Softball team opens national tournament Monday afternoon in Alabama

The Eastern Florida State College softball team will make history on Monday afternoon, playing their first NJCAA Division I National Tournament game.

The Titans, who come into the game as the No. 9 seed, will play No. 8 Trinity Valley Community College in the first round at 4:30 p.m. EST at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.

Both teams received at-large bids into the national tournament.

Trinity Valley is 54-8 on the season but went 0-2 and did not score a run in the Mid-South District Championship. The Cardinals come into the national tournament hitting .400 as a team which leads NJCAA Division I softball.

Allie Wainwright has had a big season for the Cardinals, hitting .513 with 20 home runs and 37 doubles, driving in 96 runs while scoring 71 times. She has had at least two hits in seven of the past nine games.

Teammate Clarissa Valdez is hitting .500 in 50 games for the Cardinals with 62 RBI.

On the mound, Trinity Valley's Dominique Vargas finished with 20 wins in 26 starts with a 2.22 ERA and six complete games.

The Titans will counter with sophomore Avery Velazquez who is coming off a dominant FCSAA D1 Softball Championships, allowing just three earned runs in 29 1/3 innings including a one-hitter against Santa Fe in the semifinals. She then shut out Northwest Florida State College for seven innings, losing 1-0 in eight innings in the South Atlantic B Bracket final.

For the season Velazquez is 12-6 in 16 starts with a 1.25 ERA in 112 1/3 innings pitched.  

Offensively, the Titans are hitting .372 as a team and come into the tournament averaging eight runs per game with a program-best 490 runs scored in 61 games. Aracelis Jimenez leads the team, hitting .449 with 77 runs scored and has stolen 38 bases. The sophomore centerfielder has 92 hits in 61 games this season.

Annalyn Duncan comes into the national tournament with a program record 91 runs batted in, hitting .424 with 21 doubles and 14 home runs. Avery Velazquez is hitting .398 with 12 home runs and has driven in 71 runs while third baseman Jaelynne Whipple has 12 triples which leads the nation and is hitting .396.

Monday's game will be broadcast on the NJCAA Network for $12 per day or a tournament pass for $15 which excludes the games on ESPN+. Admission to games at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama is $15 per day or $40 for the tournament. Parking is available at the complex for $5 per day.