Lady Indians win opening round game at NJCAA Softball World Series, 2-1, over Chattanooga State
Chipola will play again on Wednesday at 3:30 PM CDT
YUMA, Ariz. – The #12 Chipola Lady Indians (34-19) continued to knock off postseason opponents ranked higher with a 2-0 win over #5 Chattanooga State (48-8) at the NJCAA Division I Softball World Series.
Anyela Gomez-Ruiz shut out the Tigers and Chipola scored a pair of runs in the fourth to move on to the third round where they will face the winner of #4 Grayson College and #20 Navarro College. The two Texas schools will meet at 3:00 PM CDT on Tuesday.
In six of the seven innings, Chattanooga State had baserunners against Gomez-Ruiz. Three different times they had baserunners at third but the Chipola defense made every play to keep the Tigers from gaining any momentum.
Gomez-Ruiz held her opponents to just two hits over the seven innings despite hitting five and walking one. She struck out three.
With the wind blowing in much of the game, it was difficult for either team to get anything going offensively. The Lady Indians managed just five hits in the game but two of those hits in the fourth inning made the difference.
After Paris Rodgers walked to start the fourth, Rani Meaux picked up her second hit of the game to give the Lady Indians a pair of baserunners with no outs.
Olivia Spooner replaced Rodgers at second and with one out, Hannah Capps hit a fly ball into rightfield that was slowed down by the wind. The Tigers' right fielder dove forward but was not able to make the play and the ball rolled into the outfield.
Spooner scored on the play, Meaux moved to third, and Hannah Capps moved to second with an RBI double. The next hitter, Keyla Arce-Camacho, hit a fly ball into right field that was caught in foul territory, allowing Meaux to score with the second run.
Along with Meaux's two hits and Capps' double, Irene Rabasco and Kayla Franklin had singles in the 2-0 win.
Up Next
#12 Chipola will take on the winner of #4 Grayson College and #20 Navarro College on Wednesday at 3:30 PM CDT. The game can be watched on ESPN+.
Game Notes
- Chipola's win on Monday was their first opening round win at the NJCAA World Series since 2019 when the Lady Indians won the National Championship. The win was also Coach Kelly Brookins' first win at the World Series as a head coach.
- Chipola totaled five hits in the 2-0 win over Chattanooga State. Going into the game against the Tigers, the Lady Indians were 4-11 on the season when tallying five hits or less.
- On Chipola's side of the bracket, all four games played were won by the lower seed. Along with #12 Chipola's win over #5 Chattanooga State, #17 Crowder defeated #16 McCook, #20 Navarro defeated #13 College of Southern Idaho, and #9 Butler defeated #8 Paris. On the other side of the bracket, #18 Rose State defeated #15 Lake Land College.
NJCAA TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
World Series Tournament Bracket
Game Schedule, Results, & Stats
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