ST. GEORGE — The No. 6-ranked SLCC softball team (53-11) finished as the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) runner-up for the third consecutive season. The Bruins played a total of three contests on Saturday, defeating Pima College 8-5 in 12 innings at the play-in game and splitting a pair of National Championship Game matchups with Wallace State College (WSC) with an 8-0 win and a 7-3 loss at the Canyons Complex.
A dominant pitching performance from freshman Kailey Christensen helped No. 2-seed SLCC force a second national championship game as the Bruins blanked No. 8-seed Wallace State CC, 8-0 Saturday afternoon.
Christensen fanned three and held Wallace State to just four hits in the complete game shutout. The Bruin offense, meanwhile, came alive early behind a two-run homer by Whitney Holt and a bases-clearing single by Susan Duke.
The Bruins, though, came up short in the final game. Christensen got the start but gave up two runs in her only inning of work, while sophomore MaCauley Flint pitched the final six frames and gave up five runs. Maddy Woodard went 3-for-4 with a home run for the Bruins in the loss.