CLINTON, Miss. - The Kirkwood Eagles scored in the bottom of the  seventh inning Wednesday to snap a 2-2 tie and trim Illinois Central,  3-2, in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II national softball  tournament.

Kirkwood (51-15) will face DMACC (49-6) in the quarterfinals Thursday  at 3:30 p.m., matching two rivals from the ICCAC conference.

Kirkwood led 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh, but Illinois  Central loaded the bases and scored the tying run on a wild pitch  before Erin Hocker got the final out on a fly ball.

The Eagles wasted no time in the bottom of the seventh. Taleah Smith  led off with a double to left-center. Shelby Hulsebus hit a single to  left field with one out and Smith raced home with the winning run on  an error by the left fielder.

Hocker (27-9) walked seven batters and allowed seven hits, but made  big pitches when it counted to escape further damage. Illinois Central  left 13 runners on base. Kirkwood did not commit any errors, greatly  helping the cause.

Kirkwood got off to a good start with single runs in the first and  second innings, but the Eagles did not tally again until the bottom of  the seventh for the walk-off victory.

Rachel Stewart went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Jayme Finn also scored  for Kirkwood.

DMACC won the ICCAC conference title this season and took 3-of-4 games  from Kirkwood, which finished second in the standings. The Bears are  seeded No. 2 in the national tournament and the Eagles are seeded No. 7.

Illinois Central     000 010 1 - 2 7 4
Kirkwood             110 000 1 - 3 7 0

David and West. Hocker and Butler. W - Hocker. L - David. 2B - Jackson, Smith

QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS THURSDAY
All Games at 3:30

No. 7 Kirkwood (51-15) vs No. 2 DMACC (49-6)
No. 5 Itawamba (39-14) vs No. 4 Highland (34-10)
No. 9 Johnson County (25-12) vs No. 1 LSU Eunice (48-7)
No. 11 Sinclair (32-14) vs No. 3 Phoenix (49-7)