Eagles Finish as National Runner-Up

Spartanburg, SC- After winning the Northwest Plains A District Championship, the Kirkwood Eagles traveled south to Spartanburg, South Carolina to compete as the 6-seed in the NJCAA DII Softball World Series. The first round would have them playing the 11-seeded East Central Warriors. 

Against the Warriors, the Eagles opened up the game in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Lexi Hines would hit an RBI that would score Sydney Roe. Peyton Johnson and Brenna Ross would be walked, advancing two more runners home. The last two runs for the Eagles in the inning were scored from errors on the Warriors, making the score 5-0 after two innings. Peyton Driscoll would get the win for the Eagles, pitching 5 innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 runs, and striking out 7 batters. Kirkwood would win the first-round matchup by a score of 9-3. 

With the win, the Eagles were pitted against the 3-seed in the tournament, the Murray State Aggies. Having already split a series with the Aggies earlier in the season, Kirkwood was ready and prepared for the challenge. You could tell from the first pitch that both teams were prepared for a long battle. The Eagles struck first, scoring in the top of the 3rd inning off a Kiya Johnson sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Brenna Ross. The Aggies would respond in the bottom of the 5th inning with a 3-run home run. However, resiliency and heart have been two words that have described the Eagles all season and this game would be no different. In the top of the 7th inning, Sydney Roe would double to left field, scoring Natalie Vitek and Brenna Ross. With the game tied at 3-3, Kiya Johnson would step up to the plate and hit a double up the middle that scored Grace Zaugg and would prove to be the definitive run for the Eagles, giving them the win 4-3. 

The Eagles were now in the quarterfinals of the World Series. They would have to play an opponent who had bested them twice earlier in the season, the Johnson County Cavaliers. The Cavaliers would draw first blood in the top of the 2nd inning, taking the lead 1-0. Kirkwood would respond in the bottom of the 4th inning after a Sophia Kreutner RBI, singling to center field. With the score tied 1-1, Kirkwood would score what would prove to be the game-winning run in the bottom of the 5th inning off a Sailor Hall single that scored Rachael Schlotter. The pitching of Peyton Driscoll would again prove to be a difference-maker for Kirkwood. The starting pitcher would get the win, pitching a complete game, allowing only 1 run, and striking out 4 batters.

The semifinals would have Kirkwood meeting the other side of the bracket for the first time. They would be playing St. Johns River St. Vikings who had already taken out the number 1 seed in the tournament, the Parkland Cobras. The Vikings offense would prove to be more prolific than what the Eagles had faced so far. The Vikings used 9 runs over the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings to keep the game out of reach. Even with a valiant bottom of the 4th inning where Kirkwood would score 5 runs, it would prove to be too much to come back from. St. Johns River St. would take this game 10-6 and hand the Eagles their first loss of the tournament. 

The loss would have the Eagles going against a familiar opponent, the Murray State Aggies. The Aggies had won 4 games straight after their loss against Kirkwood and were looking for revenge. The winner would play for a national championship against St. Johns River St. and the loser would be going home. The game would prove to be a back-and-forth affair, going all the way down to the wire. Murray State would jump out to a quick lead in the top of the first inning off a home run to center field. They would extend that lead to 3-0 in the top of the 3rd, however, as they have all tournament, Kirkwood would respond. Sydney Roe would hit a 3-run home run to tie the game. In the top of the 7th inning, the Aggies would score one more run which meant that Kirkwood's season would come down to the bottom of the 7th. A Peyton Johnson single to left field would score Natalie Vitek, tying the game at 4-4. The winning run would come off a fielding error from Murray State's 3rd base allowing Rachael Schlotter to score and for the Eagles to win the game 5-4. Jenna Sprague would get the win for the Eagles coming in to pitch 3 innings, allowing 1 run and striking out 1. 

The Eagles were now in the NJCAA DII Softball World Series National Championship game against the St. John's River St. Vikings, and they were looking to avenge their earlier loss. They would need to win two games against the Vikings to take the title, but they were ready for the challenge. Kirkwood would score first in the game off a Delia Schwartz double, however, the Vikings would respond that same inning scoring two runs of their own and taking a 2-1 lead. Going into what could be the final inning of the year, Kirkwood was down by a score of 4-1, and the 7th inning would prove to be one of, if not the most exciting inning of the year. With two outs, Kirkwood was still down by 3 runs, but their never-die attitude would show through. Sailor Hall stepped up and singled to left field, scoring Brenna Ross. 2-4. Sydney Roe would reach first off a fielding error and Sailor Hall would score off that error as well. 3-4. Kiya Johnson would step up to the plate, her team down by one run, one runner on base. She would crush the ball over the left fielder's head for a home run and a 5-4 lead for the Eagles. Kirkwood was now 3 outs away from a game 2. However, St. John's River St. had gotten to the national championship for a reason and they would show that in the bottom of the 7th. A double to left field tied the game up at 5-5 and a walk-off home run would clinch the game for them by a score of 7-5. The Kirkwood Eagles would end their historic season as the NJCAA DII Softball World Series Runner-Up. 

After the best finish in 40 years for Kirkwood Softball as the national runner-up, three Eagles were named to the NJCAA DII Softball World Series All-Tournament Team. Freshman Brenna Ross (OF), freshman Kiya Johnson (INF), and freshman Peyton Driscoll (P), represented the Eagles on the list.