Raider Softball Receives #5 Seed in NJCAA National Tournament
Northwest Florida Softball has made history this season by securing their first bid into the NJCAA National Tournament in program history. The Raiders finished the regular season 52-9 and were announced as the #5 seed in the national tournament in Oxford, Alabama that will take place May 23-27.
The Raiders will be facing #12 Eastern Arizona on Tuesday, May 23rd at 2:00 PM (CST). Eastern Arizona clinched a spot in the National Tournament after defeating Central Arizona in the Region I Tournament Championship game. Eastern Arizona finished the regular season just outside the top 20 in the D-I rankings, in the receiving votes category. Northwest Florida finished #6. Eastern Arizona finished the season on a 9-game win streak.
Eastern Arizona's Jaleen Mancha has collected 246 strikeouts this year, 5th best in the NJCAA. The righty from Las Cruces, New Mexico is 22-2 on the year with a 1.42 ERA through 158 innings in the circle. The Monsters have been hot at the plate all year, with a team batting average sitting at .364 and an on-base percentage of .435. They have collected 155 doubles and 62 home runs. Savannah Clausen leads the team in most categories, batting .486 with 22 doubles and 19 home runs.
Northwest Florida has a solid 1-2 punch inside the circle with Allison Brunson and Julia Petty. Brunson is 18-3 on the year, compiling a 2.11 ERA through 119.2 IP and 90 strikeouts. Alli Brunson has 13 complete games on the year. Julia Petty has amassed a 2.45 ERA through 154.0 IP and has accumulated 172 strikeouts and a 23-5 record with 11 complete games.
The Raider offense has been electric this season, batting .357 and an on-base percentage of .433. The Raiders have hit 85 home runs and 119 doubles. The lineup has been raking all year, with 10 batters hitting over .300 and 2 hitting over .400. Led by Sydney Stewart at .433, Stewart has been the definition of a lead-off hitter for the Raiders with a .488 OBP, 20 doubles and 7 home runs. Abigail Pippen, batting .405, has been a wall behind the dish with only 3 errors on the year. Pippen has been the spark plug for the Raiders on offense with a team-leading 16 home runs and 16 doubles to go along with her 65 RBIs.
This sophomore class has been the most successful class in the 28 year history of the program, compiling the best winning percentage in a 2-year history (.800), breaking the school history in doubles (119) and home runs (85) and punching the first bid into the NJCAA National Tournament.
($) Be sure to tune in to https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index to catch the Raiders games throughout the tournament. Northwest Florida will be playing Tuesday, May 23rd at 2:00 PM.
You can check the upcoming games throughout the entire National Tournament within the bracket located here: https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/i/i/b44wxcbfdf10o0/2023_NJCAA_DI_Softball_Champ_Bracket_v3.pdf