Lady Indians want third time to be the charm against Florida SouthWestern
Chipola & FSW play in the 4th round of the World Series on Thursday at 3:30 PM CDT/1:30 PM MST
YUMA, Ariz. – For the third time this season, the Chipola Lady Indians (35-19) and the Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers (54-5) will meet on the softball diamond. Coach Kelly Brookins and her team are hoping the third time will be the charm after falling to the Bucs in their two previous meetings.
The Lady Indians dropped a 7-1 game at the Paradise Cove Tournament hosted by FSW on Valentine's Day and then fell 7-3 on May 9 in Clearwater at the FCSAA Championship Game.
#12 Chipola reached the fourth round by defeating #5 Chattanooga State, 2-0, and #20 Navarro College, 4-3. The Lady Indians' Anyela Gomez-Ruiz has picked up a win and a save in the circle and has not allowed a run in 9.2 innings pitched. Rani Meaux leads the Lady Indians at the plate, with a .500 (3-for-6) batting average in Yuma.
#1 Florida SouthWestern has come from behind in both of their games at the World Series. On Tuesday, FSW trailed #17 Crowder College (MO) 7-0 after 3.5 innings of play. The Bucs scored five in the bottom of the fourth and six in the bottom of the sixth to come away with an 11-8 victory. On Wednesday, Florida SouthWestern trailed Butler Community College (KS) 4-2 before tying the score with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Bucs scored three in the bottom of the sixth and, although Butler scored two in the top of the seventh, held on to take the 7-6 win.
Lizzy Kwakernaak (16-2) and Zoe Yzaguirre (10-0) have picked up the wins for the Bucs in the circle. Noelani Livingstone and Faith Wharton lead the Bucs at the plate with a .667 (4-for-6) batting average.
Tournament Notes
- With a win, Chipola will advance to the finals of the winner's bracket and be just two wins away from a National Championship. The winner's bracket game will be Friday at 3:00 PM CDT/1:00 PM CST aginast the winner of #3 Northwest Florida and #7 Gaston College (NC). Should the Lady Indians fall to FSW, they would turn around and play again this evening at 8:00 PM CDT/6:00 PM MST against the winner of #11 Wallace State – Hanceville (AL) and #16 McCook Community College (NE) who play at 11:00 AM CDT/9:00 AM MST Thursday morning.
- All three teams from the FCSAA are still undefeated at the World Series. Gaston College is the only other undefeated team. #3 Northwest Florida trailed 4-0 but scored three runs in the sixth then walked off #6 Odessa in the seventh to take a 5-4 win.
- Eight teams are left in the World Series. Here is a breakdown by state: Florida (3); North Carolina (1); Alabama (1); Missouri (1); Texas (1); and Nebraska (1).
- Seeds remaining in the World Series: #1; #3; #4; #7; #11; #12; #16; and #17.
- Live streaming for the tournament is available on ESPN+. You will need a subscription to ESPN+ in order to watch the games. For more information about how to subscribe, go to Live Streaming – ESPN+.
NJCAA TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
World Series Tournament Bracket
Game Schedule, Results, & Stats
Chipola Social Media: @ChipolaSoftball on X.com Chipola Athletics on Facebook
To receive text messages from Chipola Athletics: Chipola on Vozzi