The No. 6-ranked SLCC softball team (52-10) came into Friday night’s contest with Wallace State College (WSC) riding a 12 game winning streak including an 12-0 victory over Chipola College earlier in the afternoon.
However the hot hitting Bruins were stymied by the powerful pitching and timely hitting of WSC in the nightcap with an 8-1 loss.
The Bruins entered ‘Fast Friday’ on the heels of two straight blowouts to open the NJCAA nationals, defeating Georgia Perimeter 9-1 in the first round and Weatherford College 10-2 in the second round with both victories decided by the run rule in the fifth inning.
The powerful hitting of sophomore Whitney Holt helped propel the Bruins to a 12-0 victory against Chipola College in Friday’s matinee game highlighted by a six run outburst in the seventh inning.
Holt was 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. Sophomore pitcher MaCauley Flint allowed just one hit in a complete game effort that included nine strikeouts.
In the nightcap contest against WSC the Bruins were unable to continue their streak of lights out pitching and steady hitting from their star players.
Flint struck out four WSC batters in four gutsy innings of work after pitching seven innings earlier in the day but was tagged for four runs including three in the fourth inning.
The Bruins’ powerful hitting trio of Holt, Malia Campos and Maddy Woodward was held in check the entire game and failed to produce any runs for the first time in the tournament. Bruin sophomore Lauren Hager provided the only RBI in a 1-for-3 showing at the plate.
The season is not yet over for the Bruins as they take the field for a play-in contest against Pima College on Saturday, May 18 at 10:00 a.m. A win over Pima would give SLCC their third straight NJCAA National Championship appearance, and a chance to play WSC for the national title.
