LONGWOOD, FLA.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers' season came to a heartbreaking end Monday in the NJCAA District H Championship game as they dropped a 2-1, nine inning decision to #3 Chipola to see their 2019 season come to an end at 54-3.
In a win or go home contest that took more than 24 hours between the start and finish of the game, it was a pitcher's duel early as FSW's Kelsi Collins and Chipola's Amy Woodham locked up in a good one. The Bucs failed to pick up a hit through three innings of action while the Indians tallied just one through three scoreless frames.
Chipola cracked the scoreboard first with two outs in the top of the fourth as they used a single, a stolen base and an FSW error to put a runner at third and then scored her on a single back up the middle to make it a 1-0 game.
The Bucs first hit came in the fifth and it couldn't have come in a bigger spot as Madison Johnson found a hole with two outs and a runner on third to bring home the game tying run, knotting the game at one.
Both sides went down in order in the sixth and the two each stranded the go ahead run on in the seventh to send the game to extra innings deadlocked at one.
That's when Mother Nature had different ideas. With the eighth inning about to start, the skies opened on Boombah Soldier's Creek Park, forcing the postponement of the game to Monday morning.
Upon the return to action on Monday, Chipola put their first runner on in the eighth, but a highlight reel play from Lindsey Corbin at short turned into a double play and ended the inning for the Indians.
The Bucs had a chance to win it in the eighth as Rebeca Laudino walked with two outs and stole second, but FSW couldn't bring her home and thus sent the game to a ninth frame.
The ninth began in the worst way possible for the Bucs as Lauren Finch ambushed the first pitch of the inning, crushing it out to left center field for a solo home run to give the Indians a 2-1 lead.
With three outs left between the Bucs and the end of their season or a trip to the National Tournament, the first prevailed in the bottom of the ninth as FSW was sat down quietly in order to fall 2-1 and see their season come to an end.
The Bucs managed a season low two hits and one run in the loss while committing three errors for the third straight game on defense. FSW Head Coach Robert Iamurri employed a unique strategy in the circle in the contest, moving three pitchers around between right field, first base, and the circle. It mostly worked as FSW allowed just six hits in nine innings. Collins started and went 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and one unearned run. Haley Ellefson threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings in four different stints while Sarah Lawton worked 2 2/3 innings, suffering the loss to fall to 12-2 on the year.
FSW's season comes to an end at 54-3 while Chipola improves to 47-5 and advances to the NJCAA National Tournament for the fifth straight season.
At the completion of the tournament, Rebeca Laudino, Paris Woods, Pallas Potter, and Kelsi Collins were each named to the All-Tournament Team.
