5/2/2010 - MDC Softball Captures Atlantic District Title
The Miami Dade College Softball Team capture the Atlantic District title and a berth in the National Championship Tournament with 2 wins over Seminole State College Sunday, at Auburndale.
The Lady Sharks, 46-7-1 on the season, took the first game 7-6 in 10 innings as Kristen Exposito's 15th homerun of the season in the top of the 10th broke a 6-6 tie. The Lady Sharks saw leads of 3-0, 4-1, and 5-3 evaporate in the 5th inning as Seminole scored 3 runs to take a 6-5 lead. The Sharks tied the game in the 6th inning as Simone Suetsugu walked, advanced to third on a single by Simone Miyahira, and scored on a ground ball error to first. MDC pitcher Erika Bennett pitched all 10 innings for the Lady Sharks, raising her record 22-2.
The Sharks defeated Seminole State 8-1 in the deciding game. Exploding for seven runs in the 5th inning, Amanda Lara was 2-4 with a double, RBI, and stolen base, and Veronika Fukunishi was 2-2 with 2 RBIs. Geovanny Nunez pitched a complete game to earned her 16 win of the season.
MDC, ranked #1 in the nation for 3 weeks, are currently ranked 2nd and will participate in the NJCAA Championship Tournament May 20-22 at St. George, Utah. The only pervious appearance at the National Tournament for a MDC Softball team was in 2007 when the Sharks finished in 5th place.
4/30/10 - MDC Softball Team Advances in District Tournament
Auburndale, Fl -- The Miami Dade College softball team won two games to advance in the winner's bracket of the National Junior College Athletic Association Atlantic District Tournament in Auburndale Friday.
The Lady Sharks defeated Daytona State College 4-0, behind the three-run homerun of Veronika Fukunishi (2x3) in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 0-0 tie. Pitcher Erika Bennett notched her 20th win of the season, allowing only one hit and striking out 9.
In the second game, the Lady Sharks (43-5-1) defeated Florida State College 5-3 in eight innings. Facing a 2-1 deficit in the seventh inning, pinch hitter Noemi Rodriguez notched a two-rbi single to put the Sharks ahead 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh. The Stars tied the game with a solo homerun by Alice Personius to send the contest into extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Southern Conference Player of the Year Kristen Exposito, who stablished a new MDC homerun record for the season with 13, poked a single to score Amanda Lara from second and break the 3-3 tie. An insurance run was added with an rbi single by Veronica Fukunishi. Fukunishi finished the day 4-4 with 2 rbi's and a run scored. Pitcher Geovanny Nunez won her 15th game of the year allowing 3 runs on 11 hits and striking out 9. Bennett came on in the ninth to pick up the save.
The Lady Sharks, ranked second in the nation, will face Seminole State College in the final of the winners bracket Saturday at 12noon. With two straight wins, the Lady Sharks will qualify for the NJCAA championship tournament in Utah May 19-22.
4/28/2010
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The NJCAA Division 1 Softball Poll is now in its last installment and at the top for the second week in a row and fifth time all season is Salt Lake Community College (Utah). After wrestling in the polls with SLCC all season for Div. 1 dominance, the Miami-Dade College (Fla.) Sharks find themselves in the No. 2 spot for the second week in a row and the fifth week overall. At No. 3 this week is Chipola College (Fla.) for the second week in a row.
Salt Lake CC enters this week's poll with a record of 47-3. The Bruins have been one of the most offensively dominant teams in Div. 1 softball all season long as they currently rank third among team batting averages in Div.1 hitting .417. Sophomore Cyd Allen is the leader of this high powered offense as she herself ranks second among all Div. 1 players with a batting average of .553 and is tied for third most RBI's with 74.
Salt Lake CC has eight games remaining in the regular season including three games against North Idaho College who the Bruins are 4-0 against this season but three of the four games were decided by three runs or less.
Miami-Dade College finds themselves in a familiar spot with the No. 2 spot in the poll. Miami-Dade has put up some very impressive numbers all season long starting with a team batting average of .361 and in terms of ERA, the Sharks have two of the top three pitchers in the country. Sophomore Geovanny Nunez holds the lowest ERA in the country with a 0.37 ERA. Her win/loss record is 14-2 and she also has 105 strikeouts through 96 innings of work. The third lowest ERA in the country belongs to Nunez's teammate, sophomore Erika Bennett who has an ERA of 0.49 with a record of 18-1 and 181 strikeouts through 129 innings of work.
The Sharks have finished out their regular season with a record of 41-5-1. They will now look ahead to the post season with hopes of bringing home the school's first ever softball national championship.
