NJCAA NATIONAL TOURNAMENT | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
WINNER'S BRACKET | LOSER'S BRACKET
WHEN: May 18-21
WHERE: St. George, Utah (Canyons Complex)
VIDEO: Games 27-31 will be available online on NJCAA TV
LIVE STATS: St. George Recreation Website

ST. GEORGE, UTAH – The No. 5 seed Florida SouthWestern State College softball team picked up the program's first win in the NJCAA National Tournament and advanced to the second round of the Winner's Bracket with a 6-1 win over 12-seed San Jacinto-South at Canyons Complex on Wednesday (May 18).

The Bucs improve to 53-14 overall with the win, while San Jac falls to 35-24 and drops to the Loser's Bracket. The win also sets up a second round matchup between FSW and No. 4 Butler on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET).

With a win on Friday night, the Buccaneer's will advance in the Winner's Bracket and will face the winner of the No. 1 Tyler/No. 8 Yavapai game on Friday, May 20 at 2 p.m. ET. With a loss, FSW will fall to the Loser's Bracket and face the winner of the Indian Hills/McLennan matchup at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Molly Roark led the FSW offense, finishing 2-for-2 with a double, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Tori Foster went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored, Hollianne Dohrn went 1-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs and Mikayla Werahiko finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. Suncoast Conference Pitcher of the Year and the current NJCAA leader in innings pitched (275.1), wins (39), complete games (35) and games started (42) Courtney Gettins pitched 7.0 innings and surrendered just five hits and one earned run, while fanning six batters.

The Suncoast Conference and District H champions got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning. After Werahiko reached on a fielder's choice, Roark doubled to left field scoring Werahiko to give FSW the early 1-0 lead. Dorhn then stepped into the box and homered to right centerfield to push the Purple and Aqua's lead to 3-0.

FSW added another run in the bottom of the third inning when Kayla Rangiawha's sac fly to centerfield scored Roark to give the Bucs a 4-0 advantage.

San Jacinto-South ended the shutout in the top of the fourth inning when Gabby Gonzalez launched a solo homer to left field (4-1).

The Buccaneers would go on to pick up the 6-1 win after adding a run in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a sac fly by Roark that scored Werahiko and a run in the bottom of the sixth when Savannah Retallick doubled to score Tori Foster.

Butler, who advanced to the second round by defeating Howard College 11-2 in six innings, (KS) is 49-4 overall (23-1 in conference) and are the winners of 34 consecutive games. Heading into Wednesday's game against Howard, Butler ranked seventh in the country in doubles (134), while ranking in the top 10 in batting average (.389; 9th) and stolen bases (132; 10th). Butler also ranked second in the NJCAA in batting average against, holding opponents to just .218. Butler has seven players hitting .400 or better, led by Morgan Bohanan's .507. Becca Schulte leads the team with 14 homers and 68 RBIs. Regan Mergele and Jennifer Hittinger lead the pitching staff with records of 23-3 (1.49 ERA) and 22-1 (1.81 ERA), respectively.

For more information on Buccaneer Athletics follow @FSWBucs on Twitter or log on to FSWBucs.com and for more information on the NJCAA follow @NJCAA or check out NJCAA.org.

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.