HICKORY, NORTH CAROLINA. - Florida State College at Jacksonville took north this weekend to take on Catawba Valley Community College in a best two-out-of-three super regional matchup for the NJCAA Division II South Atlantic District Championship and a berth to the NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, Oklahoma, at the end of the month. FSCJ took the series, two to one, and punched their ticket to the World Series for the first time since 2000, and the fourth time overall. The magical season continues with a record of 30-19.

Game One - FSCJ 3, CVCC 0

The series opened on Saturday night under the lights at Henkel-Alley Field with a pitcher's dual between both teams ace left-handed pitchers. Both teams traded early zeroes before Xavier Cintron drove in Hunter Bradshaw from third base with a groundball to give the Wave a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Jayme Villafane followed that up with a perfectly placed bunt to score Blake Wood in the top of the fourth. The final run came in the top of the sixth on a Bradshaw double that scored Jack Gidcumb to take the score to 3-0. Bradshaw had a multi-hit game. The lefty in blue proved to have the upper hand on the night, as Redshirt Sophomore Daniel Gaviria (7-2) went 8 shutout innings, allowing 6 hits and no walks while striking out 10. Patrick Groark earned his tenth save of the year with a shutout ninth inning to seal the deal and give the Wave a 1-0 series lead. 

Game Two - CVCC 11, FSCJ 8

Sunday's first game provided plenty of fireworks in a back and forth game. FSCJ, as the home team, took an early 2-0 on a Garrett Chun RBI double and a Mason McLeod RBI groundout in the bottom of the second inning. Catawba plated four runs in the third to take a 4-2 edge. They tacked on three more for a 7-2 lead in the fourth. Following a pitching change that saw Redshirt Sophomore lefty Tyler Green enter the game and provide some life for the Blue Wave, the bats came alive. FSCJ scored six runs in the fifth inning to take an 8-7 lead on an Evan Wickeri RBI single, McLeod two-RBI double, Blake Wood two-RBI double, and Jayme Villafane sac fly. CVCC tied the game in the sixth, and then took the lead for good in the ninth with three runs. Chun, McLeod, and Hunter Bradshaw all had multi-hit games. Brian Veniard started for the Wave, giving up three earned runs in 3.2 innings, striking out five. Green threw four innings of relief, allowing zero earned runs. Colby Lipovsky (2-7) took the loss, allowing three runs in 1.1 innings. 

Game Three - FSCJ 10, CVCC 6

It all came down to a winner-take-all game three on Sunday night in Hickory. With both teams physically drained and low on pitching, it would take a full team effort to claim the win, and that is exactly what FSCJ got. The Red Hawks would take an early lead in the top of the first inning on two solo home runs, before the Blue Wave hung a five spot in the bottom of the second. A Hunter Bradshaw bunt single scored the first run, and he subsequently scored on an error and wild pitch. The big blow came from a Barry Eiseman three-run home run to dead center field to give FSCJ a 5-2 lead. CVCC tacked on another solo homer and Eiseman answered once again with an RBI single en route to a 4 RBI game. The two teams would trade single runs once more in the fifth, this time scoring on a Jack Gidcumb RBI single. A Garrett Chun two-RBI double and Blake Wood RBI single would tack on three more runs in the sixth to make the score 10-4 in favor of the Wave. Catawba capitalized on some defensive miscues by FSCJ to climb back to 10-6, but the score would remain there. Eiseman, Bradshaw, and Gidcumb all had multi-hit games. Freshman RHP Dylan Dudones started for FSCJ on the mound, gutting through 4.2 innings allowing four runs. Manny Reyes provided his best performance of the season coming in relief of Dudones, earning the win after going 3.1 innings with no earned runs on two hits, no walks, and three strikeouts. Patrick Groark slammed the door once again in the ninth by striking out the side and clinching the game and the series for FSCJ, and the celebration ensued. 

What's Next?

FSCJ will travel to Enid, Oklahoma, for the NJCAA Division II World Series beginning on May 28th. The bracket with teams, dates, and times, will be released this week.