Reiver Softball Punches Their Ticket to Nationals!

COUNCIL BLUFFS - NJCAA No. 21 Iowa Western Softball defeated Jefferson 2-1 in the deciding game three of the Midwest District Final on Sunday morning.

The Reivers (49-6) took game one of the three-game series, 7-2, behind a complete game from Sophomore Saydee Plummer.  The righty would allow just a pair of runs to the Vikings on six hits and was backed by RBIs from six different Reivers, including a pair from Freshman Harlee Fowler.

Game two saw a pitching duel between the Vikings' Meena Taylor and Iowa Western's Logan Brown and Kyla Parker.  After giving up an RBI double from Ruclaireth Tovar Rodriguez in the first inning, Taylor settled in for the next three innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four; Jefferson (41-11) took the lead in the third inning on an RBI double from McKinley Rowinsky.

In the top half of the 5th, Freshman Taylin Tabor tied the game at two with her first home run of the season to right field.  Parker would come into relief in the fourth inning, working 4.2 scoreless innings.  The game would go to the eighth, tied at two, and following a leadoff single from Rowinsky, Morgan Kovach slapped a base hit down the left field line to walk off the Reivers in extra innings, 3-2, forcing a deciding game three.

Jefferson would again lean on Taylor in the circle following a 149 pitch performance to face Plummer.  Both pitchers worked two scoreless innings to start the game.  The Vikings struck first at the top of the 3rd on an RBI single to center field from Rowinsky with runners at first and second.  Keinlee Rinacke's throw home bounced off of the glove of catcher Lauren Black, and Kara Phillips tried to steal an extra run.  Black fielded the ball cleanly and flipped it to Plummer covering home, and applied the easy tag for the third out.

Rinacke would lead off the bottom of the frame with a single to right-center field.  A sacrifice bunt from Fowler moved her to second, and a two-out double from Kennedy Borud down the left field line tied the game at one a piece.

The game would come down to the bottom of the sixth inning.  Tabor was hit by an inside pitch by Taylor to lead off the frame and promptly stole second base for her 51st of the season. After Borud hit a line shot right at third base for the first out, Rodriguez blooped a single to right field, but Tabor was held at third, representing the go-ahead run.  That brought to the plate Kiana LeDoux, and on a 3-2 count, set a shot to left field, deep enough to send Tabor home on the tag, making it 2-1 with three outs remaining for the visitors.

In the top of the 7th, Parker got Morgan Kovach to pop up to first base, Reagan Kemp sent a line drive to center field that was tracked down by Rinacke for out number two.  Lucy Koenigsfeld was the last hope for the Vikings, but her ground ball found the glove of Tabor, and she fired a strike to first base for the final out.

With the victory, Iowa Western earns a spot at the NJCAA D1 National Tournament in Oxford, Alabama, and Choccolocco Park on May 25th through 30th.  For Reiver Softball, it's just the 5th appearance at the NJCAA Softball National Tournament in 45 years and the second for Head Coach Heidi Jordan in her four seasons at the program's helm.

Follow the Reivers on social media @reiversoftball and @goreivers for national tournament updates, as well as team hotel information as it becomes available.