COMMUNITY: Eagles flying high into nationals

The Kirkwood softball team is having a season for the ages.

The Eagles (55-3) followed their Region XI title by capturing the District F Championship last weekend, beating Dawson Community College of Glendive, Mont., 12-0.

The win was the 48th straight for Kirkwood and sent the team to the NJCAA Division II national tournament as the No. 3 seed.

The Eagles have the highest winning percentage (.946) of all national tournament qualifiers and lead the nation in multiple categories, including runs scored (524), homeruns (101), walks (218) and opponent batting average (.176).

It's also been a record-breaking campaign for the Eagles. Sophomore Kayla Tatge broke the team's career homerun record and sophomore Amber Logemann set the team mark for the most strikeouts in a game.

The mix of a potent offense and great pitching have propelled the Eagles all season, butCoach Joe Yegge said his team will have to be on its toes at all time during the national tournament.

“At this point in the season everyone is ready to win games,” Yegge said. “You're going to get every team's best everyday. The competition will be top-notch.”

Yegge said while the squad is mentally in a good place after winning regional and divisional championships, the Eagles are going into the tournament ready to compete.

“Right now our team is excited to participate in a national tournament,” Yegge said. “I think as a whole we are going down to Mississippi with a relaxed attitude and ready to play good ball.”

The NJCAA Division II championship begin Wednesday and run through Saturday at Traceway Park in Clinton, Miss. LSU-Eunice (La.) is the top seed at 57-5 and Phoenix (Ariz.) College is No. 2 at 44-15.