FOUR TEAMS ADVANCE TO FINALS, NATIONAL CHAMPION TO BE CROWNED TOMORROW
2007-05-18

The number of junior college teams is slowly dwindling down from the original 16 teams that began play here yesterday at the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Division I women’s (fast pitch) softball national championship. A new titleholder will be crowned tomorrow, with games scheduled at 10 a.m., 12 noon, and 2 p.m., all in Plant City Stadium. The tournament is taking place at the world headquarters of the International Softball Federation (ISF).

The early afternoon games were full of advances as well as eliminations of teams. Closely ranked #13 Wallace State Community College and #14 Louisburg went head-to-head on the Fourplex, resulting in domination by Wallace State with an 11-3 victory. Fueled by first base player Courtney Underwood’s two-run home run and two RBIs in the bottom of the third inning, Wallace State kept their momentum throughout the game, leading them to a win that will advance them closer to the national championship game, while eliminating the fourteenth-seed.

North Idaho also came out strong in the third inning against Texarkana, when first base player Kristen Burtch hit a two-run homerun, helping eliminate Texarkana in a 5-1 win. Burtch also doubled with two more RBIs in the top of the seventh inning, along with another RBI by third base player Shay Craig. An error by North Idaho resulting in a run scored by Texarkana in the bottom of the seventh was not enough to save the seventh-seed from being eliminated.

Fiery Western Texas sent McLennan Community College home today, defeating them in a scoreless game until the seventh inning, 2-0. The runs were brought home on a two–run homerun by shortstop Raquel Hawkins.

The last of the eliminations from the early afternoon games came from sixth-seed Northeastern Oklahoma A&M defeating #12 Butler County Community College, 6-2. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M came out strong in the top of the first inning with a two-run home run by catcher Shareena Pulse. Designated hitter Leslie Hobbs hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth, contributing to the sixth-seed’s defeat of the Grizzlies.

After a brief rain delay in the late afternoon, two more teams’ hopes of a national championship were put to rest. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M sent Western Texas home with a 6-3 victory. Winning pitcher Candace Handley helped her team advance with eight strikeouts. North Idaho eliminated Wallace State Community College in a close match up, ending in a 3-1 win. A two-run homerun in the bottom of the third inning by second base player Angie Boardman gave North Idaho a chance to compete against Georgia Perimeter later in the evening.

Earlier in the afternoon, still undefeated Eastern Arizona beat Georgia Perimeter, with a score of 9-1, ending in six innings. Seven of the nine runs were scored in the top of the fourth, including a three-run homerun by designated hitter Liz McBride, and a grand slam by center fielder Marina Gusman-Brown.

Undefeated #1 Chipola sent Miami Dade to the loser’s bracket with a 3-0 victory in the evening games. They moved on to play #2 Eastern Arizona in the final game of the evening, defeating them 5-2. Chipola advances to the finals tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the stadium.

Meanwhile, North Idaho will also advance to the finals due to their 4-3, nine inning defeat over eleventh-seed Georgia Perimeter.