The Dawson Community College Lady Bucs will be hosting the Kirkwood Community College Eagles in the District H Championship Series in Glendive on Wednesday, May 15th. The doubleheader will be at 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm and then Game 3, if necessary, will be on Thursday, May 16th at 12:00 noon. The winner of the series will automatically qualify for nationals in Clinton, Mississippi May 22-25. The Lady Bucs have never been to the D2 National Tournament.
It will be a battle of titans with both teams coming in with high powered offenses.
Kirkwood is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and are ranked 7th in the country in the latest polls with a record of 48-14 on the year. They won the Region XIB Tournament by beating North Iowa Area Community College. On the season, the Eagles have a batting average of .359, on base percentage of .424, slugging percentage of .562 and have hit 66 home runs in 62 games. They are 1st in the country in doubles and stolen bases; 2nd in the country in runs, RBI’s and extra base hits; 3rd in the country in total bases, sacrifice hits and walks; and 4th in hits. Their pitchers have also thrown the 4th most shutouts in the nation this year (16).
Dawson was ranked 18th in the latest polls and have the best record in the country at 42-3. They won the Region XIII Tournament by defeating Bay College of Michigan in the Championship Game 15-3. The Lady Bucs have a batting average of .396, on base percentage of .467 and slugging percentage of .618 while crushing 49 home runs in 45 games. They rank in the top 10 in the country in runs, RBI’s, sacrifice flies, batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. Their pitchers also have Dawson ranked in the top 10 in earned run average, shutouts, and batting average against.
Kirkwood’s ace pitcher Erin Hocker is coming home to Montana for the district tournament. Hocker, a freshman from Great Falls, pitched a pair of shutouts last Sunday to win the regional and put the Eagles one step away from nationals. She pitched all 12 innings in the two games and only allowed 3 hits and no runs while striking out 12. She is 26-8 on the year with a 1.89 ERA, ranking 2nd in the country with 234 strikeouts in 215 innings.
Dawson’s ace is Shelby Martin, a freshman from Helena Capital High School. Martin was named the Region XIII Tournament MVP last week. Martin was 2-0 in the region tournament and went 6-11 at the plate. In 23 appearances on the mound, Martin went 16-1 on the season with 19 complete games while striking out 131 in 110 innings. Her ERA was 2.23. At the plate, she hit .465 with a .518 OBP and .921 slugging percentage. Martin banged 10 home runs and 16 doubles to go along with 47 RBI’s.
The temperature is expected to be in the 80’s in Glendive on Wednesday, making for a beautiful day for softball. Ticket prices will be $10 for adults and $5 for children for all three games. DCC faculty, staff and students get in for free. Bucs Club passes will be honored.
The doubleheader on Wednesday will get started with the first pitch at 2:00 pm.
Games will be online on the following links:
DAWSON ATHLETICS WEBSITE www.dawsonbucs.com
DAWSON BUCS FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/DCCBuccaneers/
DAWSON BUCS TWITTER www.twitter.com/DCCBuccaneers
TOURNAMENT VIDEO LIVE STREAM: http://www.dawsonbucs.com/listen_watch/index
TOURNAMENT RADIO BROADCAST: KDZN FM 96.5 • http://web.kxgn.com/kdzn-radio/