SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Facing elimination after an early setback Thursday, the Jones College Bobcats responded in championship fashion at the NJCAA Division II World Series at Tyger River Park.
After falling 5-2 to second-ranked Murray State College earlier in the day, Jones bounced back with a 7-1 victory over No. 15 Johnson County to stay alive in the national tournament.
The Bobcats advance to the national quarterfinals Friday and will face No. 7 St. Johns River State College (44-23) at 12:30 p.m. CST.
Against the Lady Aggies to start the day, Jones struggled to overcome an early deficit after Murray State struck for three runs in the first inning on a two-out, three-run homer by Kaylee Carter. Carter added a solo home run in the fourth as Murray State built a 5-0 lead.
Jones managed only three hits through the first four innings before beginning to chip away late.
Farrah James blasted a solo home run down the left-field line in the fifth inning to put the Bobcats on the board and Addy Shorter added another solo homer in the seventh, but the comeback ended there as Murray State held on for the win to dump the Bobcats into the loser's bracket.
Mary Kimble Price and James each collected two hits for Jones in the opener, while Laney Little doubled in the seventh inning. Madison Sawyer got the start in the circle before Morgan Landry worked in relief.
With their season suddenly on the line just hours later, the Bobcats answered immediately against Johnson County.
Jones wasted no time in the opening inning as Annaston Tate and Price opened the game with consecutive singles before Mabry Eason delivered an RBI-single through the left side to score Tate for a 1-0 lead.
Johnson County tied the game in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Kennedy Glassford, but Jones regained control in the fifth.
Logan Mansur started the inning with a double down the left-field line, and Laney Little followed with an RBI-triple to right-center field to put the Bobcats back in front. Moments later, Price lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Little and extend the lead to 3-1.
The Bobcats broke the game open in the sixth inning, capitalizing on Johnson County miscues. Little delivered a two-run single to left field, Tate followed with an RBI-single to center and Price added another RBI-single to cap a four-run outburst and stretch the lead to 7-1.
Jones pounded out 12 hits in the elimination victory. Tate, Price, Little and James each had two hits, while Little finished with three RBIs. Price drove in two runs and scored once, while Tate scored twice.
Landry (9-2) limited Johnson County to five hits and stranded six baserunners, allowing a lone unearned run.
Live video for Friday's game(s) can be accessed at NJCAA.org/network ($) and live stats are also available through the NJCAA website.
