NJCAA Region 8 Baseball/Softball Notebook: April 19

Photo courtesy of Tom Hagerty, Polk State College
Photo courtesy of Tom Hagerty, Polk State College

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (April 19, 2016) – The Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) has released its NJCAA Region 8 Baseball and Softball Coaches’ Polls for April 19 and Player and Pitcher of the Week selections for games played April 11-17.

This is the final poll for softball. The next poll and Player and Pitcher of the Week selections for baseball will be released April 26.

Follow the FCSAA and NJCAA Region VIII sports online throughout the season at www.theFCSAAsports.com. The FCSAA is also on Facebook and Twitter @theFCSAA.


NJCAA Region 8 Baseball Coaches’ Poll
April 19, 2016 

The NJCAA Region 8 Baseball Coaches’ Poll, with number of first-place votes in parentheses, 2016 record, previous ranking and total points in voting by Region 8 baseball coaches, the FCSAA Baseball Chair and the FCSAA Scoreboard Coordinator.

Rank

Team

Record

Pts

Pvs

1.

Santa Fe (18)

37-7

216

1

2.

Chipola (4)

36-11

191

2

3.

Polk State

33-13

147

5

4.

Gulf Coast State

36-12

140

3

5.

St. Johns River State

38-10

126

4

6.

Eastern Florida State

31-14

113

6

7.

Miami Dade

26-17

67

8

8.

St. Petersburg

28-19

62

10

9.

Central Florida

30-16

45

--

10.

Broward

31-19

36

--

 

Also receiving votes: Northwest Florida State 32, State College of Florida 21, Tallahassee 8, Palm Beach State 6.

Dropped from rankings: No. 7 State College of Florida, No. 9 Tallahassee.

NJCAA Region 8 Softball Coaches’ Poll
April 19, 2016 

The NJCAA Region 8 Softball Coaches’ Poll, with number of first-place votes in parentheses, 2016 record, previous ranking and total points in voting by Region 8 softball coaches, the FCSAA Softball Chair and the FCSAA Scoreboard Coordinator.

Rank

Team

Record

Pts

Pvs

1.

Central Florida (21)

58-2

210

1

2.

Northwest Florida State

38-5

183

3

3.

Indian River State

42-7

169

2

4.

Florida SouthWestern

46-11

147

4

5.

Chipola

39-12

111

5

6.

State College of Florida

31-13

86

6

7.

Seminole State

35-20

85

7

8.

Daytona State

34-16

73

8

9.

Gulf Coast State

31-14

43

9

10.

Eastern Florida State

24-24

21

--

 

Also receiving votes: Florida State College at Jacksonville 20, St. Petersburg 6, Tallahassee 1.

Dropped from rankings: No. 10 Florida State College at Jacksonville.


NJCAA Region 8 Baseball Player of the Week
Rhett Aplin, Seminole State
Sophomore – DH
Fleming Island, Fla.           

  • Batted .833 (10-for-12) with two runs scored, one double, one home run and two RBIs in three games during the voting period
  • Had at least three hits in each game
  • Was 4-for-4 against St. Johns River State (4/11/16); 3-for-4 vs. Florida State College at Jacksonville (4/13/16) and 3-for-4 with a solo home run in a win vs. Central Florida (4/16/16)

Other nominees: Mijon Cummings, St. Petersburg; Yieson Gomez, Polk State; Andres Lopez, Broward

NJCAA Region 8 Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Cooper Wallace, Central Florida
Sophomore – LHP
Jacksonville, Fla. 

  • 2-0, 1.80 ERA in two appearances during the voting period
  • Earned the victory vs. No. 1 Santa Fe (4/11/16) with seven innings of one-hit ball, allowing only one run
  • Defeated Florida State College at Jacksonville (4/17/16) with a 12-strikeout effort over eight innings
  • In 15 total innings, he allowed three runs (all earned) and nine hits, walked three and struck out 14

Other nominees: Chris Jordan, St. Petersburg; Ronny Orta, State College of Florida; Louis Pugliese, Broward; Joe Strzelecki, Polk State

NJCAA Region 8 Softball Player of the Week
Caeley Nix, Central Florida
Freshman – SS
Ocala, Fla. 

  • Batted .609 (14-for-23) with 12 runs scored, one double, two triples, nine RBIs and five stolen bases in six games during the voting period
  • Led Central Florida to a perfect 6-0 week
  • Hit safely and scored in all six games; had multiple hits and scored multiple runs in five of the six games
  • Was 7-for-8 with five runs scored and four RBIs in a doubleheader vs. Florida State College at Jacksonville (4/12/16)
  • Was 2-for-4, scored twice and drove in three runs in game two vs. Lake-Sumter State (4/14/16)

Other nominees: Kayla Rangiawha, Florida SouthWestern

NJCAA Region 8 Softball Pitcher of the Week
Kalen McGill, Central Florida
Sophomore – RHP
Gainesville, Fla. 

  • 3-0, 0.00 ERA in three appearances during the voting period
  • Recorded complete-game victories vs. Florida State College (12-0, 4/12/16) and Hillsborough (11-0, 4/16/114)
  • In 13.2 total innings, she allowed no runs, six hits and two walks and struck out four

Other nominees: Courtney Gettins, Florida SouthWestern; Nikkie Kovalsky, St. Petersburg