Reivers' Record-Setting Season Comes to a Close.

OXFORD, Ala. - 15-seed Iowa Western Softball saw its season come to an end after a pair of defeats to 2-seed Northwest Florida and 16-seed McCook CC.  

The Reivers hung tough against the Raiders in game one of the day, going toe-to-toe with the defending NJCAA D1 softball national champions.  Northwest Florida plated a run in the bottom of the first inning, but then Sophomore Saydee Plummer shut them down over the next three innings, allowing just one hit to the nation's top offense, the rest of the way.

Iowa Western (50-8) tied the game in the sixth inning following a 30-minute rain delay.  Back-to-back one-out triples from Ruclaireth Tovar Rodríguez and Kiana LeDoux gave the Reivers life.  That excitement quickly ended as the Raiders responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning and set IW down in the final frame, taking the game, 4-1.

In game two, just a couple of hours later, it was an elimination game versus cross-state opponent McCook CC (NE).  The Indians struck first, with runners on the corners, Brooklynn Gillen stole second, and Paige Warren came home on the throw to second base by Lauren Black.

Iowa Western responded after a lead-off single from Taylin Tabor, extending her on-base streak to 58 games.  Kennedy singled to the right side with the ball being mis-played by right fielder, Kashlin Beck, allowing Tabor to score.

McCook added two more runs in the third inning, and the Reivers' bats were kept quiet by starting pitcher Paige Warren, who scattered five hits over six innings.

With the Indians leading 4-2 after six frames, McCook extended their lead with three runs on three hits to take a 7-2 edge. 

The Reivers wouldn't go down easily. Briannah Kutschkau reached on a throwing error to begin the 7th.  Taylin Tabor singled up the middle to put runners on first and second.  Kennedy Borud walked to load the bases with no outs.  Tovar Rodríguez singled to left field, scoring a pair to make it 7-4.  A fielder's choice and two strikeouts from left-handed pitcher Hannah Schneider ended the season for Iowa Western.

While the season didn't end the way they wanted it to, and it won't for all but one team in the end, the Reivers have plenty to be proud of.  The team set a new school record for batting average (.385), runs (540), stolen bases (151), and walks (227), and the 50 wins are just the third time in program history crossing 50 or more.

Saydee Plummer's 24 wins this year are the 6th most for a single season, and her 36 career victories put her in a 3-way tie for 5th most in IWCC history.

Freshmen Taylin Tabor and Kennedy Borud both had an incredible first year of college softball.  Tabor slashed .495/.594/.700 with 94 hits; 30 for extra bases, and single-season school records for runs (83) and stolen bases (51). She also began her collegiate career with an amazing 31-game hitting streak, surpassing Karis Gifford in 2022, who hit safely in 20 games in a row. Borud slugged a program best, .983 with 24 home runs and 90 RBI, the second most HR and RBI in a single year by a Reiver.

For Head Coach Heidi Jordan, in just her four seasons at IWCC, she runs her record at the program's helm to 148-53, second behind Lana Ross for the most wins in their first four years at IW, with Coach Ross' teams playing 21 more games. She's also led the program to three straight ICCAC Region 11 titles, the second to do so since Ross in 2011-13.