Itasca Softball To Conclude Season Today

Posted: May 18, 2018

Rochester, MN-

The Itasca Community College fastpitch softball team will wrap up it's season today, Friday May 17, with a noon contest against Suffolk Community College at the NJCAA Division III Softball National Tournament, hosted by Rochester Sports and Rochester Community & Technical College.

Region XIIIB Softball Coach-of-the-Year Kyle Erickson and his Viking squad put together an strong run of wins at the right time to overcome a tough Central Lakes College team last week to earn their 2nd consecutive trip to the NJCAA Division III National Championships. Itasca constructed a regular season record of 23-16, including a 6-2 mark in the weather-shortened Minnesota College Athletic Conference slate. Over the course of the NJCAA Regional and National tournaments, ICC is currently 2-3 with their final game pending today and a chance to finish at .500 in NJCAA post-season.

In 2018, Itasca was paced offensively by Talyn McClaflin, who hit for an amazing .617 average in 2018 with 11 home runs to her credit and Kayla Christopherson at a .565 average and 60 runs scored. In the pitching circle, Anna Peters led Itasca in appearances with 27, followed closely by teammate Ali Tresco with 24. Peters racked up 13 wins and two saves on the year and threw a complete game on 16 occasions. Treso had nine wins for Itasca, while fellow hurler Madi Lathrop contributed ten appearances to ICC's season with three wins and a pair of complete games in 2018.

McLaflin was named as the NJCAA National Player-of-the-Week for the week of April 30 - May 6, one her strongest performances during a 2018 season in which she knocked in 74 RBI's. Xenia Hillman stole 13 bases for Itasca and led her team in at-bats, with 143.

The Vikings proved to be one of the top two Northern Division teams in the regular season, dispatching Mesabi Range College, Northland CTC and Hibbing Community College in two-game sweeps to earn six wins, but were not able to solve the CLC puzzle during the regular season; the Raiders dealt Itasca a pair of set-backs during the regular season by 6-4 and 13-11, scorelines respectively. However, in the Region XIIIB tournament, ICC won their first match-up with Central Lakes 3-0, and held the Raiders off in the championship game, 6-4 to book their ticket to Rochester.

For more on the NJCAA Division III Softball National Championship Tournament, please go to: https://www.rochestermnsports.org/2018njcaad3softball and Follow @RochesterSports

More complete information on the 2018 MCAC Softball Season can be found at: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/sball/index

About Softball in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference:

The Minnesota College Athletic Conference boasts a strong tradition in fastpitch softball; multiple decades of intercollegiate NJCAA competition has allowed student-athletes in the MCAC to pursue careers at four-year college programs and compete for National Championships.

Currently, MCAC Softball teams compete in a two-division alignment. Northern Division teams include Hibbing Community College, Itasca Community College, Mesabi Range College, Rainy River Community College, Central Lakes College, Northland Community & Technical College. The Southern Division is home to St. Cloud Technical & Community College, Ridgewater College, M State Fergus Falls, Anoka-Ramsey CC, Minnesota West CTC, Riverland Community College and Rochester Community & Technical College.

At the conclusion of the 2018 spring season, MCAC Division Champions and Divisional runner-up, as well as third and fourth-place finishing teams, will advance to the 2018 NJCAA Division III Region XIIIA and B Tournaments. The Region XIII A & B Tournaments will be hosted by the regular season champion. Winners of the 2018 NJCAA Region XIII A & B tournaments will advance to the 2018 NJCAA Division III National Tournament, held in Rochester, Minnesota on May 17-19.

Softball in the MCAC features athletes from over Minnesota and many surrounding states. Our campus environments include the opportunity to attend college and compete in a variety of Minnesota State System colleges, from the urban hubs of the Twin Cities, Rochester, and St. Cloud, and the picturesque college towns ranging from Thief River Falls to Ely, Worthington to Brainerd. Learn more at: http:/www.minnstate.edu

This release sponsored in part by:

Gopher Sport, based in Owatonna, is an industry leader in Physical Education, sports and fitness equipment. Gopher Sport is dedicated to providing programs and departments with the products to improve fitness, develop skills, create fun and reach a high standard of learning and living. Gopher Sport has diligently served teachers, coaches and athletic directors around the world for over 65 years.

About the Minnesota College Athletic Conference

The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State system. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.