Lady Dolphins secure spot in Regional Tournament with victory over Lamar-Port Arthur on Sophomore Day

ACC Softball entered the final games of the season needing to win at least one of the two games to make the NJCAA Region 14 Tournament in Bossier Parish next week. Lamar Port-Arthur needed a sweep of ACC in order to make it in. 

The Dolphins struck first in game one, with Savannah Salazar scoring on a defensive mishap by the Seahawks. A sac fly from Alexia Arambula scored Caitlyn Garza, and ACC lead 2-0 through two innings. Garza singled in Sophomore Grace Coleman to stretch the lead to three in the bottom of the third. ACC's starter worked around multiple baserunners all game long, most notably when she struck out the Seahawks cleanup hitter with the bases loaded and two outs to end the top of the fifth inning. Brammer helped her own cause with an RBI single that drove in Sophomore Hazel Martinez, putting ACC up 4-0. Sophie Brammer exited after six strong innings of shutout ball, striking out five. Brammer gave way to BeAnka Galan who worked her way into a bases loaded jam with just one out, but she struck out the Seahawks next two batters to complete the shutout. The Dolphins 4-0 victory secured their place in the tournament. 

After acknowledging the Sophomores who were about to play their final home game at Ruth Ryan Field, the second game began with Lamar-PA striking first on steal of home, in part to a defensive miscue by ACC. The Dolphins struck back in the bottom of the third, with ACC's first run of the game coming on Sophomore Brooke Martin's RBI single that scored Sophomore Alyssa Keene. Salazar singled in Martin to make it 2-1 Dolphins. With the bases loaded and one out, Caitlyn Garza struck out but the Seahawks catcher tried to pick off Salazar at first and the errant throw allowed both Coleman and Martinez to score, putting ACC up 4-1. ACC added an insurance run when Salazar doubled in Coleman in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore Delaney Gray entered in the top of the fifth for the Sophomore Haley Vinton after four innings of one run ball, and did not allow a baserunner in her two innings of work. Leading 5-1 in the top of the seventh, needing just three outs, ACC put Sophomore Alexis Tamez in to pitch and Lamar-PA scratched across 6 runs against her before Vinton had to re-enter, taking ACC into the bottom of the seventh inning, trailing 7-5. Three straight hits loaded the bases for the Dolphins and Izzy Doggett tied the game with a two run single. Arambula ended the Dolphins threat after she smoked a liner right to the Seahawks' Left Fielder to send the game to extra innings. An RBI ground out and a sac fly put Lamar-PA back on top 9-7 in the top of the eighth inning. ACC loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth, and scored on an RBI fielder's choice, but the Dolphins would fall short, dropping the second contest by a final score of 9-8 (F8). 

ACC finished the regular season with a 24-28 record and an 11-13 conference record, which puts them in the fourth and final playoff spot in the south region. ACC has now made the regional tournament for the second straight year under Head Coach Jerri Torres-Farmer. The tournament will take place May 3rd-May 6th.