Tri-C’s 33-6 team is back in the Div. II World Series
CONTAINS: Web Links to all 20 teams in the D2 World Series tournament, and statistics for Cuyahoga Community College and Louisburg College as well.
By JOHN KEREZY, eyeoncleveland.com founder
SPARTANBURG, SC (May 18)—With an ace on the mound and three convincing District victories under its belt, the Cuyahoga Community College softball team enters the 2026 NJCAA Division II World Series with a lot of excitement and momentum.
The Triceratops will be practicing here today at 12 noon, and then attend a pre-World Series event for all squads on Monday night. It’s the team’s fourth time participating in the championship tournament.
There are 20 teams in the double-elimination affair. Tri-C’s first game will be against Louisburg College (more below) beginning at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the 12-field Tyger River Park in Spartanburg.
DRIVING? Tri-C parents, family members, and friends: It’s about a nine-hour, 590-mile journey from the Cuyahoga Community College Western Campus in Parma to Spartanburg, SC. See map/directions, linked just below:
In its 33-6 season, Cuyahoga Community College beat nine region finalist or semifinalist teams from across the country, many of them in Florida. It is Tri-C’s fourth World Series appearance, the third under head coach Bryan Komlos.
“We’re in the 18th spot in the tournament, but we have the top pitcher in the country, and we have a lot of players in the top 50 in hitting also,” Coach Komlos says. “I feel great about our chances in this tournament.”
ACE PITCHER IN PHILLIPS
Sophomore Julee Phillips hurled all 19 innings over three District games last week. She tossed two shutouts – one a no-hitter – and allowed just one run (unearned) while striking out 20 batters. She was named the District’s Most Valuable Player.
Phillips’s season strikeout total is at 208, or 4th best in the nation among DII NJCAA college pitchers. Her ERA is a minuscule 0.32, second in the nation, and she’s posted an equally microscopic 0.91 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).
“Julee is lights out. She’s really solid. She takes command, and you have to have someone with that kind of approach and desire to offset good -hitting teams,” Coach Komlos says. “We played some strong teams from Michigan, and we also played a lot of well-respected teams in Florida as well. She came out on top.”
Komlos added that Phillips studies her opponents hard prior to each game, and battles even harder if she’s down in the count against opposing batters. That’s evidenced by a strikeout-to-walk ratio that’s better than 4-to-1.
As her won-loss mark (19-3, with 14 complete games) went up and her ERA went down this season, Phillips has seen a marked improvement on this year’s Triceratops squad over last season’s team.
“Going 8-2 on our spring break Florida trip helped show us just how good we can be,” Phillips adds. “The team’s great hitting this season has also given me a lot more confidence. I feel like even if I give up runs, our offense will get them right back.”
STRONG HITTING SQUAD
Opponents who focus on Phillips and ignore the Triceratops offense do so at their peril.
“Some of the best hitting we’ve ever had in my time at Tri-C is on this team.” says Komlos, who’s in his 18th season with Cuyahoga Community College, 16 as head coach. “We have a lot of doubles hitters. I feel that nobody can beat our bats, and that’s held true the whole season.”
The Triceratops have a .415 team batting average, a .468 OBP, on base percentage, and a .593 slugging percentage.
Sophie Durbin (3B), Lexi Gray (C/RF) and Reese Adkins (SS) were all named to the NJCAA District All-Tournament team. Durbin is batting .451, and had a hit in each of the three District playoff games. Adkins is batting .477, and Gray paces all the starters with a .515 average.
CF Josi Miliken is hitting .393 and has been outstanding on defense as well. Adriana Guarnieri, LF, is hitting .373 and also playing well defensively.
“We are very balanced on offense, and we have a good bench too,” Komlos adds.
ON TUESDAY
Louisburg College’s Hurricanes are from North Carolina. The school is a private, two-year residential community college. They enter the tournament with a 40-7 mark. Want to watch the Louisburg vs. Tri-C game? Here’s a link for the live video feed:
https://athletics.tri-c.edu/sports/sball/index
Here’s a link to the entire NJCAA Division II World Series playoff bracket.
https://njcaachampionship.prestosports.com/sports/sball/div2/index
The winner of the Louisburg vs. Cuyahoga game has a 6:30 pm tilt against 63-1 Murray State College from Oklahoma, a team which has won 32 consecutive games and is ranked second in the World Series tournament.
Here are links to the softball websites for Tri-C, Louisburg and all the other 18 colleges in the NJCAA Division II World Series championship tournament:
Bryant & Strattan Bobcats: https://wisconsin.bscbobcats.com/sports/sball/index
Cecil College Seahawks: https://www.cecilathletics.com/sports/sball/index
Copiah-Lincoln Lady Wolves: https://www.colinathletics.com/sports/sball/index
Cuyahoga Community College: https://athletics.tri-c.edu/sports/sball/index
Des Moines Area CC Bears : https://www.dmaccbears.com/sports/sball/index
Grand Rapids Raiders: https://grccraiders.com/sports/softball
Johnson County Cavaliers: https://www.jcccathletics.com/sports/sball/index
Jones College Bobcats: https://jcbobcats.com/sports/softball
Kirkwood CC Eagles: https://www.kirkwoodeagles.com/sports/sball/index
Louisburg College Hurricanes: https://www.lchurricanes.com/sports/sball/index
Murray State College Lady Aggies: https://mscaggies.com/sports/softball
Northwest Mississippi Raiders: https://nwccrangers.com/sports/softball
Parkland College Cobras: https://athletics.parkland.edu/sports/softball
Pearl River CC Wildcats: https://www.prccathletics.com/sports/sball/index
Pima CC Aztecs: https://pimaaztecs.com/sports/sball/index
Richard Bland College Statesmen: https://www.rbcathletics.com/sports/sball/index
Rock Valley College Golden Eagles: https://rvcsports.com/sports/softball
St. John’s River State College Vikings: https://www.sjrvikings.com/sports/sball/index
South Mountain CC Cougars: https://athletics.southmountaincc.edu/sports/sball/index
State College of Florida Manatees: https://www.scfmanatees.com/sports/sball/index
Finally, below are statistics for Cuyahoga Community College and Louisburg:
MEDIA: To arrange for interviews with Coach Komlos and/or players on the Triceratops Softball Team, connect with Griffin Olah, Specialist, Sports Information and Media Relations, at griffin.olah@tri-c.edu or at 216-987-4178. Olah is also in Spartanburg, SC, with the team at the World Series, and can get back to you quickly.
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