ST. GEORGE, UTAH – The No. 5 seed Florida SouthWestern State College softball team dropped a pair of tough contests, including a 15 inning marathon, and were eliminated from the double-elimination National Junior College Athletic Association NJCAA National Tournament at Canyons Complex on Thursday night (May 19).

FSW fell to Butler CC 5-4 in 15 innings in a game that lasted 4 hours and thirty minutes. The Bucs then had 30 minutes to regroup before playing in their Loser's Bracket matchup against McLennan. FSW fought hard but McLennan scored three runs in the top of the seventh for the comeback win.

The Bucs end the program's first season with a 53-16 overall record. Under the leadership of 2016 Suncoast Conference Coach of the Year Robert Iamurri, the Purple and Aqua secured the program's first-ever Suncoast Conference Championship with a 19-1 mark in conference play, won the District H Championship, finished as runners-up at the FCSAA State Tournament and locked up the program's first berth to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament. The team, which was ranked No. 11 in the final Marucci Sports NJCAA Division I Softball Rankings, also finish the season with 274 stolen bases, which leads the nation at every level (NCAA DI, NCAA DII, NCAA DIII, NJCAA, NAIA).

Courtney Gettins was an absolute machine on day two of the NJCAA National Tournament, pitching 22 total innings, allowing five earned runs and striking out 12 batters.

In game one, Florida Southwestern scored first to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Hollianne Dohrn singled to score Mikayla Werahiko, but Butler answered quickly with a two-run home run by Brynn Minor in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead.

FSW added another run in the top of the second, thanks to a double from Savannah Retallick that scored Graysen Gladden, to tie the game 2-2.

In the top of the fourth, the Buccaneers scored two runs on four hits and took a 4-2 lead. Tori Foster drove in the first run of the inning with a sac fly to right field that scored Gladden. Criza Bulanadi singled and scored Retallick for the second run of the inning for FSW.

Butler took advantage of an error that led to two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Morgan Bohanan walked and Becca Schulte reached on a throwing error, allowing Bohanan to score and Schulte to advance to third. Two batters later, Morgan Heckart singled to drive in Schulte, tying the game 4-4.

Neither team would score for the next nine innings. Butler, meanwhile, loaded the bases three different times, but Gettins was able to strike out a batter to end the inning each time.

Finally in the 15th, Butler's Megan Wurts doubled to right-center to lead off the inning. Bohanan drew a walk to put runners at first and second with no outs. Schulte, Butler's leader 14 home runs and 68 runs batted in, was called on to lay down a sacrifice bunt. The ball was fielded but thrown away, allowing Wurts to score from second to end the game.

The Bucs then had 30 minutes to prepare for an elimination game with McLennan. The Highlassies came from behind to defeat FSW 8-6. Florida Southwestern began the scoring with one run in the bottom of the first as Werahiko doubled and scored on a single by Molly Roark.

McLennan tied the game with a run in the top of the second as Victoria Gonzales singled, advanced around to third on a ground out by Elizabeth Svienty and scored on a single by Andrea Gonzales.

The Bucs took the lead with a run in the bottom of the second as Gladden tripled and scored on a single by Foster.

The Highlassies tied the game at two with a run in the top of the third. Marisa Flores and Theresa Gonzales both singled. Both runners advanced on a ground out by Victoria Gonzales. Serena Saldivar flied out and Victoria Gonzales scored on an error.

Florida Southwestern took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third as Werahiko singled and scored on a big home run by Roark.

The Buccaneers added two runs in the fourth. Samantha Luckett doubled and scored on a single by Marta Fuentes. Bulanadi then drew a walk and Werahiko followed with a double to score Fuentes.

The Highlassies began to chip away at the lead, scoring two runs in the fifth and another run in the sixth to cut the FSW lead down to 6-5.

McLennan sealed the comeback win with three runs in the top of the seventh. Theresa Gonzales drew a lead-off walk and Victoria Gonzales was safe at first on an error. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Saldivar. Theresa Gonzales came in to score on a throwing error. Andrea Gonzales singled, bringing Victoria Gonzales in to score. Haley Webre reached first safely and moved to second on an error, bringing Andrea Gonzales in to score.

Bulanadi walked to start the bottom of the seventh. Werahiko then reached on a fielder's choice and stole second base. McLennan then got a fly out and a strikeout to end the game.

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

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.