On May 1, the Joliet Junior College softball team won the NJCAA Division III Region 4 Championship with a win over College of DuPage and set a program record with 39 wins. Starting on May 8, the Wolves will host the District Championships and play and a shot at returning to the NJCAA Division III World Series.
Heading into the regional tournament, the Wolves were playing at a high level with a record of 34-11.
With this, they have also had an overall team batting average of .384. Their on base percentage of .454, which is how often the team gets on base in any type of way. And a slugging percentage of .571, which measures overall team hitting power when at bat.
Going into the end of the season, the Wolves are ranked as the 5th best team in division three NJCAA softball, according to the NJCAA official website.
Some of the outstanding Wolves would have to be sophomore third basemen Skylar Welcome, leading the team in total RBIs on the season, as well as tied for third in total RBIs in all of division three NJCAA softball. Sophomore outfielder Lauren Pell leads the team in stolen bases, as well as second in division three NJCAA softball for total stolen bases. Sophomore first base Taylor Wells is not only is leading the team in homeruns with six on the season but also finds herself in the top ten in homeruns in all of division three NJCAA softball, tied at 9th. Freshman pitcher Karli McMillin finds herself in second in the entire NJCAA division three softball in both ERA and saves.
“I feel our season has been beyond expectations,” said Head Coach Mike Bednarz. “I get to work with a great group of very talented young ladies every day. The strengths and weakness of any team in baseball or softball is their pitching and defense. Ours have both been above average this (season) and have been a huge reason for the success we’ve had. If we could improve on one thing it would be our clutch hitting and our offensive consistency. When we’ve been able to string hits together we have been very successful.”
