The College of Central Florida Patriots (41-14) will host Tallahassee Community College (33-16) this weekend in Ocala for a best of three series to determine who will move on to the Championship Final Four Round of the Region 8 State Tournament in Lakeland, Florida starting Thursday, May 12th.
The first game of the series will be on Friday, May 6th at 2:00 PM. The TCC Eagles finished in second place in the very strong Panhandle Conference to earn their way into the NJCAA Region 8 Tournament. The Eagles are led by hitters Josh Pigozzo (.375, 3 HR, 40 RBI, 19 SB), Marcos Dinges (.341, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 7 SB), and Jayson Zmejksoski (.337, 1 HR, 27 RBI, 12 SB) and pitchers Ethan Firoved (10-2, 2.72 ERA, 72.2 IP, 50 H, 34 BB, 91 K), Grant Harrison (1-0, 1.52 ERA, 29.2 IP, 7 Saves, 9 BB, 35K), and Hunter Parris (1-3, 1.94 ERA, 3 Saves, 11 BB, 56 K).
This series will be a true test for the Patriots and their stout offense and strong starting pitching. These teams met once this season in Tallahassee with the Patriots winning the game 4-3. If that is any indication of how this series will go, the Pats are in for a battle. The Patriots will most likely throw their three All Mid-Florida Conference starters Ben Chestnutt (10-0, 2.92 ERA, 68 IP, 92 K), Landon Ginn (7-1, 2.10 ERA, 64.1 IP, 83 K) and Aaron Combs (7-2, 3.69 ERA, 53.2 IP, 65 K) and rely on Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year, Caleb Cali (.430, 15 HR, 71 RBI) and All-Conference players Kevin Kilpatrick (.386, 8 HR, 43 RBI, 8 SB), and Victor Castillo (.373, 10 HR, 50 RBI, 5 SB) to continue their strong offensive production.
This series will pit the two most winningest active NJCAA Region 8 coaches with Tallahassee's Mike McLeod (1057 wins) and Marty Smith (865 wins). Coach McLeod is the longest tenured coach in Region 8 and in his 32nd and last season at the helm of the Eagles. Coach McLeod will be retiring at the season's end. Coach Smith is in his 28th season as head coach of the Patriots.
Game 2 of the series will take place Saturday, May 7th, 11:00 AM and if necessary, Game 3 will be played 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 2.
The Ocala Regional is one of four regionals taking place this weekend. Other Regionals include:
Marianna Regional: #1 Chipola College (39-12-1) vs. #8 St. Johns River State College (29-26)
Ft. Myers Regional: #3 Florida Southwest State College (40-14) vs. #7 Indian River State College (30-16)
Miami Regional: #4 Miami-Dade College (34-17-1) vs. #5 Polk Sate College (34-17)
Come out and support your 2022 Mid-Florida Conference Champions Patriots this weekend by attending one or all of the games!
Game 1: Friday, May 6th, 2:00 PM
Game 2: Saturday, May 7th, 11:00 AM
Game 3: Saturday, May 7th (if necessary) 30 minutes after conclusion of Game 2.