CLINTON, Miss. – LSU Eunice (La.) used a walk-off squeeze bunt to down Jones County (Miss.) 8-7 to win the 2017 NJCAA Division II Softball Championship.

The squads traded leads the entire contest, as Jones County jumped to a 3-0 advantage in the middle of the third inning. The Bengals then tallied four runs in the next two stanzas to lead 4-3 after four innings. Jones County would respond with three runs in the fifth frame to re-take the lead at 6-4.

Each squad went on to add a run over the next inning with LSU Eunice trailed 7-5 entering the bottom of the sixth inning. The Bengals notched a run in the sixth to cut the deficit 7-6 and then knocked in the final two scores of the game to capture its second straight national championship and fifth in program history.

• LSU Eunice’s Rebecca Skains was named MVP and Offensive Player of the Tournament. Skains powered in two home runs and drove in three runs in the title game against Jones County.
• Skains teammate Abigail Leonards garnered Most Outstanding Pitcher of the Tournament.
• Jones County’s Brittany Baty tallied Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Tournament.
• The Bobcats entered the tournament with two losses on the season at 44-2, but loss twice in the tournament, the other being a 12-2 loss versus Johnson County (KS).
• With the win the Bengals finish its championship season at 53-11.

— Courtesy of NJCAA