Lady Indians come from behind again to advance to Championship
Chipola will take on Florida SouthWestern for the FCSAA Championship and a trip to the NJCAA Tournament
CLEARWATER, Fla. – For the second day in a row, the Lady Indians fell behind at the FCSAA D1 Softball Championships. Just as they did the day before, they fought their way back.
Anyela Gomez-Ruiz's hit down the left field line stayed fair and drove in the winning run, in extra innings, to win 6-5 over Eastern Florida State and advance the Lady Indians to the FCSAA DI/NJCAA South Atlantic District A Championship Game.
#22 Chipola (32-18) will face #1 Florida SouthWestern (51-5) at 3 PM on Friday for not only a championship but also a trip to compete in the NJCAA Tournament in Yuma, Arizona.
DOWN BUT NOT OUT
The game didn't start well for the Lady Indians as the Titans started off with three consecutive singles to load the bases. A double play started by Kamryn Eaton at shortstop helped limit the damage but EFSC took an early 1-0 lead.
The Titans continued base hitting Chipola starter, Hannah Worthington, in the second inning but again the Lady Indians escaped with allowing just one run.
In the third inning, the Titans looked poised to add to their lead but another double play ended the threat and gave the Lady Indians life.
As she had done the day before, Kayla Franklin belted a triple in the third inning and scored on a sac fly from Diana Arcay to cut the Titans lead in half.
Neither team managed a run over the next three innings as pitching and defense took over. Worthington turned the circle over to Anyela Gomez Ruiz who kept the Titans off the board through two innings of relief work.
In the top of the seventh, after Gomez Ruiz walked and hit the first two EFSC batters, a three-run home run by the Titans' starting pitcher, Avery Velazquez, put the Titans up 5-1.
Freshman Lauren Grantham entered the circle with no outs with the Titans seeking to put the game away. A single was quickly erased on a well-executed 5-4-3 double play by the Lady Indians. It couldn't have come at a better time as the next batter belted a shot to the right field wall for a triple. After a two out walk, the Titans hit a ground ball to Rabasco at third to end their rally.
ALWAYS BELIEVE
The mantra of this Lady Indians team from the start has been to believe in yourselves and fight until the end. In the bottom of the seventh, the belief and fight prevailed.
Kamryn Eaton led off with a single to start the comeback but was quickly erased at second on a ground ball by Josefina Lacalle.
Pinch-hitter Morgan Hodges reached on an infield single that put runners at first and second but more importantly turned the lineup over. After a passed ball moved the runners up a base, Irene Rabasco hit a ground ball to score a run and cut the score down to 5-2.
Down to their final out, Kayla Franklin walked to put runners at the corners and bring Diana Arcay to the plate. Although she had three home runs last season, Arcay had not cleared the fences in 2025, until bottom of the seventh inning and two outs in the semifinals of the FCSAA D1 Softball Championships. Her first blast of the season tied the game and gave the Lady Indians new life. Anyela Gomez Ruiz followed with a double and it appeared she may score on a chopper up the middle by Paris Rodgers but the pitcher snagged it to end the inning.
Neither team managed to threaten in the eighth and Grantham sat the Titans down in order in the ninth to set the stage for the next big moment.
Irene Rabasco led off with a single into left and with one out, Diana Arcay singled off the outstretched glove of the EFSC third baseman. The ball then caromed into shallow left field, allowing Rabsco to move to third and Arcay to second.
On the next pitch, Anyela Gomez Ruiz hit a line drive down the left field line that stayed fair by a couple of feet to score Rabasco and give Chipola the 6-5 come-from-behind win.
GAME NOTES
- In two games, sophomore Diana Arcay is batting 5-7 (.714) with a pair of doubles and a home run. She has knocked in five of Chipola's eight runs in the tournament.
- Sophomore Kayla Franklin is not far behind her with a .500 batting average (3-for-6). Two of her three hits are triples that have sparked rallies for the Lady Indians.
- Freshman Lauren Grantham picked up the win in relief against the Titans. Grantham pitched three innings and allowed two hits and three walks. She did not give up a run.
- Chipola will face #1 Florida SouthWestern in the Friday's Championship Game. The Lady Indians lost to the Bucs earlier this season, 7-1.
#ROAD2YUMA
The #Road2Yuma became clearer following the win on Thursday. Chipola needs to win one of the next two games to advance to the NJCAA Tournament in Yuma, Arizona on May 19-24, 2025.
- Friday's game determines the FCSAA Champion & the NJCAA South Atlantic District A Champion. The winner would be finished in the tournament and advance to the NJCAA Tournament.
- The loser of Friday's game would play on Saturday morning in the NJCAA South Atlantic District B Championship Game. The winner of that game would also advance to the NJCAA Tournament.
- There are at-large berths to the NJCAA Tournament but the Lady Indians' best chance to make it to Yuma would be to win either Friday or Saturday.
STATE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
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