Chipola wins back-to-back state titles

The Chipola Indians successfully defended their Florida state baseball title with a 6-0 win over Manatee CC in the championship game of the  FCCAA State Baseball tournament, Tuesday, May 13, at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven.

            The back-to-back championships were the first since Central Florida CC won consecutive titles in 1997 and 1998.

            Chipola called on ace Ryan Chaffee who pitched a complete game to earn the win for Chipola. He chalked up 18 strikeouts in nine innings. Chafee was 2-0 in the tournament with 28 strikeouts in 14 innings.

            The Indians held a slim 1-0 lead heading into the ninth when Chipola’s Carlos Moncrief swatted a three-run homer to put the Indians up 4-0. He had eight RBI’s and 11 hits in the tournament.

           Moises Montero followed with a two-run homer in the same inning to push the Indians to the 6-0 final.

            Chipola chalked up six runs on two hits and committed three errors. Manatee had four hits, no runs and no errors.

            The Indians won five straight games in the tournament including a 10-2 win over Pensacola in seven innings on Monday.  Moises Montero was three for three on the day with a homerun. Edmond Sparks also homered in the game. Jason Townsend pitched all seven innings to earn the win for Chipola. Pensacola won the conference championship this season, but Chipola’s win Monday put the Indians up 3-2 in this year’s series.

            The Indians scored a 13-9 win over Manatee on Sunday. Pitcher Matt Jackson earned the win. Einar Atencio and Edmond Sparks both went three for four. Carlos Moncrief and Daniel Jones both went three for five.  

            Chipola scored an 8-7 win over St. Petersburg on Saturday. Marc Bourgeoius was three for three. Adam Duvall was two for five.  Ryan Chaffee was the winning pitcher.

            The Indians scored an 11-3 win over Seminole in the first round of the tournament on Friday.    

            Chipola team members, are: Daniel Jones of Ormond Beach.; Colton McCutcheon of St. Augustine; Brett Maxwell of Douglasville, Ga.; Adam Duvall of Louisville, Ky.;  Marc Bourgeois of Montreal, Canada; Cameron Gray of Toronto, Canada; Kyle Regnault of Johnston, RI; Einar Atencio of Panama; Daniel Renfroe of Macon, Ga.; Jason Bailey of Colquitt, Ga.; Chris Berroa of Pennsauken, N.J.; Jordan Lucas of Venice, Fla.; Drew Parker of Surrey, BC; Matt Jackson of Haughton, La.; Ben Jeffers of Danielsville, Ga.; J.B. Johnson of Marianna; Tyler Bumgarner of Marietta, Ga.; Edmond Sparks of Hampton, Ga.; Ryan Chaffee of Niceville; David Buchanan  of Fayetteville, Ga.; Carlos Moncrief of Jackson, Miss.; Moises Montero of  the Dominican Republic; David Travis of  Bristol; Jason Townsend of Albany, Ga.; Skylar Smith of Bainbridge, Ga.

            Coach Jeff Johnson had help from assistant coaches Nick Fletcher, Jared Harrell and Brent Shelton.     

In 12 seasons at the helm, Coach Johnson’s Indians have made it to the state tournament nine times with five appearances in the title game.  

Chipola won the 2008 state tourney and captured the school’s first-ever national tourney last season. The Indians finished second in the state tournament in 2005, 2002 and 2001, third in 1998, and among the top four in 2006.