OXFORD, Ala. – Jones College forced the if-necessary national title game, after winning the opener 7-3 over Copiah-Lincoln, but fell 6-4 in the winner-take-all national championship to the Lady Wolves to finish as national runner-up for the sixth time since 2014.
The Bobcats posted their fifth, 50-win season in program history with a 52-10 finish.
It was Jones' seventh national title game appearance in the last 11 national tournaments. Their lone national championship came in 2018.
The two teams split the season series 3-3 with Co-Lin outscoring Jones 37-30 in the six games.
Jones 7, Co-Lin 3
Laney Little was 3-for-3 to lead five Bobcats with multiple hits and
Jayden Sawyer tossed her fourth complete game of the tournament as Jones forced the "if necessary" game.
Olivia Banes' solo homer gave the Lady Wolves a 1-0 lead after one, the seventh time in eight games against Jones where Co-Lin scored in the first inning.
Addy Shorter's RBI-double tied the game at 1-1 in the second and she doubled again in the fourth to score
Emily Mizelle for a 2-1 lead.
Mizelle then doubled to score two in the fifth and
Kaleigh Steverson's RBI-single made it 5-1 Jones after five.
Makynlie Jones' two-RBI triple in the sixth pushed the lead out to 7-1.
Co-Lin scored two in the sixth for a 7-3 final.
Sawyer scattered five hits, three runs and a pair of strikeouts on 100 pitches to improve to 14-3.
Taylor Efferson allowed four runs in four innings and was pulled for Keegan McCorkle.
Co-Lin 6, Jones 4
Co-Lin built a 4-0 lead through five but had to hold off a two-out rally in the seventh for Jones to win its second national title in three years over the Bobcats.
Avery Williams homered in the second and her sac fly in the third made it 2-0 after three.
Trailing 4-0 in the sixth,
Marlee Dampeer drew a leadoff walk,
Laney Little singled and Mak. Jones singled to score two after
Claire Andersen's sac bunt. Sawyer singled, Mizelle singled and Steverson's sac fly made it 4-3. The rally ended with two runners in scoring position on
Meredith Fontenot's lineout.
Efferson's two-run single in the bottom half was the eventual dagger, with the Lady Wolves going back up 6-3.
Jones' last chance in the seventh came after two quick outs. Little doubled, Andersen singled and Mak. Jones had an RBI-single to make it 6-4 with the go-ahead run at the plate. But Sawyer popped out to second to end the threat and the Bobcats' fantastic 52-win season.
