HAWKS SECURE FIRST ICCAC SWEEP IN PROGRAM HISTORY

MASON CITY, Iowa – The Northeast Community College softball team was back in Mason City, Iowa Sunday to complete their series with North Iowa Area Community College. The Hawks entered the day looking for their first conference sweep in program history after taking the first two games Saturday. They were able to do just that as they were winners of Game 3 by a final score of 21-14 and came out on top by a final score of 19-13 in Game 4. 

The Hawks (24-22, 7-13 ICCAC) got off to a hot start for the third time in the series in Game 3 as they jumped ahead 4-0 early. The Trojans however scored five runs in the bottom half of inning one to take a 5-4 lead. NIACC would lead by as much as 11-6 in the ballgame, but the Hawks would not go down without a fight. The fourth inning proved to be an advantageous one for the Hawks as Jade Koch (Norfolk, Neb.), Mia Eickhoff (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Brianna Aguilera (Pierce, Neb.) would all collect RBIs to give Northeast a 12-11 lead. The Hawks kept battling and scoring insurance runs throughout the rest of the contest as they would total a series-high 21 runs and take the victory. 

Game 2 was a similar high-scoring affair as the Trojans jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after the first inning. The Hawks would go on to score 11 runs in the second inning, three runs in the third, one in the fourth, one in the fifth, one in the sixth and two more in the seventh. The bats for the Hawks were sharp all weekend as they were able to score 63 runs as an offense during the series.   

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH  

Interim head softball coach Jade Long's thoughts on her team taking leads almost instantly after falling behind in both games:

"I told the team after that last game that I loved the grit that I saw from them," Long said. "They have that never back down mentality. Sometimes I feel like we play our best ball when our back is up against the wall. They just showed that they never wanted to give up." 

Long's overall thoughts on sweeping the four-game set with NIACC: 

"Sweeping the weekend is always just an amazing thing. We had kind of talked a couple of weekends ago about how we really wanted to make a statement in the program. We had talked about how we don't think we ever won all games of a four-game series in conference, so it's a little historic in its own. Just a good feeling overall for the team and the girls." 

How Long wants to build on this weekend as the season is winding down: 

"We have Iowa Central coming up this next weekend and then we have the region tournament after that," Long said. "I think if we show up ready to compete from inning one of Game 1 the rest of the season, good things are going to happen for us. This team has proven itself all season long. Postseason is the best time and I'm just excited to know what they have in store." 

UP NEXT  

The Hawks will welcome Iowa Central Community College to town for the final series of the regular season. The first game of a doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at Ta-Ha-Zouka Park in Norfolk.  

HAWKS HAPPENINGS  

For all the latest information on Northeast Hawks Athletics, please visit northeasthawks.com. For updates and other exciting content, follow:  

@northeastcchawks on Facebook  

@northeasthawks on Instagram  

@northeasthawks on TikTok 

@NortheastHawks on Twitter 

@NortheastCCSB on Twitter