DEWITT, New York — A magical season has come to an end for the Wolves as Joliet Junior College softball finished in third place during the NJCAA Division III World Series in Dewitt, New York.

With a final record of 44-15, the Wolves set a new program record for wins in a season after battling through adversity dating back to last summer.

"Our girls fought through adversity and uncertainty since August," said interim head coach Mike Bednarz. "They stuck with things and never quit or looked for a different situation. They believed in themselves and each other and pushed forward. They never once got down and they trusted the process."

Quarterfinal

The Wolves forced a rematch against Patrick & Henry Community College to open the third day of the World Series, this time avenging their tournament-opening loss with a 3-2 victory.

Averi Jury (16-2) pitched seven innings in which she allowed seven hits and one earned run. 

At the plate, Lea Herkel went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while Karli McMillin was also 1-for-3 with a double. Skylar Welcome recorded one hit which drove in a run, giving the sophomore a new school record for single-season RBI's.

"After losing the first game, we always use the word 'next' when something doesn't go right," said Bednarz of bouncing back. "I had a former coach that I worked with that would say, 'it's a game of next.' They took that approach. They went back to basics and kept things simple and didn't dwell on any previous mistakes. It was just a matter of hitting the 'reset button' and going forward."

"We never gave up once and I think that shows how our season went," said Herkel. "We always fought until the end and gave it our all."

Semifinal

Momentum did not stay with the Wolves however, as Caldwell College shutout JJC, 2-0.

Karli McMillin (12-6) pitched six innings in the loss, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out five. Samantha Rios went 1-for-3 at the plate. 

"With this team, once one or two figure things out, it snowballs and they become a train that is out of control," said Bednarz. "That's exactly what happened on Thursday and almost both games on Friday. They knew they had the best team ever at JJC and wanted to make sure they at least had some hardware to prove it."

"The purpose is to have fun and those last games that we played, I can tell you all of us had fun," said Herkel. "We played those games freely and played how we would always play."

The overall record isn't the only milestone the Wolves set this year.

Lauren Pell became the program leader in single-season and career stolen bases. The sophomore sits at 53 stolen bases on the year and 82 over her two years at JJC. Additionally, she is 82-for-82 in stolen bases as she's never been thrown out stealing.

Welcome finishes the year with a new program record herself with 61 RBI's for the season and 115 in her two years at JJC. She led all of Division III in 2026 in RBI's.

"I'm so proud of this group," Bednarz said. "All of them made contributions and adjustments in so many ways to ensure the overall success of the team."

Herkel, Jury and Rios were named to the All-Tournament Team following its conclusion.