International Competition On Tap For A Pair of Bucs

Courtney Gettins and Mikayla Werahiko
Courtney Gettins and Mikayla Werahiko

WORLD CUP OF SOFTBALL INFO (Live Stats/Video)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – FSW rising sophomores Courtney Gettins and Mikayla Werahiko will represent New Zealand at the World Cup of Softball XI from July 5-10 at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, Okla. and also at the 2016 Women's Softball World Championship that will take place in Surrey, Canada from July 15-24.

Featuring eight of the Top 10 Women's National Teams in the world, the World Cup of Softball returns to Oklahoma City for the first time since 2013, following extensive renovations to the complex. With a record-12 countries slated to participate, the World Cup of Softball XI features No. 1 Japan, No. 2 USA, No. 3 Australia, No. 4 Canada, No. 6 China, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 8 New Zealand and No. 10 Czech Republic. No. 11 Puerto Rico, No. 14 Mexico, No. 19 Venezuela, No. 23 Philippines and the USA Softball Women's Elite Team are also slated to compete.

The 13 teams competing have been delegated to their respective pools (89'ers Pool: Australia, China, Netherlands, Philippines, Puerto Rico, USA, Venezuela; Sooner Pool: Canada, Czech Republic, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, USA Elite) and will begin the tournament with a single round-robin with China facing Mexico on July 5 at 10:30am CT. The top two teams from each pool will then face each other for the top prize July 10 at 5:00pm CT.

Every game of the World Cup of Softball with have live stats and be live streamed online at: http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Events/2016/July/05/World-Cup-of-Softball-XI.

The 15th edition of the Women's Softball World Championship has 31 participating National Teams and will showcase a record total of 124 international games. Nations have been divided into eight pools of four to compete in a preliminary round-robin. Teams will then be allocated to one of eight sections of four in a fresh second round-robin based on their finish in the preliminary round-robin. The top two teams from each section will advance to the Championship Double page system. Teams finishing third and fourth in pool play will be placed in a placement pool and play in a double page system to determine position 9-16. Remaining teams in each pool advance to a Double Page placement pool for position 17-31.

Pool A: Japan, Venezuela, France
Pool B: USA, Brazil, Austria, Israel
Pool C: Australia, Mexico, Switzerland, Serbia
Pool D: Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Uganda
Pool E: Chinese Taipei, Puerto Rico, India, Ecuador
Pool F: Netherlands, Czech Republic, Philippines, Pakistan
Pool G: China, Cuba, Guatemala, Greece
Pool H: New Zealand, Italy, Kenya, Peru

Gettins, the 2016 recipient of the Dudley® NJCAA DI Softball Pitcher of the Year award, was outstanding all season long and was huge in FSW's run to the NJCAA National Tournament. She pitched every inning in Suncoast Conference play, all but one game at the FCSAA State Tournament and every inning of the national tournament, including the 15 inning loss to eventual national champion Butler. The Fastpitch News NJCAA Division I and Suncoast Conference Pitcher of the Year finished the season with a 39-6 with three saves and a 1.45 ERA, while limiting the opposition to a .202 batting average. Gettins' performance during her rookie season ranked her among nation's best in multiple categories. She led the nation in innings pitched (303.1), wins (39), complete games (37) and games started (44), while ranking third in strikeouts (289) and 13th in ERA (1.45). In conference play, the Hawkes Bay, New Zealand native and went 19-1 with a 0.62 ERA, while holding opponents to a .162 batting average.

Gettins registered seven or more strikeouts 15 times and tallied double-digit strikeouts on nine occasions, including a career-high 19 strikeouts in a 2-1 victory over Spartanburg Methodist (Feb. 12). She also pitched three no-hitters on the season (Lake-Sumter, March 3; Polk State, April 12), including a combined no-hitter with teammate Jenna Sacchetti against Palm Beach State (Feb. 4).

Werahiko, a Suncoast Conference First Team honoree and FCSAA All-Tournament team selection, hit.350 with five homers, nine doubles and 53 RBI. The Christchurch, New Zealand native also recorded eight triples on the season, which ranked t-11th in the NJCAA and t-3rd in Region 8/FCSAA. During league play, she hit. 386 with a pair of round-trippers, five triples and 17 runs batted in.

