The Seminole State College of Florida softball team went 1-2 at the 2012 NJCAA National Championships.
Playing at the seven field The Canyons Complex, the Raiders faced eventual Third Place finisher Wallace State Community College from Hanceville, Alabama in their opening game on Thursday, May 17, and dropped a 13-2 decision to the Lions.
A five-run third inning allowed Wallace State to take a 6-0 lead and Seminole State was unable to recover.
The Raiders tried to answer the Lions’ big inning immediately, coming back to scores their two runs in the bottom of the third.
With two out and no one on, Lauren Vinson singled and Florida Player of the Year Kalee Tabor drew a walk. Jordan Cook then singled in pinch-runner Dannielle Walsh and Tabor, the former Seminole High School standout, scored moments later on a passed ball.
Seminole State was held to just three singles, Vinson, Cook and Priscilla Gonzalez.
The Raiders bounced back in a big way later in the afternoon, overwhelming Aiken Technical College from Graniteville, South Carolina, 16-5.
The game was actually much closer than score would indicate as the Knights took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, before Seminole State countered with three runs in the second and two in the third to take a 5-1 lead.
Aiken made things interesting, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, cutting its deficit to 5-4.
But the Raiders showed they were not ready to go home and sent 17 players in the plate to score 11 runs in the top of the fifth inning and quickly closed out a 16-5 run rule victory over the Lions.
Seminole State took the lead for good in the second inning when, with runners on first and second with two out, the Aiken pitcher threw the ball away attempting to get the final out of the inning at first base and all three Raiders runners came home.
In the third inning, Jessica Gipson launched a two-run home run that also scored Tabor, who was intentionally walked all four times she came to the plate in the game.
The highlights of the big fifth inning outburst was a two-run double by Vinson and RBI singles from Gipson and Andrea Monayarji.
Gipson finished the game 3-for-4, including the home run, with three runs scored and four RBI.
Monayarji was the only other player with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Vinson, who was the winning pitcher, had the only other Raiders extra base hit with the two-run double. In the circle, she allowed five runs on seven hits, but did not walk a batter while striking out two.
Cook and Elizabeth Eby also drove in two runs each, while Tabor scored three runs.
Seminole State then took the field against Howard College from Big Spring, Texas on Friday, May 18, and the Raiders looked to be in good shape as they took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
The Lady Hawks would bounce back with a run in the first and three in the second to take a 4-3 lead, before both teams scored a run in the third inning, leaving Seminole State down, 5-4.
The Raiders regained the lead by scoring three runs in the top of the fourth inning, but Howard took the advantage back again, plating seven runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Seminole State tried once again to rally, scoring two runs in the top of the fifth inning, but that was as close as the Raiders would get as they were eliminated, 12-9.
Seminole State leadoff batter Kristie Hoeffer had a monster game, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI, while Gipson blasted her second home run of the tournament, going 1-for-2 with two runs scored and three RBI.
Also having a good game at the plate was Cook, who was 1-foe-2 with two runs scored.
The Raiders finish the season with a record of 46-22-1 under head coach Courtney Miller.