By MIKE MONTFORT

As the road trip extends, so does the winning streak.

Coach Jessica Karenke-Burke's Navarro softball team (16-8) swept a four-game weekend set from Coastal Bend.  The four wins by a combined 35-7 score now give NC a confidence-brimming, 10-game winning streak heading into East Zone-opening doubleheaders Wednesday at Bossier Parish and Saturday at Trinity Valley.

The winning streak is Navarro's longest since the 2014-15 season.  That year, the Bulldogs fashioned winning streaks of 10 games in February and March, plus a late-season 13-gamer that jettisoned NC deep into an NJCAA Tournament Qualifying run.

The Bulldogs are on a tear.  Their 24-game slash line: a batting average of .350, an on-base of .409, and slugging percentage of .562.  That ranks 4-5-4 among the league's 14 teams.  Region XIV's stolen-base leaders (94) rank second in doubles (50), third in hits (230) and runs scored (169) and fifth in home runs (24).

Sophomore outfielder Cynthia Sizemore shares league leadership in homers (10) and is second in runs-batted-in (31).  Freshman third baseman JaKayla Shankle is second in hits (33), batting average (.465) and third in runs scored (25).  NC boasts a 92 percent stolen-base percentage with five of the league's top nine in steals -- Roo Stone (20), Shankle (18), Kallie Beasley (16), Jordyne Reese (13) and Taylor Nuckolls (9).

Perhaps most noteworthy is that three pitchers account for 16 wins, 11 complete games among 24 starts and a combined earned-run average of 2.95.  Sophomore Bree Dent (6-3, 3.05) ranks third among league pitchers with six wins.  Sophomore Kennedy Parker (5-2, 1.88) stands second in ERA and in strikeouts (61 in 52 innings). Freshman Kate Houser (4-3) stepped up with 33 innings over seven starts.

Navarro next will play here at Jesse and Lou Cummings Field on Wednesday, March 22 against Kilgore.