Louisburg College softball finished 2021 with the best season in school history.

The team was 48-8 on the year and 4-2 in the National Tournament. Both losses last weekend came against Jones College. Before the tournament began Phoenix College was ranked #1, Jones College was ranked #2, and Louisburg College was ranked #3 in the nation and that is how the week finished.

On May 25 the Hurricanes took on Oakland Community College and won 4-1. It was tied 1-1 after 1st inning. Then Louisburg scored 3 in the second and the score remained the same the rest of the way. Louisburg out-hit their opponent 9-4. Abbie Yarboro had 2 RBI and Haleigh Joyner had 1.

Ina Womack was the winning pitcher going 3 innings, giving up 1 run. Ellen Palya and Carrigan Ewers came on to finish the game. They held Oakland scoreless in the final three innings. Louisburg pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts.

On May 26 Louisburg faced off against Kirkwood Community College. The final score was 3-0 in the Hurricanes favor.

Ellen Palya was one strike away from a no hitter. She pitched a complete game, giving up 1 hit, and accumulated 13 strikeouts. 

Louisburg had 9 hits. Haleigh Joyner was 3-4. Amber McLaren was 2-3 with 2 runs scored.

Lark Collins and Jessica Russell each had 1 RBI.

"We have a lot of respect for Kirkwood," said Louisburg coach Eric Lee. "Eric Frese does a really good job. It was a big win for us because they knocked us out of the tournament two years ago."

The next day the Hurricanes faced off against Jones College and were defeated 1-0. Jordyn Scott, Foster Sharpe, McLaren and Russell all had a hit, but couldn't put anything together to score. They came closest in the fifth inning with runners on 1st and 2nd. Lark Collins hit a warning track shot that was knocked down by the wind and kept the score 0-0. In stayed that way until the 9th inning.

Palya went three innings in the circle and was followed by Carrigan Ewers who went 4 innings. Ina Womack gave up two hits in the 9th and was the losing pitcher.

"It was two heavyweight fighters trading blows. Unfortunately somebody had to lose and they made one more play than we did," said Coach Lee.

Later that day the Hurricanes defeated Des Moines Area Community College 8-4.

The Hurricanes had 7 hits in all. Joyner was 2-3 with 4 RBI. She and Scott each had a home run. 

According to Coach Lee, "Offensively we came alive and took better at bats. I thought we played with an edge knowing that we were in a win or go home situation."

Carrigan Ewers was the winning pitcher. She gave up 2 runs in 5 ⅔ innings.

On May 28 the Hurricanes dominated Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College 11-1. They got out to 7 nothing lead mid-way through the 2nd inning before Mississippi Gulf Coast countered with their lone run.

The Hurricanes had 15 hits including home runs from Brianna Tucker and Caroline White.

Tucker was 3-4 with 3 runs scored. Foster Sharpe was 2-2 with 2 runs scored. Joyner was 2-4 with 2 runs scored.

Ina Womack was the winning pitcher. She went 5 innings and gave up 1 run on 6 hits.

Coach Lee commented, "This was the game where we really showed just how dominant we could be offensively and defensively. It was a lot of fun to watch."

Later that day the Hurricanes had a rematch with Jones College. They were defeated 15-2.

Jones had a 6-2 lead going into the 5th when they broke it open. The Hurricanes had 6 hits and only 1 RBI coming from Jessica Russell.

Ellen Palya was the starting pitcher. She went 2⅓ innings and gave up 2 runs. Ewers, Tomlinson, Womack, and Mackenzie Silvia all stepped into the circle to no avail. Each gave up at least one earned run, with 9 walks between them. Jones had 14 hits in the contest.

"I think we finally ran out of gas," said Coach Lee. "The late nights and early mornings caught up to us, and we could find the magic that we had in the games prior."

Haleigh Joyner, Ellen Palya, Amber McLaren were named to the all-tournament team. Brianna Tucker was named the tournament's most outstanding defensive player.

"This team was always special. They went through so much this year on and off the field and were able to come out with the best finish for any Region 10 program in history," said Coach Lee. "It has been an honor to coach this group, and I'm excited about the future because of the foundation that Haleigh Joyner and Haley Tomlinson and the rest of the sophomore class has laid."

Coach Lee continued, "It is never easy to swallow the end of a season, but I do believe that in time we will be able to look back at this year with a great deal of pride, knowing how much we accomplished--both for Louisburg College and Region 10."