Northeastern opens Region IX softball tournament with 10-1 win

Tatiana Hunt’s power display gave Northeastern Junior College the kind of postseason start that changes a bracket fast. Her two home runs and five RBIs powered a 10-1 opening-round win over Lamar Community College at the 2026 NJCAA Division I Softball Northwest Plains District Championship in McCook, Nebraska.

The Plainswomen never let Lamar breathe. Northeastern scored four runs in the first inning and added six more in the second, turning the opener into a runaway before the tournament field had settled in. Hunt was the centerpiece of that surge, and she had help from Marisa Reyes, Mikey Llamas, America Griffin and Addison Steele as Northeastern built a lead that grew too large to threaten.

The final line told the story of a complete postseason performance. Northeastern finished with 10 runs on 11 hits and held Lamar to one run on five hits. Reyes worked five innings in the circle, allowing one run while striking out four and walking three. Llamas added three hits in three at-bats, and the Plainswomen stayed aggressive on the bases as part of a well-rounded effort that combined power, speed and steady pitching.

That opening win was only the beginning of Northeastern’s run through the three-day event. After beating Lamar on May 7, the Plainswomen fell 5-4 to Southeast Community College on May 8, then kept their season alive with a pair of wins on May 9, 15-6 over Luna Community College and 13-11 over Southeast. Northeastern’s postseason march ended in the championship game on May 10, when McCook Community College won 5-3 and earned a return trip to the NJCAA Division I College World Series.

For Northeastern, the Lamar game fit the season it had already built. The Plainswomen finished 38-19 overall and 27-9 in conference play, piling up 515 runs, 586 hits and 55 home runs while posting a .377 team batting average. That kind of production made the 10-1 opener more than a single strong result; it was a reminder of how dangerous this lineup could be when Hunt and the rest of the order clicked at the right time.