TCC sweeps Chipola in crucial doubleheader

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (April 1, 2023) — TCC found themselves in the midst of a four-game losing streak entering Saturday and sitting at 1-9 in Panhandle Conference play. After a pair of wins over Chipola, the Eagles are right back in the postseason mix, tied for fourth place with the Indians. Brittany Michael's pitching performance in game one, accompanied by a clutch home run from her twin sister and battery mate Brooke helped secure a 3-2 win in game one. Game two saw the Eagles win convincingly, with the game ending in the bottom of the sixth after TCC took an 8-0 lead. 

Many TCC Softball alumni, as well as the program's first head coach Maria Mendoza, were in attendance on Saturday to support the team in this rivalry matchup. It was a great atmosphere at the Softball Complex, especially during a closely-contested first game that was decided by just one run. 

An intense pitchers' duel goes the way of the Eagles in game one

Brittany Michael got the nod in game one, making her 14th pitching appearance and 11th start. 

The Eagles got on the board quickly with a solo home run from SheShe Ortiz (INF, Soph.) in the bottom of the first. Ortiz is third on the team in home runs with seven. In the fourth inning, Brooke Michael (C, Soph.) added two more with a home run of her own, just her second of the season. TCC needed all three runs to win the game, as Chipola started to chip away at the deficit in the late innings. 

In the sixth inning, Chipola leadoff hitter Jadyn Burney reached on an error by Brooke Michael. She moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Janelle Martinez and came around to score on an RBI single from Amari Brown to make it 3-1. 

Chipola threatened again in the seventh inning when an RBI double from Sydney Watson made it a 3-2 game. Burney drew a two-out walk against Michael, and with two outs, Chipola had the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first. At the plate was Janelle Martinez, who came into the day fourth in Region 8 in batting average (.481). She lined the first pitch into right field, but moving back and to her right was Alison Rodriguez (UTL, Soph.) who made the catch to end the game. Brittany Michael picked up her seventh win of the season, and the Eagles moved to 20-13 on the season. 

A comprehensive victory in game two

In game two it was Sydney Ray in the circle, and she kept the Indians off the board for six innings before the Eagles scored their eighth and final run in the bottom of the sixth. It was the first time TCC was on the winning end of a run-rule game in conference play this season.

It was another early start for the offense in game two, with Aneyshka Aponte (OF, Soph.) and SheShe Ortiz coming around to score after first-inning mistakes from the Chipola starter Amari Brown. Raven Little made it 4-0 in the fourth inning after hitting her eighth home run of the season. 

Brown worked into the sixth inning and got Kayli Reed (INF, Fresh.) to ground out to lead off the frame. She then issued free passes to Aponte and Ortiz at the top of the order before being pulled for Hannah Atwood. Atwood walked Brittany Michael, the first batter she faced. Aponte and Ortiz had already moved into scoring position on a stolen base and a passed ball. Next up was Raven Little, who roped a ball to the left field fence, scoring two runs to end the game at 8-0. Sydney Ray pitched the entire game and moved to 4-1 on the season, and her ERA improved to 2.30. 

The road to the postseason

The Eagles entered Saturday in last place in the Panhandle Conference, two games behind Chipola. Winning both games means the teams are now tied for fourth in the league. In the Panhandle Conference, finishing in the top four means a spot in a playoff for the league's second automatic bid to the FCSAA Tournament. TCC has one more game against Chipola on Saturday, April 15 in Marianna. The next two doubleheaders of the regular season will be the last, with the final round of conference play taking place one game at a time. 

On Tuesday, TCC travels to Niceville to take on #3 Northwest Florida State. The two teams last met in Tallahassee on March 23, splitting the doubleheader. The Raiders were the top-ranked team in the country at that time. Tuesday's doubleheader will start at 5:00 PM EDT.