By: Dustin Kent - JCFloridan.com
A promising start to the FCSAA State tournament for Chipola was soured by two straight losses, with the Lady Indians coming up one win short of a chance to play for a state title in Pensacola.
Chipola came into the tourney as the third-place team out of the Panhandle Conference but opened play Saturday with a pair of wins over State College of Florida and Hillsborough.
The first game featured a dominant pitching performance by staff ace Jessica Elliott, who tossed a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and just one walk in a 4-0 win over the Manatees.
That victory put the Lady Indians in the winners' bracket against Hillsborough and Chipola again found the winner's circle by jumping out to a 6-0 lead through three innings and holding off a rally by the Lady Hawks to take a 6-4 victory.
Elliott again got the start for Chipola and retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced before running into trouble in the fourth inning.
Three walks, two errors, and a passed ball allowed the first three of four Hillsborough runs in the inning, with an RBI single by Ashley Dozier rounding out the scoring and prompting Chipola to bring in Rosanne de Vries to relieve Elliott, with the sophomore getting Sunday Whiteside to fly out and Gabrielle Prickett to pop out to end the threat.
De Vries stranded five more Lady Hawks base-runners over the final three innings to close it out, finishing with four strikeouts to just one walk and three hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Katie Harrison and Brashante Dareus each had two hits and an RBI to lead Chipola offensively, with Jennifer Cottle going 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in the third inning.
Saturday's wins meant that the Lady Indians needed just one victory Sunday to advance to Monday's championship round with a chance to earn a spot in the national tournament in St. George, Utah.
Chipola opened with Tallahassee and was in position to do just that after scoring two runs in the top of the sixth, with an RBI single by Dareus giving the Lady Indians a 5-4 lead.
But the Lady Eagles answered with six runs in the bottom of the sixth to take control, with a two-RBI single by Brenda Santana putting them up for good at 7-5, and a bases-loaded error by centerfielder Shelby Clark on a fly ball by Branna Murillo with the bases loaded scoring all three runs.
Alyssa Hathcoat drew a lead-off walk for Chipola off of Mariah Rivera in the top of the seventh and Jennifer Cottle's sacrifice bunt put her in scoring position with one out.
But Rivera got Clark to line out to second base and then struck out Tori McDaniel swinging for the final out.
Rivera got the win for TCC, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing three earned runs on two hits and five walks with five strikeouts, while de Vries took the loss for allowing six earned runs on six hits, four walks, and three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.
Santana led TCC with three hits and two RBI, while Dareus was 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI for Chipola.
The Lady Indians still had one more chance to get it done in the nightcap against Polk State, but the Suncoast Conference champions broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the top of the seventh to take the 6-4 victory.
The Eagles got off to a fast start with three first-inning runs on two hits and two Chipola errors, with Elliott keeping the damage from being even worse by getting Harlee Rimes to line out to right field to leave the bases loaded.
Chipola got RBI singles from Cottle and Dareus in the first and second innings and Harrison added a solo home run in the fourth to cut the Polk State lead to 4-3.
Harrison tacked on her second home run of the game and the state record-tying 37th of her career in the sixth inning to tie the game up.
But a one-out double by Stephanie Koutsoumbaris sparked the decisive two-run rally in the top of the seventh for the Eagles, with Koutsoumbaris later scoring on a passed ball, and Erica Morrissey following with a solo home run off a 3-2 pitch from Elliott.
Chipola had one last chance in the bottom of the seventh, with Clark and Ciara Jones coming up with consecutive one-out singles and moving into scoring position after a wild pitch by Haleigh Corbally.
But Corbally rebounded to get a big strikeout of Nalleli Lopez for the second out, and then got the pinch-hitter de Vries to ground back to her to end the game and Chipola's season.
Corbally picked up the win, giving up one earned run on six hits and two strikeouts in three innings of relief, with Elliott taking the loss for allowing four earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and four strikeouts in going the distance.
Kaitlyn Warren and Morrissey each had two hits, a run, and an RBI for Polk State, with Clark leading the Lady Indians with three hits and Harrison, Cottle, and Dareus all adding two hits each.
Chipola finished its season with a record of 34-22