By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Clinton, Miss.---The Owens Community College softball team suffered a 7-0 loss to No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to open the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Tournament today.

With the loss, Owens falls into the loser's bracket where they will take on No. 10 Sauk Valley Community College at 2:30 p.m. ET tomorrow. Should they win that game, they would take on the loser of No. 1 Phoenix College and No. 8 Kankakee Community College.

In today's game, the Owens offense opened with a 1-2-3 first inning. In the bottom half, Mississippi Gulf Coast opened the game with a double and a walk. A passed ball, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch allowed two unearned runs to score off Lesley Ducat (Evergreen/Lyons, Ohio).

Following that, Owens had a couple chances over the next two innings, but came up short. In the second, Paige Younker (Wilmington/Port William, Ohio) and Josie Hall (New London/New London, Ohio) each singled with one out, but a line drive double play ended the inning.

In the third, Makayla Burtscher (Bedford/Temperance, Mich.) and Brittany George (Elmwood/Wayne, Ohio) each singled with two outs, but George was out after trying to stretch her single into a double to end the inning.

In the sixth, George and Jacey Gray (Springfield/Holland, Ohio) each singled with one out, but back to back outs ended the threat with a pair of runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi Gulf Coast offense plated four runs in the third, highlighted by a three-run home run, before adding a single run in the sixth to close the game's scoring.

Ducat's final line included five innings, nine hits, seven runs (five earned) and three walks. She struck out two. Lexi Williams (Home School/Swanton, Ohio) pitched the final inning. She allowed one hit and two walks.

Kaitlyn Lee picked up the complete game win for Mississippi Gulf Coast.

George, Younker and Hall each had two hits apiece for Owens (31-17).

Notes

Following the game, Tori Weidinger (Whitmer/Toledo, Ohio) took part in the NJCAA Home Run Derby. With 10 total swings, she hit three home runs. She did not make it to the final round of the contest.

Despite the loss, two players from Owens achieved milestones today. Ducat recorded her 300th career strikeout to lead off the fourth inning, while Gray recorded her 50th stolen base of the season in the sixth inning.