SERIES PREVIEW: Indians & Raiders open Panhandle Conference play

MARIANNA, Fla. – The Chipola baseball team will a seven-game win streak into their Panhandle Conference opener with #16 Northwest Florida (15-5) on Thursday evening. First pitch for the nine-inning game is set for 5 PM at Jeff Johnson Field. The teams will play another nine-inning game in Niceville on Friday at 1 PM.

After beginning the season with a 7-6 record, Chipola has won ten of their last eleven games courtesy of hot bats and strong pitching performances. The Indians have outscored their opponents 96-19 during their seven-game win streak.

The Indians are carrying a .339 batting average into the series with the Raiders and have built their recent success on plate discipline. Chipola has taken advantage of 196 free bases courtesy of a hit by pitch or walk. Chipola leads all of Division I in batters hit by pitch with 70. Three Chipola players are in the top ten in HBP. Edian Espinal and JC Vanek are tied with three others for fourth in the country and Knox Bennett is right behind them at 9^th with 10.

Leading hitters for Chipola:

• JC Vanek is hitting a team best .441 with a .605 on base percentage. Along with Sam Parker, he leads the team in runs driven in with 24..
• Along with RBIs, Sam Parker comes in leading the Indians offense in hits (27) doubles (9) and home runs (3). is hitting .415 with Nine doubles. The left-handed hitting freshman is batting .415 in 22 games played.
• After hitting .279 as a freshman, Knox Bennett has upped his production this season. In 22 games, Bennett is batting .393 and carrying a .534 on-base percentage.

On the mound, Chipola holds an ERA of 5.30 and are 21^st in Division I with 188 strikeouts. In their last 11 games, the Chipola pitchers have allowed more than five runs scored by their opponent twice. In those games, Wallace-Dothan scored four runs in the ninth to rally past the Indians and Gordon State scored six runs during mop up duty in the late innings.

Potential starters for Chipola:

• Lucas Elissalt (4-0), six starts with an ERA of 0.75 over 24 innings.
• Left-hander Amari Allen (1-1) has a 3.94 ERA over 16 innings. He is coming off of his best performance of the season. Against Grand Rapids on February 24, he pitched five innings for the win, allowing no runs on three hits, striking out 8, and did not walk a batter.
• Zach Kilby (1-1) is second on the team in innings pitched with 21.2. He has struck out 18 batters (tied with Allen for 2^nd on the team) while walking just 5.
• After primarily pitching in relief in his Chipola career, JeanPierre Ortiz (2-1) has made back-to-back starts in his last two outings. Against Grand Rapids on February 25, he allowed 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 6 and walking 3. In his last outing, the sophomore righty allowed just 2 hits over 5 innings and struck out 4.

Know your opponent

Through 20 games this season, #16 Northwest Florida is batting .324 and pitchers have an ERA of 3.38. Prior to losing their most recent game, a 2-1 loss to Shelton State, the Raiders also had a seven-game win streak.  

Second-baseman Cayden Gaskin leads the Raiders at the plate with a .456 batting average. Batting in the second position in the lineup for Coach Doug Martin, Gaskin has 10 doubles, 2 triples, and a home run while knocking in 22 runs. He also leads the team in stolen bases with 20 in 20 attempts.

Jaquae Stewart, a left-handed hitting freshman, leads NWF in home runs with five and RBIs with 24. He is batting .386 in 18 games played.

Northwest Florida is led by right-handed freshman Mack Estrada on the mound. In five starts in six appearances, he has a 2.55 ERA and a record of three wins and no losses. He leads the Raiders in strikeouts with 35 and has walked 13. He is yet to surrender a home run this season.

Sophomore Colin Linder comes into the series with a 2.08 ERA in 21.2 innings pitched. Although his record is just 3-2, both belmishes have been one-run losses. Linder has struck out 29 while allowing 14 free passes.

Also with 21.2 innings pitched, Lefty Brock Tapper has struck out 28 and walked seven in his seven appearances on the mound. His 3.32 ERA has carried him to a 2-0 record for the Raiders. Tapper leads the team in home runs allowed with four.

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