Softball team the No. 7 seed, faces FSW in first round

The Eastern Florida State College softball team will open the FCSAA Division I/NJCAA South Atlantic District Softball Championship on Wednesday afternoon.

The Titans come into the tournament as the No. 7 seed and will open against third-ranked Florida Southwestern State College who is the No. 2 seed at 4 p.m. at Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater.

Florida Southwestern is 3-1 this season against the Titans and are 52-6.

The teams are both in the top four in the state in batting average as the Titans are No. 3 hitting .356 while Florida Southwestern is fourth, hitting .352. The Bucs lead Region 8 in pitching, coming into the postseason with a 1.67 ERA. The trio of Esmee Ames (1.55) and Lea Chevrier (1.63) are both in the top five in Region 8 in earned run average.  

Eastern Florida State College, who is 37-23 this season, are led by Jenna Borkey with a .407 batting average with 43 stolen bases while McKenzie Jewell is hitting .398 with 19 doubles, three triples and three home runs. Jewell has also been good against the Bucs, going 6-for-11 with four RBI in the four games.

"If we are able to command the strike zone and have quality at-bats, we anticipate another battle," Eastern Florida State College softball coach Shelby Petik said. "We have played them tight all year and look forward to giving them our best when it matters the most."

The tournament is a double elimination tournament that will end on Saturday with two teams winning South District bids.