Pitcher of the Year Melaas, N4C MVP Riordan lead RVC to seventh straight NJCAA National Championship

The Rock Valley College softball dynasty now boasts an unprecedented seven consecutive NJCAA Division III National Championships following a a resounding 13-2 defeat of SUNY Corning Community College at the 2021 NJCAA Division III Softball Championships in Syracuse, New York. The Region 4 Division III champion Golden Eagles finished the spring with a 50-7 record for their fourth straight 50-win season.

Rock Valley College, playing as the tournament's #1 seed, outscored the opposition by a 57-3 margin. After opening with a 25-0 route of #8 Rainy River Community College (MN), the Golden Eagles went on to defeat #4 North Dakota State College of Science 11-1 and Corning 8-0 to reach the championship game. A rematch with Corning saw RVC fall behind 1-0 in the first inning before scoring at least one run in every inning after that. 

Sophomore outfielder Trinity Fry was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player, freshman pitcher Ashton Melaas took home Tournament Most Outstanding Pitcher, and first year catcher/outfielder Kayla Freiberg earned Tournament Most Outstanding Offensive Player. Second year catcher Kirstin Fudge and freshman infielder Kaitlin Regnier were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Darin Monroe was awarded his seventh NJCAA Coach of the Tournament award. Melaas, a Roscoe, Illinois, native, was also selected as the NJCAA Division III Pitcher of the Year.

Region 4 was also represented by the College of DuPage, which received an at-large bid into the tournament field and were awarded the #6 seed. The Chaparrals went 1-3 and finished in sixth place at after a narrow 7-6 loss to #4 North Dakota SCS in the 5th Place Game. The College of DuPage finished the year 19-20, and placed freshman infielder Kelsey Warren on the All-Tournament Team.

At the Region 4 Division III Tournament, Rock Valley College finished as champions for the eighth-consecutive year by sweeping the College of DuPage in the championship best-of-three series by scores of 14-2 and 11-3.

2021 Region 4 Division III All-Tournament Team
Ashton Melaas - Rock Valley College
Trinity Fry - Rock Valley College
Kayla Freiberg - Rock Valley College
Kirstin Fudge - Rock Valley College
Elizabeth Schriner - Rock Valley College
Amber Dasenbrock - College of DuPage
Ashley Eiermann - College of DuPage
Carlee Baker - College of DuPage
Bailey Weck - Joliet Junior College
Samantha Serrano - Milwaukee Area Technical College

Coach of the Year
Darin Monroe - Rock Valley College