By: Dustin Kent - JCFloridan.com
The Chipola Indians will play their first game as the top-ranked team in the state Saturday when they travel to Pensacola to start a three-game set with the Pensacola State Pirates at 1 p.m.
Chipola (25-7 overall, 4-2 in the Panhandle Conference) will host the second game of the series Monday at 5 p.m., with Pensacola State (11-24, 1-7) hosting the finale Wednesday at 5 p.m.
The Indians had a four-game conference winning streak snapped in their last outing, falling to Tallahassee 7-4, with the Pirates in the midst of a six-game losing skid following their lone league win, 6-5 over TCC on March 15.
However, Chipola coach Jeff Johnson said his team can't afford to take any victories for granted, even against the a team struggling as much as Pensacola.
"We better be smart enough to not worry about what another team's record is," the coach said. "We played Gordon College earlier this year when they were 3-10 and they swept us in a doubleheader. Pensacola has struggled a little bit to start the year off, but they've played people pretty close for the most part and they're capable of beating you.
"But for us, I'm honestly more worried about how we play and how we approach the game vs. the other teams we're playing. I think the score takes care of itself when you're doing that."
The Indians have found success in conference play despite some early struggles from sophomore pitching ace Michael Mader, along with a defense that has committed three or more errors in half of the league games, and an offense averaging seven strikeouts per contest.
Johnson said he believes that his All-Conference pitcher Mader will be fine after correcting some minor mechanical issues with his release, the other areas of concern are still troubling despite the team's positive record.
"We're 4-2 in the league and 25-7 overall, but looking at this thing as a baseball coach who has been here for 18 years, we're not a very good baseball team in terms of doing the fundamental things we've got to do to be successful down the road," he said. "We're fortunate and I feel good about the record right now, but looking at the things we're not doing well, we're easy to beat right now because we're giving other teams opportunities to beat us and we've got to get that fixed."
Taylor Lewis will get the start in Saturday's game, moving up from his typical spot as the No. 2 starter to give Mader an extra day of bullpen work before starting Monday's second game, with the coach saying Tom Watson is the most likely candidate to start Wednesday's series finale.
Watson has a 1.74 Earned Run Average in 10 1/3 innings of two Panhandle Conference appearances, while Lewis is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings in his two league starts.
Mader, who was the Panhandle Conference Pitcher of the Year a season ago, is 0-1 in two Panhandle starts with an 8.12 ERA in 11 innings, though Johnson said he expects the sophomore to turn it around soon.
"Michael has been walking a few too many people; one game he walked six and that's not normal for him," he said. "He just wasn't commanding the ball, and even when he was getting people out he was missing some of his spots. I think we've fixed some of that and we're excited to get him back out there."
Conference sweeps are never easy, but facing a last-place team on a losing skid gives the Indians a pretty good chance to move ahead of first-place Northwest Florida State (4-1) before the teams face off in a three-game series next week.
Still, Johnson said he is trying to get his players to see beyond the league standings and prepare to play the level of baseball necessary to not just win the Panhandle, but also to win at state and beyond.
"I don't want to say we're not happy with where we are, but when you're making two or three errors per game and walking five or six per game and striking out seven or eight times per game and you're making base-running mistakes, you look at all that as a coach and say, 'wow,'" Johnson said. "The good thing is you're doing that and still winning, but you've got to be realistic and see what you've got to do to win consistently and give yourself a chance to win championships.
"I want to win games, but I also want to win championships and I want these kids to be involved in winning championships. There are certain things you can't do if you want to be successful at that level. We're winning some games now, but if we learn how to play we might really win some games."