MARIANNA, Fla. – The Chipola Baseball team, the #4 seed in the FCSAA Division I Baseball Championship, comes in with a 32-17 record. The Indians will look to win two against the #5 seed Sharks from Miami Dade College (28-24). All games will be played at Jeff Johnson Field on the Chipola campus in Marianna.

FCSAA Championship Page

This weekend's schedule:

• Friday 6 PM central
• Saturday 11 AM central
• Sunday 1 PM central

Livestream for all games: Chipola Baseball Livestream

Admission per day: $5 (at the gate)

PREVIOUS MEETING THIS SEASON

In the first round of the Visit Panama City Beach College Baseball Classic on February 2, Chipola used a three-run sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and defeat the Sharks.

Freshman Austin Brown got the win in relief of starter Lucas Elissalt, throwing two innings and allowing two hits and striking out one.

Elissalt threw five shutout innings and struck out seven while allowing five hits and one walk.

Sophomore third-baseman, Knox Bennett led the Indians at the plate with two hits in three at bats.

In the sixth with the score tied, Chipola had two runners on and two outs, when a Rob Gordon double gave the Indians a 3-1 lead. Miguel Hugas followed with a two out hit of his own to score Gordon and put the Indians up 4-1.

AT THE PLATE

As a team, the Indians carry a .319 batting average coming into the weekend. A trio of freshman lead the offensive charge for Chipola.

• JC Vanek is hitting a team best .366 with a .505 on base percentage. Vanek also leads the team in RBIs with 47.
• Zaid Diaz leads the team in Home-runs with 6 this season. Zaid is hitting .295 with a .395 on base percentage and is slugging .537
• Sam Parker is hitting .364 with four home runs and 34 runs batted in this season.

ON THE MOUND

Chipola's pitching staff holds an ERA of 6.10 and opponents are batting .273 in the 2024 season. In 364.2 innings pitched, the Indians' staff has struck out 383. Coach Jeff Johnson will most likely choose from these four starts this weekend.

• Lucas Elissalt (6-2), a Panhandle All-Conference First Team selection, has started 14 games this season for the Indians and carries an ERA of 5.11. In 61.2 innings pitched, Elissalt has struck out 75 while only walking 25.
• Amari Allen (4-3) has started 8 games this year owning an ERA of 5.26. Alleni has pitched 49.2 innings striking out 43 batters.
• JeanPierre Ortiz (4-2) has started 8 games pitching 44.2 innings with an ERA of 5.04. Ortiz also has a save this season and could be used to close a game or two.
• Miguel Hugas (4-1) has started five games pitching 35.2 innings with an ERA of 5.30 and striking out 39 hitters.

KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT

Through 52 games this season, Miami-Dade is hitting .287 as a team and their pitchers have an ERA of 5.11.

Third-baseman D'Angelo Ortiz leads the Sharks at the plate batting .381 with a .473 on base percentage. Ortiz has seven doubles while driving in 33 runs.

Shortstop Carlos Jacome is hitting .316 with five homeruns and has driven in 36 runs.

Coach Lazaro Lanes will be expected to select from a sophomore and a pair of freshmen to start against the Indians.

• Juan Miguel Fernandez is 9-2 on the year with an ERA of 3.36. In 77.2 innings pitched, the sophomore right-hander has struck out 81 while walking 42.
• Freshman righty, Luis Rodriguez, has only six starts on the season but has started the last three Citrus Conference series for the Sharks. In 39.1 innings pitched, Rodriguez has struck out 39 and walked 25. He has a 3-1 record on the mound this season and one save.
• Another righthanded freshman, Enrique Sierra, has started five games this season with each start coming against the last five conference opponents. Sierra has thrown 42.0 innings, carries a 4.93 ERA, and has struck out 38 while walking 26.

STAY CONNECTED

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