BRENHAM, TX -- The Region XIV South Zone champion Blinn College softball team will face Bossier Parish Community College in the opening round of the Region XIV Tournament next week, Buccaneer head coach Rick Church announced today.
The Region XIV Tournament will be held May 3-6 at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas. With a tournament championship, the sixth-ranked Buccaneers would earn their fourth consecutive trip to the NJCAA National Championships in St. George, Utah.
Blinn and Bossier Parish will play at 5:30 p.m. on May 3. The winner of that game will advance to a 5:30 p.m. game on May 4, while the loser will play an elimination game at 12:30 p.m. on May 4.
In other first-round action, Texarkana plays Galveston, Trinity Valley plays San Jacinto and Navarro plays Alvin.
Blinn, which went 45-8 on the season, won the South Zone championship with a 21-3 record.
The Buccaneers are batting .354 as a team, led by the efforts of Leandra Maly (.454), Thomasina Garza (.438) and Kristina Davila (.409). Davila has 10 home runs and 60 RBIs on the season, while Garza has nine home runs and 42 RBIs. Tiffani McKnight has hit eight home runs and driven in 48 RBIs.
Blinn’s pitching staff has been equally impressive. Sophomore Kaci Federwisch is 22-6 on the season with a 1.41 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 188 1/3 innings. Freshman Shannon Sain is 13-1 on the year with a 1.10 ERA and 78 strikeouts through 82 1/3 innings and Caitie Carney, another freshman, is 6-0 with a 2.06 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings. Sophomore Jocelyn Tacquard, who missed time early in the season due to injury, is 4-1 with a 1.70 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 37 innings.
The Buccaneers will play in the Region XIV Conference Tournament May 3-6 at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas. The Bucs have won the last three conference tournaments to qualify for the NJCAA National Championships in St. George, Utah. Blinn placed fourth at nationals last season.
