Big week for Chipola Athletics; Postseason implications for Basketball

MARIANNA, Fla. – Chipola Athletics finished the week of Feb. 17-23 with a record of 10-5. With the basketball teams having only one game this week, the baseball and softball teams took center stage.

Here are some highlights from this past week on and off the court/diamond:

• WBB won the season series over Gulf Coast for the first time since 2021. 
• WBB & MBB head in to the final three games of the regular season in FIRST PLACE in the PANHANDLE CONFERENCE. The Lady Indians are tied atop the standings at 7-2 with Northwest Florida and the men are tied for first place at 6-3 with Gulf Coast.
• SOFTBALL was 5-2 this week which included a 4-1 showing at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Georgia. Anyela Gomez-Ruiz was selected to the All-Tournament Team. The sophomore was 8-for-19 on the weekend with four home runs and 9 RBI. She also picked up a complete game win in the circle on Saturday against Illinois Central College.
• BASEBALL had a busy weekend on and off the field as they welcomed back alumni to Jeff Johnson Field. Players dating back to the 1960's were in attendance as well as former head coaches. Joining Coach Johnson at this year's Alumni Banquet were Jimmy Duncan, who coached Chipola in the 1966-1968 seasons, and Bobby Pierce, who coached Chipola in the 1983-1989 seasons. Coach Pierce's 1983 team was the first State Baseball Champion in Chipola history. On the field the Indians split a doubleheader with #18 San Jacinto College (TX) on Friday then won three of four against Grand Rapids Community College (MI).

This week, Chipola Athletics will be back in action with four basketball games, five baseball games, and softball will wrap it up with a doubleheader on Sunday. Here is what to look for this week:

• WBB & MBB will travel to Tallahassee on Wednesday night then host Northwest Florida on Saturday night. The Chipola women can get at least a share of the conference title with two wins this week. They can win the championship outright by also winning next Monday in Tallahassee. With the Raiders and Lady Commodores playing one another on Wednesday and next Monday, Chipola could get some help along the way. The Lady Commodores and the Raiders play one another on Wednesday and next Monday. The Chipola men will need to win all three games and have Gulf Coast lose one of their remaining games to win the championship out right. With only two teams from the Panhandle guaranteed a spot in the FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament, the play over the next week will be intense. The Commodores could keep the Raiders from participating in the State Tournament they are hosting with a win on Wednesday night in Niceville. The Panhandle's third place team will have to win a play-in game with the Citrus Conference's sixth place team on Thursday, March 6, in order to move on to the State Tournament. The Panhandle Championship can still go to any of the top four teams and one of the four will be eliminated from the State Tournament. Several scenarios are still possible including a four-way tie for the Championship. 
• WBB & MBB will honor their sophomores between games on Saturday, March 1. CHEER will also honor their sophomores at halftime of the men's game.
• WBB is in contention for the #1 spot when the NJCAA D1 Rankings are announced on Monday afternoon. Last week's top two teams went down last week while the #3 Lady Indians won their only game of the week over #10 Gulf Coast. #1 New Mexico lost to unranked Midland College, 87-78 at home, and #2 Northwest Florida lost at unranked Pensacola State, 69-66. The Lady Indians are 4-2 against teams ranked in the top ten this season.
• SOFTBALL will be off this week until Sunday morning when they take on Snead State in a doubleheader starting at 10 AM. 
• BASEBALL will play their first road game in three weeks when they travel to Coastal Alabama South. The Indians defeated the Coyotes, 2-0, in Marianna, on Saturday, February 15. Chipola will close out the weekend with a four-game series with East Georgia State College. On Friday the Indians will play a doubleheader starting at 3 PM then another pair of games on Saturday at 1 PM.

The FCSAA/Region VIII Basketball Tournament will take place March 12-15 at Raider Arena in Niceville. The Chipola women have already punched their ticket to the tournament. There are several scenarios that would put the men in the tournament but the quickest path would be to win both games this week AND one of the following happen: Gulf Coast defeats Pensacola or Gulf Coast loses to Northwest Florida and Pensacola State. Click on the links below for more information about this year's tournament.

• Tournament Information
• Tickets