Kankakee Times

The Kankakee Community College Cavaliers women's fast-pitch softball team, which finished third in the nation last season, is preparing for the National Junior College Athletic Association 2017 spring season with 20 fall practice games.

Under Dennis Clark, who is starting his 35th year as KCC coach, the Cavaliers won the NJCAA Division II national championship in 2015. The team has advanced to the national tournament the last 18 years by winning the Region IV tournament title. KCC has made it to the NJCAA national tournament final four eight times, finishing third in 2016 and second in 2010.

About half of last’s year’s 15-player Cavaliers roster will be returning for the 2017 spring season, including two pitchers.

“It’s a whole new team with a new identity,” Clark said. “Being a junior college we have to recruit half of our team every year. We try to replace good players with other good players. We have been lucky enough to do that for a lot of years.”

In Clark's tenure as head coach, the Cavaliers have an overall record of 1,230-358. Last season’s Cavaliers finished with a 54-10 record. 

Clark attributes the Cavaliers’ success to talented players who share a common goal and perform well academically, which Clark believes carries over to softball. He also likes to recruit players who are adept at playing different positions.

“I like having that flexibility,” he said. “That is why the fall games are so good because we get to see the new kids playing in different positions and we can try to mold them together for the spring season.”

Clark said the 2017 team lost much of its offense from last season’s team. 

“We have to find that offense, and find it in different ways,” Clark said. “Last year we hit a lot of home runs, but this year we may have to use our speed and manufacture runs with bunting, hit and runs, and stealing.”

Clark said he expect the current team to be good defensively and have a strong pitching staff. 

“Pitching and defense are the keys to winning games, tournaments, and championships,” he said.

Clark said that the fall practice games give the players the opportunity to bond and to become a team on and off the field. The Cavaliers also will host an alumni game on Oct. 2, which Clark said is great for both team spirit and community engagement.

“It’s all about the players,” Clark said. “We’ve been so successful that the target gets bigger and bigger on our back. Each year is a new challenge because half the team is new. But it’s a good challenge.”

Clark was named national Coach of the Year by the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association in 2001, 2004 and 2015. He was inducted into the Region IV Hall of Fame in 2007 and the NJCAA National Hall of Fame in 2015.