Tritons Softball Enters Region 11-B Tournament Play as #3-Seed
Sophomore weekends are always bittersweet, and for Triton Softball, theirs was no different. Already locked into the third seed in the upcoming Region 11-B Tournament, the Tritons split with Northeast (8-1, 4-5) on Saturday (4/25) and dropped two (0-8, 8-14) on Sunday (4/26) to top-ranked Kirkwood to close the regular season.
"We finished the regular season 38-16 and in 3rd place in the toughest conference (ICCAC) in the nation," said Triton Head Coach, Bo Tjebben. "Sophomore weekend was once again a success as we celebrated eight loyal, hard-working Tritons."
Following Saturday's double-header, the Tritons honored their eight sophomores who have an 87-28 record in their two years at Iowa Central. Jaidan Abel, Blessing Edittu, Jillian French, Kyra Kain, Gracie Kirk, Avery Mckinney, Ellie Nolte, and Natalie Rasmussen were recognized for their accomplishments as Tritons.
Natalie Rasmussen has led the way at the plate for the Tritons this season with 65 RBI behind 23 homeruns. Sitting 3rd in the nation in home runs and leading the ICCAC (14), Rasmussen sits just four shy of the season record of 27 held by Logan Schnetzer (2021). She is also second in the conference in batting average (.463) and stolen bases (38).
On the mound, Jillian French (14-4) and Jaidan Abel (12-8) have led the pitching staff. French has a 2.60 ERA to go with 14 wins and 140 strikeouts. Abel has a 2.91 ERA with 95 strikeouts. Josie Juhl (6-1), Scarlett Gordon (5-3), and Olivia Hedrick (1-0) have also seen time in the circle.
"The leadership of our sophomores has been so important both on and off the field. We're counting on them to lead us in the postseason and they've laid the foundation for our freshman to follow in next year," said Tjebben. "It's always sad to see them leave as their time as a Triton begins to come to a close."
Region 11-B Tournament play for the Tritons (38-16) begins on Friday (5/1) in Boone, IA with an opening round matchup against Hawkeye at 4:00 PM. The Tritons spilt with the Redtails in their four meetings during the regular season. Awaiting the winner will be a matchup on Saturday (5/2) with the winner of #10 DMACC and Northeast. Tournament play continues through the weekend with the Region 11-A/Region 11-B higher seed champion advancing to the NJCAA World Series and the lower seed champion advancing to the North Central District Championship to play the Region 13 champion for a World Series berth.
"We open tournament play against Hawkeye, who we split with this year. DMACC and Northeast Nebraska are the other two teams in our bracket," said Tjebben. "Anything can happen and anyone can be beat anyone on any given day. We just have to go out and be ourselves, play loose, and be relaxed. We're not done yet."
Region 11-B Tournament information/brackets can be found at https://www.iccac.org/