Ottumwa, IA – The Indian Hills Softball team swept Southwestern Community College on Wednesday to advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 11 Championship game. The Warriors upended the Spartans 4-3 and 10-0 to move to 31-14 overall on the year.

The Warriors held off the Spartans in the opener of the NJCAA Region 11 Semifinal round before rolling past Southwestern in five innings in the nightcap. The win sends the Warriors to the championship round for the 10^th consecutive year. The Warriors won eight consecutive regional titles from 2015-2023.

Indian Hills, the top-seed in the tournament, will now square off against second-seeded Iowa Western Community College Sunday afternoon at R.L. Hellyer Field in Ottumwa. The two programs matched up in last year's region championship that saw the Reivers capture the championship. Indian Hills and Iowa Western will match up in the region championship series for the sixth time in the last 10 seasons.

The Warriors struck first in game one vs. Southwestern on Wednesday, building a 4-0 lead through three innings of play, including a solo home run from sophomore Ava Smith (Waukee, IA/Waukee Northwest) in the third. The Warrior duo of Ashlynn Sheets (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) and Jordyn Beck (Marion, IA/Linn-Mar) teamed up in the circle to hold off a late rally from the Spartans to close out the game one victory.

Sophomore Peyton Raley (Arvada, CO/Arvada West) and freshman Mary-Paige Withers (Le Claire, IA/Pleasant Valley) both tallied a pair of hits in the win while Smith produced two RBI. Sheets scattered four hits while allowing just one run to secure her 16^th win of the year while Beck secured her fifth save of the season.

Game two saw the Warrior offense erupt from the get-go. Indian Hills plated a run in the first before tacking on five runs in the second, highlighted by a solo home run from Cassandra Benberg (Green Bay, WI/Pulaski). A three-run home run from Shanna Buford (Donnellson, IA/Central Lee) extended the lead to 10-0 in the third, a margin the Warriors held on to the rest of the way to complete the sweep.

Buford Bomb ��

Shanna breaks it open with a three-run home run to make it 10-0 Warriors in the 3rd.@GoHillsTv | #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/EDUVtaKV3z

— Indian Hills Softball (@WarriorSoftball) April 30, 2025

Benberg, Smith, and freshman Avery Kies (Iowa City, IA/Regina Catholic) each recorded two hits in the win for the Warriors while Raley added two runs scored and a pair of RBI for the Warriors. Sophomore Alivia Ruble (Lacona, IA/Southeast Warren) struck out seven batters on her way to her 13^th victory of the year.

With the two wins, the Warriors secured their 30^th and 31^st victories of the year, the 10^th consecutive season Indian Hills has reached the 30-win milestone. The Warriors have won at least 30 games in 32 of the team's 34 years in the modern era of Indian Hills Softball.

First pitch for the Warriors and Reivers is set for 12:00 PM. The winner of the best-of-three series will advance to the NJCAA Midwest District Championship round, hosted by the winner of NJCAA Region 16 in Missouri, set for May 9-10.

HOW TO WATCH

As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of all Indian Hills home softball games. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:

• Facebook: visit www.facebook.com/gohillstv
• GoHillsTV App: Download the GoHillsTV app on your android or ios device
• Website: https://www.gohillstv.com/browse to catch all live and archived information
• Roku Streaming Device (new):  Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!

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