Delaware Tech’s road to becoming Regional and District Champions
It would all start with a three-team tournament consisting of Delaware Tech, Lackawanna College, and Mercer Community College, which would become a combined region and district championship tournament after colleges in neighboring regions declined to participate in postseason play. Delaware Tech would host the tournament as the #1 seed.
In the opening game of the tournament, Mercer County would pull off an upset 4-2 win over DTCC on May 13th. MCC also would snag another upset win over Lackawanna College in the tourney.
What happened to DTCC in the first round of the combined tournament against Mercer County? Head coach Guy Wilkins explains that not seeing competition for almost two weeks had the team a little rusty.
“We hadn’t played in two weeks, and we hadn’t seen live pitching in two weeks before we played the first game when Mercer beat us,” Wilkins said.
“Batting practice is totally different than seeing a ball out of a pitcher’s hands.”
Delaware Tech would bounce back in their next game with a 6-4 over Lackawanna College.
The Championship game of the tournament was a doubleheader against MCC on May 14th, where DTCC would come out on fire by scoring eight runs in the bottom of the first inning. Rain would shut the game down at 8-0 lead for Delaware Tech, but the play picked up again on May 17th.
The layoff did not affect DTCC’s offense as the team won the first game 14-1 and then cruised through the second one with an 18-0 win to be crowned NJCAA Region 19 and NJCAA Northeast District champions.
Here are some stats from the tournament from the back-to-back champs!
- Kandice Schlabach batted a combined 6-for-8 with two 2-run home runs and five RBIs.
- Macey Myers also batted 6-for-8 with three doubles and five RBIs.
- Jada Courtney batted 5-for-7 with two doubles and four RBIs.
- Kaniah James batted 5-for-7 with five RBIs.
- Kylie Kruger batted 5-for-8 with four RBIs.
- Logan Walls batted 5-for-9 with five RBIs.
- Lauren Smith improves to 14-2 this year with a 1.89 ERA.
- Carly Collins improves to a 12-1 record with a 1.42 ERA.
How did Coach Wilkins feel after winning back-to-back titles for the school?
“This feels great,” Head Coach Guy Wilkins said. “It’s the first time in a very long time that this program has won back-to-back district championships, and it’s a great accomplishment for the program and the school.”
The team now heads back to the National Tournament with a roster that knows what kind of competition to expect in Alabama, as most of the softball team returned this year that won a game for the first time in program history in the tourney last year.
Delaware Tech is one of just five teams returning from last year’s national tournament.
“We have experience from last year, so we know what we are getting into,” Wilkins said. “I think that experience, and the better pitching we faced throughout the year, will help. “I think we have a chance to make some noise.”
The players are echoing the same message of their head coach about how the team’s experience from last year will help go further this year.
DTCC’s first baseman Jada Courtney said this about their trip back to Alabama this year:
“We want to compete this year, we want to win more games and we want to have fun, said Courtney. We will know what to expect this year. We know what the competition will be like and we will be prepared. We need to hit, play defense, and have fun.”
Delaware Tech’s catcher/outfielder Kaniah James said this about the overall feeling of the team this year:
“We are all pretty excited. The team chemistry this year is great and we are going down there really bonded, said James. We are such a well-rounded team, I know everyone is going to do their part. As long as we do the basics right we are going to be fine.”
The 2022 NJCAA Division II Softball National Tournament takes place May 24-28 in Oxford, Alabama.
Delaware Tech is seeded #15 in the tournament and will play #2 Phoenix in the first round.
College Delaware Sports Blitz 