The Highland Community College softball squad needed only one game on the second day of the NJCAA Division II District E Championship to seal the deal on the District Tournament and qualify for the National Tournament.  Coach Heidi Jordan’s team defeated Labette Community College 6-3 to return to the NJCAA National Championships for the fourth straight year, where they have been seeded seventh.  Highland will play Sauk Valley Community College, the tenth seed, at 3:30 pm on Wednesday, May 15. 

The Labette Cardinals came into the Championship game on a roll, having won the morning qualifying game, and started the game against the Scotties with a first inning home run to get on the board first.  In previous runs to the National Tournament, the Scotties relied on dominant pitching.  This year, the offense has been strong and came through again as sophomore outfielder Katie Yoder (Shawnee) hit a two-run single and NJCAA Region VI home run leader Kaley Pyles (DeKalb, MO) followed with a blast over the left field fence to put the Scotties ahead for good.

The Scotties will travel to Traceway Park in Clinton, MS, for the NJCAA National Tournament, May 15-18.  Throughout the National Tournament, the College Web site at www.highlandcc.edu will have a banner on the Home Page that will contain the most current Tournament information, including streaming information of the Scottie games.