DANVILLE — Entering the final week of the regular season, the Danville Area Community College Lady Jaguars had an opportunity for pair of major accomplishments.
After splitting with Illinois Central College and Parkland College in softball, DACC claimed their first conference title since 1988 but came one game short to securing the top seed in the Region 24 Tournament.
How did that happen?
Illinois Central is not part of the Mid-West Athletic Conference for softball, but games against the Cougars do count in the Region 24 standings.
“We were all separated by 1 game,’’ said DACC coach Matt Cervantes. “If we would have swept Parkland in the final doubleheader, we would have gotten both the conference title and the No. 1 seed.’’
Instead, Parkland earned the No. 1 seed with a 19-5 region record, Illinois Central is seeded No. 2, also with a 19-5 region record, while DACC is the third seed with a 18-6 record in the region.
So this weekend, the Jaguars travel to Thome Field in East Peoria for the Region 24-B Tournament. DACC opens against Heartland Community College at noon on Saturday with the winner facing Illinois Central at 3 p.m. Parkland is hosting the Region 24-A Tournament against Lincoln Land and Lewis & Clark. Both tournaments are double-elimination with the winner advancing to the Central District Tournament May 12-13 at a site to be determined.
The Lady Jaguars (32-11) won 15 of their final 17 games in region play after starting just 3-4.
Does Cervantes regret that slow start?
“No, I think everything our squad, our team went through was for a reason,’’ he said. “One thing that this group does, is that they fight and they are resilient in every facet. I don’t look back and think what if. I look forward and I’m thankful we have an opportunity this weekend. That’s the same mindset that my girls are taking this weekend.
“We have been playing some of our best softball here at the end of the regular season, we have been putting all the pieces together. This group like to run to challenges and they want to play the best people.’’
DACC split with both Heartland Community College and Illinois Central during the regular season.
“We actually won or tied every series in conference play,’’ Cervantes said. “We were the outright M-WAC champions because we won three out of four against Parkland.
“We have also beaten every pitcher in our region, so while we have to go through some stiff competition, this team isn’t going to shy away from that.’’
Not only did the Jaguars have success against the Region 24-B opponents this season, but some of their confidence was built starting the year playing three nationally-ranked teams in Pearl River, Jones College and Indiana River as well as splitting a twinbill against NJCAA Division I Indian Hills.
And while confidence is an important factor for DACC, Cervantes also points out that the Jaguars have had success because of all 22 players on their roster.
“It’s hard to label one area or one or two players that have been key for us,’’ Cervantes said. “Everyone on this team has filled their roles in various ways.’’
To further illustrate his point.
DACC has five pitchers that have thrown 25 or more innings this season, eight batters who have 24 or more RBIs, 10 players who have scored 20 or more runs and seven batters with double-digit extra-base hits.
“We have a really good offense,’’ said Cervantes, whose team averages 8.7 runs per game. “Our pitching and our defense have been on in the latter half of the season and that led to our strong finish.
“We have a lot of depth and we trust each other.’’
More evidence of their depth is the fact that six different players leading at least one offensive category.
Sophomore Pailei Cripe is the team leader in RBIs (30), runs (44), walks (25) and triples (3). She shares the RBI and triples lead with Mia Herbert, who also leads in doubles (15). Kennedy Highley, who also has three triples along with Gloria Richardson, leads DACC with 54 hits, while Marin Gonski is the team leader with .430 average and Zoe Foxworthy-Dejournett is the team leader in stolen bases with 18.
“That’s why is hard to pinpoint one or two key players. Each player has filled their role for this team,’’ Cervantes said. “It’s kind of a coach’s dream to have all of these options.
“We don’t have to rely on anyone, we can get something going anywhere in our lineup and we able to score crooked numbers in a lot of innings.’’
DACC is looking for its fourth trip to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in eight seasons after advancing in 2023, 2022 and 2017.