• Kendal Clark leads DMACC with three home runs in the two games
• Bears extend winning streak to 27 games and are 48-3 overall
• DMACC will host Central (Neb.) Community College in North Plains District Tournament

Freshman Kendal Clark of Humboldt blasted three home runs to lead the DMACC softball team to its fifth consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI-A championship behind a pair of victories over Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) May 6 and 7 at the DMACC softball diamond.

The Bears, the No. 1-ranked team in the NJCAA Division II poll, defeated the Tritons by scores of 4-1 and 11-5 to extend their winning streak to 27 games and improve to 48-3 for the season.

DMACC will host Central (Neb.) Community College (CCC) in the double-elimination North Plains District Tournament May 13 and 14 at the DMACC softball diamond. CCC brings a 17-27 record into the tournament. The North Plains District champion will advance to the 2022 NJCAA Division II National Championship May 24 to 28 at Oxford, Ala.

DMACC and CCC will play a doubleheader on May 13 beginning at noon. A third game, if necessary, will be played at noon on May 14.

Clark hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to lift the Bears to their 4-1 win in a championship bracket game on May 6. DMACC took a 1-0 lead on a home run by sophomore Sami Miller of Mason City in the bottom of the second and ICCC, which advanced with a win over North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), tied it with a run in the top of the third.

Miller led DMACC's eight-hit attack with a double to go with her home run.

Sophomore Abby Flanagan of Coggon pitched the first four and two-thirds innings and improved to 13-0 with the win. She allowed one run on six hits and struck out 10 batters. Sophomore Lexi Lander of Onawa picked up her second save of the season with two and a third innings in the circle. She allowed two hits and struck out three.

DMACC built an 8-0 lead through four innings in taking the championship game on May 7. ICCC, which defeated NIACC in an elimination game earlier in the day, scored four runs in the top of the fifth and one in the sixth to make it an 8-5 game, but DMACC closed out the win with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Clark had three hits, including a double and two home runs, and drove in four runs in the win. Freshman Madison Kearns of Glenpool, Okla., also had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and sophomore Jada Collins of Des Moines had two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Miller also doubled in the game and freshman Zoey Hightshoe of Boone homered.

DMACC used four pitchers in the game. Freshman Emma Dighton of Boone threw the first four innings and ran her record to 12-1 with the win. She allowed three hits, struck out five and walked one. Lander threw one inning and allowed four runs on three hits with one strikeout and one walk. Freshman Sydney Kennedy of Peosta allowed one run on one hit and walked one batter but was not credited with any innings pitched and Flanagan earned her first save of the season with two innings in the circle. She struck out one batter and walked one.