By: Dustin Kent - JCFloridan.com
The Chipola Lady Indians and Northwest Florida State Lady Raiders will face off in Marianna on Thursday in a key doubleheader for both teams that could have major ramifications for the postseason.
Chipola (28-16 overall and 8-8 in the Panhandle Conference) is currently third in the league standings behind the Lady Raiders (32-14, 9-7), who have won five straight games to move into sole possession of second place.
The first of those five wins came in the second game of a doubleheader against the Lady Indians on March 27, with Northwest following that 9-7 victory by sweeping consecutive doubleheaders from Pensacola State and Gulf Coast State by a combined score of 31-10.
The Lady Raiders have taken three of four against Chipola overall this season, giving them the tiebreaker and what is essentially a two-game lead in the standings.
That makes Thursday's games all the more crucial for the Lady Indians.
"It means we've got to sweep or get some help to get second place," Chipola associate head coach Jimmy Hendrix said Tuesday, noting the significance of being the two-seed in the state tournament. "For us, I think it makes a good difference because if you're second then you match up with (first-place Tallahassee) on the second day of the state tournament, but if you're third then you would see them the second game (of the first day of the tourney)."
Northwest Florida State swept the first series with Chipola on March 15 in Niceville, winning by scores of 6-3 and 8-5, with the Lady Indians winning the first game of the second doubleheader in Marianna 6-5 before dropping the second.
All four of the games have been close at the end, with Hendrix attributing the Lady Raiders' winning three of the four in part to their experience advantage.
"I don't think they're physically better than we are, but I think mentally, they're sophomore-loaded and they're just winning games," he said. "We just couldn't get the big hits or make the big plays against them and that's a matter of maturity."
Chipola played its last doubleheader against Tallahassee with eight freshmen and only two sophomores, though Hendrix said that at this point in the season, inexperience can no longer be used as a crutch.
"Youth is something where, we tried to explain it to them the other day, how they've been here for seven months and it's time to grow up," he said. "You're not a freshman anymore at this point. We shouldn't be doing stuff we did the first week of fall practice. Then it comes down to trying to simulate something we can't, which is game nerves.
"We're doing some competitive stuff in the cages and on the field, but we can't simulate the nerves of the game. That's something they have to come up with from within, something they've got to overcome themselves. We're not there right now, but this extra round of games should help us out."
The games Thursday will feature two of arguably the top three candidates for Conference Player of the Year in Northwest Florida State's Hannah Day and Chipola's Katie Harrison, who is closing in on the school-record for home runs in a season.
The sophomore Harrison has 18 homers on the season, which puts her just one off of the record of 19 set by Andrea Sullivan in 2011.
She's also batting .436 with 72 RBI and an astonishing .907 slugging percentage.
Day has had a similarly special year for the Lady Raiders, batting .457 with 13 home runs, 57 RBI, an .858 slugging percentage, and leads her team in seven of the top nine offensive categories.