No.8 Eagles roll into regional finals

Austyn Crees belted a pair of home runs Sunday to help the Kirkwood Eagles defeat Iowa Central, 12-4, in the winner's bracket finals of the regional softball tournament at Kirkwood.

The eighth-ranked Eagles (49-10) will face Ellsworth (22-31) in the regional finals Monday at noon, with Ellsworth needing two victories against Kirkwood to claim the title.

Shortstop Austyn Crees went 3-for-4 with four runs, two homers, and four RBIs to lead the Eagles on Sunday. Olivia Richards went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.

Reagan Schutte was 2-for-3 and scored twice. Emilee Linder drove in two runs. Kori Wedeking (27-3) pitched five innings for the victory.

Ellsworth defeated Iowa Central in the losers bracket finals to earn a spot against Kirkwood in the championship finals.

Kirkwood needs only one victory against Ellsworth Monday to capture the regional title and earn a spot in a two-team district tournament this week. The district champion advances to the NJCAA Division II World Series.