Softball team finishes season on road against Santa Fe

The Eastern Florida State College softball team will play for second place in the Citrus Conference on the road Tuesday.

The 11^th-ranked Titans will travel to Santa Fe College to play the No. 6 Saints in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Both teams have wrapped up spots in the FCSAA Softball Championships but Tuesday will decide which team will finish in second place in the conference standings. Santa Fe comes into the final games of the season 27-11 in the conference while the Titans are 26-12.

Both teams have won three in a row heading into Tuesday and are both ranked in the top five in batting average in the FCSAA. Eastern Florida State College is second in the state, hitting .387 on the season while the Saints are hitting .335.

Titan sophomores Aracelis Jimenez and Annalyn Duncan are both among the top five players in the state in batting average. Jimenez is hitting .478 this season and was 7-for-12 last week in four games. The leadoff hitter leads the FCSAA in hits with 87.

Duncan is fifth with a .446 batting average and leads the FCSAA and is third in the nation in runs batted in with 85. The second baseman is tied for fourth in the state in home runs with 12 and her 75 hits is fifth in the state.

On the mound, Avery Velazquez is second in the state in earned run average with a 1.14 ERA. The sophomore has allowed just 12 earned runs in 74 innings this season.

Molly Bender leads Santa Fe College, hitting .428 this season with 12 home runs which is tied with Duncan. Bender leads the state in doubles with 23 this season. Teammate Mckenzie Cox is tied for second in the FCSAA with 16 home runs and are fifth in the state in runs batted in with 63.

On the mound, Belle Mancillas has a 1.51 ERA with 123 strikeouts in 134 2/3 innings this season.

Tuesday's doubleheader will wrap up the regular season for both teams as the FCSAA Division I Softball Championships will begin May 12 in Clearwater.