Call and Belmore Named to the NJCAA Region III All-Tournament Team

The Jefferson Cannoneers head to Herkimer for the Region Championship to play a best of 3 series with a trip to the national tournament on the line. Game 1 Jefferson would go down early as the Generals would post 3 runs in the first inning, and it would not be until the third inning when Kiannah Ward walked in a run that the game would see another score change.  Despite the rough early innings, Emily Birmingham would hold things down in the circle and would minimize the General offense to the 3 early runs for the remainder of the game to keep the Cannoneers in it.  Jefferson would still trail 3-1 into the final frame until a leadoff single from Katie Call followed by 5 walks would propel the Cannoneers to a 4-3 lead.  Delaney Wiley would be tasked with recording the save in which she cruised to a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh to record her second save in the playoffs and move Jefferson one win closer to a championship. 

Game 2 the Generals once again scored 3 runs in the opening inning, only this time their offense would continue to put up runs for a total of 15. Mackenzie Lane and Kiannah Ward would record the only 3 RBIs for Jefferson in game 2, while additionally KJ Belmore would go 3-5 on the afternoon.  Jefferson would drop game 2 15-3 and would face the Generals in a winner takes all game 3 on the following day.

Game 3 would see both offenses explode - Katie Call and Mackenzie lane would both drive in runs in a 3 run first, while Herkimer answered back with a run in the bottom of the inning.  Herkimer would tie it going into the third inning at 3 but Felicity Roberts would take that lead right back with an RBI single.  Herkimer again would counter the Jefferson offense with a run of their own tying it up at 4 a piece entering the fourth inning.  Jefferson would erupt for 4 runs in the fourth off a hot hitting Mackenzie Lane who drove in 2, while Birmingham and Hailey McGrew would each tack on a run as well.  Unfortunately for Jefferson, the wheels fell off in the fifth as nothing would go the Cannoneers' way as the Generals would put 8 runs on the board, followed by 3 more in the sixth.  Kiannah Ward would record a 3 run homerun in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 3, but the deficit was too much to overcome and the Cannoneers would lose the series 2 games to 1.  

Katie Call and KJ Belmore would be recognized for their fantastic play in the postseason as both players made the All-Tournament team.  Katie Call, tasked with being behind the dish, not only was a general on the field but with the bat as well.  In 5 postseason games Katie batted .438 with a .550 OBP while driving in 5 runs. KJ Belmore was just as good with the bat as she batted .562 with 3 RBIs - but despite her excellent offensive production, what stood out was her impact on defense as in both playoff series KJ would make incredible" highlight reel" worthy plays to not only record outs, but to also save several runs that would have changed the outlook of the Cannoneer playoffs.  

Despite the Cannoneers loss, it was an incredible season for Jefferson softball to make it just one win away from the national tournament, and we wish all of our sophomores' luck in their futures.