• Sophomore Jada Collins drives in the winning run with a base hit
• Freshman Emma Dighton drive in two runs with a double and a home run
• DMACC extends winning streak to 30 games

Sophomore Jada Collins of Des Moines blooped a single into short center field scoring freshman Madison Kearns of Glenpool, Okla., with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning as the DMACC softball team came from behind to defeat Potomac State College (PSC), 6-5, in the opening round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Softball Championship May 24 at Oxford, Ala.

The Bears, seeded first in the 16-team, double-elimination tournament, extended their winning streak to 30 games and pushed their overall record to 51-3.

Pinch hitter Layney Loyd of New London began the DMACC seventh with an infield out before sophomore Abby Husak of Polk City gave the Bears life with a walk. Kearns then lined a single into center field and the ball got past center fielder Grace Walsh for a two-base error, allowing Loyd to score the tying run and sending Kearns to third base. Freshman Emma Dighton, who drove in two runs with a double and a home run, was given an intentional pass to set the stage for Collins. Her soft single found a hole just past the dirt behind second base and Kearns scored easily.

PSC, which fell to 41-3 and saw its 35-game winning streak end, gave the Bears all they wanted and then some. The Catamounts trailed until the sixth inning when a pair of runs gave them a 5-4 advantage.

DMACC took a 1-0 lead in the first when Kearns reached on a one-out base hit and scored on Dighton's double off the fence in right field. The Bears pushed their advantage to 2-0 in the second when freshman Kendal Clark of Humboldt reached on a throwing error, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Sami Miller of Mason City and scored on a base hit by sophomore Delaney Kelly of Rock Island, Ill.

Alexis Bailey drove in a pair of runs with a double in the top of the third as PSC tied the game at 2-2. The tie was short-lived as DMACC responded with a run in the bottom of the inning when Husak led off with a base on balls, moved to second on a two-out single by Collins and scored on Clark's infield hit past third base.

PSC gained a 3-3 tie in the top of the fourth when Mia Kincaid singled with one gone, stole second and came home on a base hit by Walsh.

Dighton hit a solo home run over the fence in left-center in the bottom of fifth to give DMACC a 4-3 lead before PSC came back with two runs in the top of the sixth to take its first lead. Camryn Blacka drove in both runs with a base hit to center field.

Kearns, Dighton, Collins and Kelley accounted for eight of DMACC's 10 hits with two hits apiece. Dighton's double and home run were the Bears' only extra-base hits.

Dighton started in the circle for DMACC and went four innings. She allowed three runs on six hits, struck out five and walked one. Sophomore Lexi Lander of Onawa threw one inning, allowing two runs on two hits and walking one batter and freshman Sydney Kennedy of Peosta stayed unbeaten at 8-0 with one inning in the circle. She retired all three batters she faced, including one batter via a strikeout.

DMACC will face Kansas City (Kan.) Community College (KCKCC) in the championship bracket quarterfinals at 4 p.m. May 25. KCKCC, the No. 9 seed, defeated eighth-seeded Triton Community College (TCC), 9-2, in another first round game on May 24.