NORMAL, Ill. – Fast defense by Kankakee Community College and quiet offense by Kalamazoo Valley Community College were a bad mix for the Cougars, as their season ended Friday in a six-inning 9-0 loss to KCC at the NCJAA National Championship tournament here.
As the team quietly gathered their equipment for one last time this season, coach Terry Reynolds reflected on a season that ended with a 44-14 record.
“At the start of the season, we knew we were going to be here (at the National Championship),” Reynolds said. “We knew that we had a lot of good defensive players and our pitching was exceptional.
“We planned on being here,” Reynolds said. He continued that that wasn’t going to be an issue despite a head coaching change that put Reynolds at the helm of this Cougars squad about one-third into the season.
“The girls are absolutely remarkable,” Reynolds said. “They have a lot of integrity (and) intestinal fortitude…All those adjectives that describe a winning team.
“They are champions,” Reynolds said quietly. “You can’t take regional and conference championships away from them. They are champions.”
But KCC (49-18) tried to do just that by showing an aggressive offense from the opening pitch, getting one run from first baseman Amber Nibling, who singled and scored on a fielder’s choice hit by right fielder Maggie Swanson. That gave KCC the lead at 1-0.
KCC scored two more runs in the third inning and one more in the fourth, going up 4-0, while its defense kept KVCC bats silent.
Winning pitcher Jessie Alesi fanned three KVCC batters, walking one. When she was not responsible for all the defense her team put in front of the Cougars.
When they did hit the ball, KVCC hitters couldn’t get past the short-to-first duo of Darah Nelson and Nibling. Nelson and Nibling were responsible for four outs against the Cougars.
KVCC changed pitchers in the fifth inning, sidelining losing pitcher Ashleigh Colpetsir after 4 2/3 innings in favor of Melissa Miller.
But KCC batters, starting with a double by Cavaliers left fielder Hannah Keller, shelled Miller for four hits and two walks during a five-run sixth inning.
“We couldn’t touch (Alesi),” Reynolds said. “She pitched very well against us. It was difficult to overcome mistakes we made in the outfield, but the name of the game is hitting, and we’ve been a hitting team all year.
“We take pride in our hitting,” Reynolds said. “We take pride in ourselves. It just didn’t happen for us today.”