Following a two-game sweep of St. John's River State College in the Marianna Regional last weekend, the #2 Chipola Indians (41-12-1) return to Lakeland, Florida for the first time since 2019 to compete in the Championship Round of the FSCAA State Tournament.

With the cancelation of the 2020 season due to COVID and not making the tournament in 2021, the Indians are making their first appearance back at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium since winning their third consecutive state title in 2019.

The Indians entered the postseason as the second-ranked team in the NJCAA but will face another highly rated team in #7 College of Central Florida. The Patriots advanced to Lakeland by sweeping Tallahassee Community College in the Ocala Regional.

Know your opponent

After starting 2022 with a 13-12 record, the Patriots won 30 of their last 32 games to vault into the NJCAA Top Ten. The Patriots and the Indians faced one another in the first game of the season back on January 28 in the Ed Davis Kickoff Classic in Auburndale. The Indians belted six home runs to defeat the Patriots, 14-6.

The Patriots are also making their first appearance in the FCSAA State Tournament since 2019. The Patriots went 1-2 that season, defeating the now defunct Broward College baseball team in the opening round before falling to Northwest Florida and Miami-Dade College. Central Florida has three State Championships in baseball. The Patriots won in back-to-back years in 1997 and 1998 and also came away with the title in 1980 following the tournament due to forfeits.

As a team, the Patriots (44-9) lead the FCSAA in batting average at .332 and home runs with 82. The Patriots are led at the plate by FCSAA Player of the Year, Caleb Cali, a freshman infielder from Montverde, Florida. Cali has hit 15 home runs this season including one against the Indians in their meeting earlier this season.

The FCSAA Pitcher of the Year is also a member of the Patriot's squad. Ben Chestnutt is 11-0 in 13 starts this season for the Patriots and sports a 2.88 ERA in 75 innings pitched. The freshman right-hander has struck out 98 of the opponents he faced, 

Flint, Lewis, & Howard named to the FCSAA All-State Teams

Tucker Flint, a sophomore infielder from East Greenwich, Rhode Island, was named to the All-State First Team. Flint played in all 54 games for the Indians and batted .368 to lead the team in the 2022 season. As the Indians leadoff batter much of the season, Flint also led the team in runs scored with 70. Earlier this month, Flint was named the Panhandle Conference Player of the Year and named to the All-Panhandle Conference First Team.

Freshman Shane Lewis, a Vicksburg, Mississippi native, joined Flint on the All-State First Team. Lewis played in every game in the 2022 season and led the team in home runs with 15 and runs batted in with 65. The outfielder batted .324 on the season and scored 31 runs for the Indians. Lewis was also a member of the All-Panhandle Conference team.

Drew Howard, from Ontario Canada, was named to the All-State Second Team after making 15 appearances on the mound for the Indians. The sophomore pitcher was 7-2 on the season with a 3.04 ERA and struckout 53 in 56.1 innings of work. Howard joined Flint and Lewis on the All-Panhandle Conference First Team.

The 17-member first- and second-teams, as well as the FCSAA Player, Pitcher, Fireman, and Defensive Player of the Year, were voted on by members of the FCSAA State Baseball Committee.  Complete List of FCSAA All-State Teams