwards (29-30).

Freshman infielder Lauren Lindsey leads the team in average (.470), hits (62), doubles (14), home runs (19) and slugging percentage (1.008). She's homered seven times in the last eight games.

In the circle, Sterling James boasts a 13-1 record with seven complete games and five saves, Breley Boykin is 13-2 and Nia Luckett is 9-4 with five straight wins in five starts. Jones leads the nation with 13 shutouts. 

Northeast could've very easily left Ellisville on March 13 with two wins.

The Tigers got a great pitching performance from Cassidy Duskin, who scattered five hits, nine strikeouts and one run to win the opening game, 8-1. If not for seven unanswered runs in game two, Northeast would have handed Jones two losses.

Northeast is hitting .329 as a team with 71 doubles, 13 triples and 34 home runs. They've stolen 71 bases in 81 attempts.

Freshman utility player Briley Pitt and freshman pitcher/outfielder Cassidy Duskin are two of the team's top two hitters and pitchers. 

Pitt is hitting .468 with 14 doubles and six home runs and is 4-4 with a 6.15 ERA and 35 strikeouts. Duskin is hitting .382 in the No. 2 spot and is 11-8 with a 2.89 ERA and 71 strikeouts. 

Jones has won 13 of the last 15 over Northeast in the series.

Wednesday's game will be streaming live on letsgoicctv.com/red and also nemcctv.com/blackchannel.