Rock Valley championship streak ends, South Suburban, Joliet notch wins on national stage

SPARTANBURG, SC & DEWITT, NEW YORK - Following an unprecedented run of eight consecutive national titles, Rock Valley College's streak has ended in their first season at a higher division. The Golden Eagles, who jumped from Division III to Division II in 2023, was out after two games following a loss to Region 4 foe South Suburban College at the 2023 NJCAA Division II Softball Championship. The Bulldogs went 1-2 in their first appearance since 2000, while Joliet Junior College posted a 2-2 record and came within two wins of reaching the championship series at the 2023 NJCAA Division III Softball Championships. 

Rock Valley, playing as the #7-seed, lost their opener 8-3 to #10-seed Des Moines Area Community College, and the #15-seeded Bulldogs dropped a 6-1 first round game to #2-seed Louisburg Community College to set up a showdown between the two Region 4 representatives. South Suburban raced out to a 5-0 lead with three runs in the first inning and one each in the second and fourth. The Golden Eagles answered with three in the fourth, but two more SSC runs in the sixth, including a solo home run by Diana Martin gave the Bulldogs the 7-3 upset that sent RVC (44-12) back home without any hardware for the first time since 2013. The Bulldogs followed it up with a heartbreaking 2-0 loss to #8-seed Kirkwood Community College on two solo home runs. SSC finished the year 37-14.

Joliet Junior College arrived in upstate New York as the #6 seed and jumped out to a seven-run lead thanks to a four-run first inning and a three-run second inning to upset #3-seeded Brookdale Community College 7-1. The Wolves were then run-ruled by #2-seeded and eventual national runners-up Corning Community College by a 10-1 tally in five innings. Still with some fight left in them, JJC responded with a resounding 8-1 defeat of #4 RCSJ Gloucester that included runs in each of the first three innings, highlighted by a three-run homer from Savannah Anderson in the third inning. Emily Johnske added a solo shot in the sixth to keep the season alive for one more game. In their second straight elimination game, Joliet had no answers for perennial power and #5-seed Herkimer Community College in a 15-0 loss in five innings that ended their season with a 35-23 record.

Third-year players Natalie Tatera and Savannah Anderson were both named to the NJCAA Division III All-Tournament Team.

Results: Division II | Division III

Brackets: Division II | Division III