For more information on Buccaneer Athletics follow @FSWBucs on Twitter or log on to FSWBucs.com.

2016 World Cup of Softball XI
ASA Hall of Fame Complex - Oklahoma City, Okla.
July 5-10

Schedule (New Zealand Team only)
(all times CT)

July 5
3:00 PM - New Zealand vs Canada

July 7
10:30 AM - Australia vs New Zealand

July 8
10:30 AM - Czech Republic vs New Zealand
1:00 PM - Japan vs New Zealand

July 9
12:00 PM - USA Elite vs New Zealand
4:30 PM - New Zealand vs Mexico

July 10
10:30 AM - Seed A # 4 vs Seed B #4
10:30 AM - Seed A #6 vs Seed B #6
12:30 PM - Seed A #3 vs Seed B #3
12:30 PM - Seed A #5 vs Seed B #5
3:00 PM - Seed A #2 vs Seed B #2
3:00 PM - Seed A #7 vs Winner A6 vs B6
5:00 PM - Seed A #1 vs Seed B #1

FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN
The Florida SouthWestern State College athletic program is a member of the Florida College System Athletic Association (FCSAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Buccaneers are one of 25 schools in the NJCAA Region 8 and are one of six schools in the Suncoast Conference. Florida SouthWestern State College currently supports four intercollegiate athletic programs (Baseball, Softball, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball), with Volleyball coming in the fall of 2017.

Baseball and Softball began their regular season competition in 2016 at the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. Located on the Thomas Edison (Lee) Campus in Fort Myers will be the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena (set to be completed by fall 2016), where FSW's men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams will compete.

THE NJCAA
The movement to form a unique sports association dedicated to America's two-year colleges arose in 1937 when several track and field coaches gathered in Fresno, California. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rejected a petition from 13 two-year colleges in California to grant their teams and athletes permission to compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.

In the spring of 1938, following the NCAA's rejection, those same 13 two-year colleges gathered again in Fresno to organize and form an association that would promote and supervise a national athletics program exclusively for junior and community colleges…and the rest is history.

On May 14, 1938, the first constitution of the National Junior College Athletic Association was accepted by its charter members and the organization held its first national championship event a year later in May 1939.

The NJCAA has played a vital role in collegiate athletics for the past eight decades and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. This section of the association's website is dedicated to celebrating the NJCAA's rich history and tradition as the national governing body of two-year college athletics.

For more information on the NJCAA log on to www.NJCAA.org

THE FCSAA
The Florida College System Activities Association, Incorporated (FCSAA) is a statewide non‑profit corporation regulating, coordinating, and promoting intercollegiate activities in: Athletics, Brain Bowl, Forensics, Music, Student Government, Student Publications, and Theatre.

Membership in the Florida College System Activities Association is open to any of the 28 colleges in the Florida College System. Each member institution is represented in the policy‑making deliberations of the Association through that institution's President or other designated representative. The institutional representatives constitute the FCSAA Presidents Assembly, the ultimate authority in FCSAA.

For more information on the FCSAA log on to www.TheFCSAA.com.  

NJCAA REGION 8 & THE SUNCOAST CONFERENCE
Member colleges of the NJCAA are allotted to a specific NJCAA Region upon membership to the association. Unlike other collegiate organizations that defer to conference affiliation, the NJCAA guarantees each member college's membership within the regional structure of the association. In most cases, region assignment is based upon geographic location of the college. 

The region structure of the NJCAA is the primary method used by all sponsored sports of the association in determining qualification for national championship tournaments. In certain sports, two or more regions are partnered to form a competition 'district', which is then used for national championship qualification. The organization of districts varies per sport and is formulated every two years under the authority of the association's board of directors. 

FSW is in Region 8 and is joined by ASA College Miami (Region 8 only; non-FCSAA member), Broward College, Chipola College, College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Eastern Florida State College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Gulf Coast State College, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, Pensacola State College, Polk State College, Santa Fe College, Seminole State College of Florida, South Florida State College, St. Johns River State College, St. Petersburg College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Tallahassee Community College.

The Bucs are also in the Suncoast Conference with Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, South Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.

For more information on Region 8 log on to www.TheFCSAASports.com.