The No. 4 ranked Copiah-Lincoln Community College softball team has put together an eight-game winning streak highlighted by four victories this week in a pair of league games on Tuesday at Jones College and a doubleheader on Thursday at home against John Melvin University.

The softball rivalry between Co-Lin and Jones is one of the best in the MACCC and it lived up to that with tons of drama on Tuesday in Ellisville.

Last year CLCC swept Jones in Wesson during the regular season and then lost to the Bobcats in Ellisville in the Region 23 Tournament.

Co-Lin stormed out of the loser’s bracket to beat Jones in back-to-back games later in the tournament to take the championship.

At the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the teams met again in the semifinals, a game won 5-3 by Jones.

That set the stage for the Wolves from Wesson to win the first national championship in school history as they later topped Jones 10-5 in extra innings and 7-0 in a title clinching victory last May.

The games on Tuesday were both won in dramatic fashion by Co-Lin.

In game one, CLCC led 3-0 from the first inning until midway through the fifth, when Jones tied the game at 3-3. Jones then took a 6-3 lead after six complete innings.

The top of the seventh inning started with a fly ball out by Co-Lin sophomore Zykeria Cole (Simpson Academy). The second batter for Co-Lin head coach Meleah Howard in the seventh was freshman Kinley Ainsworth (Puckett High).

Ainsworth singled and then scored on a home run by Taylor Efferson (Holden, La.) to make the score 6-5.

With two outs, sophomore Laney Waguespack (Hahnville, La.) singled to keep the rally going.

The game winning runs came off the bat of sophomore Madison Moak. Moak, a Brookhaven Academy product who’s signed to next play at Southern Miss, blasted a ball over the center field wall to score two runs and put the Wolves ahead 7-5.

Jones got one on in the bottom of the seventh, but Co-Lin ace Cara Biswell (Brandon High) earned a strikeout to end the game and preserve the win.

One thing that Howard has this season is a variety of arms to use and in game two, she called on the bullpen to get the Wolves through the game.

CLCC scored four runs in the top of the first only to see Jones tie the game in the bottom half of that inning.

Jones again led heading into the top of the seventh, this time holding an 11-7 advantage.

And just like in the previous rally, Cole started the top of the final inning off with a fly-ball that was caught for an out. Efferson drew a walk and Ainsworth singled again to put two-runners on for CLCC.

A single by freshman Emeri Warren (Leake Academy) scored the first run of the inning and then later Ainsworth came home via a wild pitch to shrink the Jones lead to 11-9.

Warren scored on a Jones throwing error to then make the game 11-10.

With the bases loaded and two outs, sophomore Leia Phillips smoked a double that scored three runs and put Co-Lin ahead 13-11.

The Wolves batted around in the inning as Cole ended the top of the seventh as she had begun it with a fly-ball out.

Co-Lin freshman pitcher Karley Rouse (D’Iberville High) went three up and three down to end the seventh and earn the win. The fourth different CLCC pitcher to appear in the game, Rouse threw the final four innings and gave up one unearned run on one hit while striking out one and walking three.

There was much less drama on Thursday as the Wolves only needed five innings in each game to claim two victories (8-0, 14-2) against John Melvin University, a four-year school out of Crowley, Louisiana.

It was the rare chance for Biswell to get a day of rest as Keegan McCorkle (Tyronza, Ar.) started the first game and got the win. McCorkle struck out five in three innings and was relieved by Emily Richarde (Lakelan, Tn.), who did not give up a hit in two innings.

Rouse started the second game and went two innings while Waguespack and Emma Kate Fimiano (Petal High) also saw action as relief pitchers.

Efferson and Warren both hit doubles in game one against John Melvin and drove in two runs apiece. Moak and Sarah Grace Smith (Copiah Academy) hit home runs in that win as well.

Cole led CLCC with three RBIs in the second game on Thursday. She doubled as did Warren.

Co-Lin (18-2) makes a long trip to Booneville on Saturday to play at No. 14 Northeast Mississippi (24-9-1). Co-Lin will be back at home twice next week, hosting MACCC doubleheaders against East Central on Tuesday, March 26 and Mississippi Delta on Friday, March 29.