Phoenix wire report
May 19, 2008 11:38 pm
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Connors State first opponent in the NJCAA World Series will serve a tall task.
Chipola, Fla., is the defending national champs. The Indians will bring a 44-12-1 record into a 4 p.m. CDT contest Saturday with the Cowboys (48-17).
Chipola has won back-to-back Florida state championships, the first to do so since Central Florida CC won consecutive titles in 1997 and 1998.
Ryan Chafee, an LSU signee, was last year’s Robert Purkey Award winner as the tournament’s outstanding pitcher and has a fastball that’s been clocked at 94 mph. Matt Jackson, another pitcher, transferred there after originally signing with LSU.
Chaffee pitched a complete game to earn the 6-0 win over Manatee in the title game. He chalked up 18 strikeouts in nine innings. Chafee was 2-0 in the tournament with 28 strikeouts in 14 innings.
“Personally, I like that we’re getting them,” Connors shortstop Brock Feldmann said. “To beat the best you’ve got to beat them sometime. We might as well line up against them at the start.”
Connors was not ranked in the final NJCAA poll on April 30, though the Cowboys eliminated No. 12 Arkansas-Fort Smith in the Region II tournament. Chipola is 17th. No. 2 Walters State (Tenn.) is the highest-ranked team in the tournament and Iowa Western is No. 9.
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