Chipola vs. Wallace State-Hanceville - NJCAA National Championship
Pacifice Avenue Athletic Complex, Yuma, Arizona - 4 PM Central
The 12 seed Lady Indians (25-17) will meet 5 seed Wallace State Community College of Hancevile, Alabama in round one of the 2021 NJCAA Softball National Championship Tournament. Chipola and the Lions (53-4) are set to square off at 4 PM central (2 PM local) at the Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex in Yuma, Arizona.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. The Lions bested the Lady Indians back on February 7 in Marianna, 5-4. Wallace State jumped out to a 5-0 lead after four innings then held on to win after Chipola came back to score two runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings.
Chipola will be facing their fifth consecutive nationally ranked opponent when they take on the #5 Lions. In the final game of the regular season, the Lady Indians defeated #16 Pensacola State to win a share of the Panhandle Conference Championship. Coach Belinda Hendrix's squad then went on a run in the FCSAAA State Tournament that included wins over #5 College of Central Florida, #1 Florida SouthWestern, and #12 Indian River State College. In the latest softball rankings, the Lady Indians made a return to the poll at #15. It is the first time Chipola has been in the poll since being ranked second in the preseason.
Wallace State-Hanceville is led by Region 22 Player of the Year, Brantly Bonds, and Region 22 Pitcher of the Year, Haylee Folds.
Bonds, a sophomore infielder from Corner, Alabama, is batting .450 with 21 home runs, which is good enough for 15th in NJCAA D1 Softball. She is also seventh in the nation with 83 RBI.
Folds, a sophomore pitcher from Dallas, Georgia, is 19-1 on the season with a 2.02 ERA. She has struck out 103 batters while walking only 27.
The two schools have combined for five of the last thirteen National Championships with Chipola winning in 2007, 2015, and 2019 and Wallace State winning the title in 2008 and 2013.
The winner of today's game will take on the winner of the matchup between 4 seed Grayson Community College and 13 seed John A. Logan College on Wednesday at 4 PM central. The losers of the same games will face off at noon central on Wednesday.