Chipola College finds themselves in the No. 3 spot in the final poll of 2010 with a record of 42-11. Chipola finished their regular season two weeks ago with a pair of wins over Northwest Florida State College on April 16. They have now had a nice break before heading into the post season. Chipola's now looks to move through the post season and make their way back to a national championship. The last national title for Chipola women's softball came in 2007.
4/26/2010
The Miami Dade College women's softball team ended the 2010 regular season campaign with a best ever 41-5-1 record after winning a game and tying a game against the State College of Florida Sunday at the Kendall Campus.
The Lady Sharks, ranked # 2 in the nation, defeated SCF 4-1 behind the pitching of Erika Bennett, the Sharks # 1 pitcher who returned to action after a two week layoff due to injury. The sophomore raised her record to 19-1 on the season, striking out three and allowing only three hits. Simone Suetsugu was 2-2 with a double and one rbi.
In the second game, Simone Miyahira slammed a homerun in the sixth inning to bring the Lady Sharks back from a 2-1 deficit, but the game was called after seven innings due to a travel curfew with SCF.
The 41 wins is the most ever in a regular season for a MDC team and the five losses are the fewest losses ever in the history of fast-pitch softball at MDC. The Lady Sharks will now play at the NJCAA Atlantic District Tournament at Auburndale, Florida April 30-May 2. The winner of that tournament will advance to the NJCAA Championship Tournament in St. George's Utah May 19-22.
4/19/2010-Lady Sharks: Southern Conference Champions
The Miami Dade College Lady Shark softball team, the nation's # 1 ranked team, captured their second Southern Conference Championship in the past four years with 7-1 and 9-1 wins over Brevard College Saturday.
The Lady Sharks, 40-5 on the season and 17-3 in the Southern Conference, had previously lost two, one-run games to Brevard.
Sophomore shortstop Simone Suetsugu went 3-3 with 2 runs scored and 2 rbi's and Vivian Morimoto and Amanda Lara contributed two hits each for the Sharks in Game 1. In the second game, freshman Kristen Exposito slammed her 12th home run of the season with a three-run blast in the third inning that broke a 1-1 tie. Freshman pitcher Tamara Hidalgo picked up her sixth win of the season without a loss, allowing only two hits and striking out five.
The Lady Sharks, ranked #1 in the nation for three straight weeks, have only two games remaining in the regular season, to be played on Sunday, April 25th against the State College of Florida at the Kendall Campus. The Lady Sharks will open the post-season on Friday, April 30th at the NJCAA District Championships in Auburndale, Florida, which will run through Sunday, May 2. The Lady Sharks must win the Atlantic District tournament in order to advance to the NJCAA Championship tournament taking place at St. George's, Utah May 18-22.
4/16/2010-MDC Defeats Broward
The Miami Dade College Lady Sharks softball team, the nation's # 1 ranked team, raised their record to 38-5 and 15-3 in the Southern Conference with a doubleheader sweep of Broward College Thursday.
Sophomore pitcher Geovanny Nunez threw a one-hit shutout in the first game, an 8-0 win over the Seahawks. Amanda Lara was 3-3, Simone Miyahira was 2-3 with two doubles and 2 rbi's and Veronica Fukinushi was 2-3 with a double and 2 rbi's.
In the second game, Nunez was 2-4 with 3 rbi's and a double and Rebecca Hall was 3-4 and Miyahira was 2-3 with 2 rbi's as the Sharks downed Broward 11-3. Freshman pitcher Stephanie Martinez raised her record to 2-1 on the season.
The Lady Sharks will face Southern Conference foe Brevard College at home at 1pm on Saturday, to decide the Southern Conference Championship. The Lady Sharks need only to win one of the two games on Saturday to capture the 2010 Conference title.
4/14/2010 - MDC Remains #1 in the Nation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The NJCAA Division 1 Women's Softball Poll finds Miami-Dade College (Fla.) the No. 1 team in the nation for the second week in a row. Taking the No. 2 spot is Salt Lake Community College (Utah) and at No.3 we find Yavapai College (Ariz.).
The Sharks of Miami Dade College are once again the No. 1 team in the nation and for very good reason. Heading into the third week of April, the Sharks carry a record of 35-4. The only real trouble any team has given them this season has been Brevard Community College (Fla.) who can account for two of the Sharks losses. The two losses came with scores of 3-2 on March 14, and 1-0 on March 27 which went into extras innings.
The Sharks will have an opportunity to avenge these two losses when Brevard steps onto their turf on April 17 in a doubleheader.
Salt Lake Community College is 44-3 so far this year. Their three losses have come at the hands of NJCAA No. 13 College of Southern Idaho, who accounts for two of the losses, and College of Southern Nevada. In their three losses, the Bruins have only lost by an average of three runs. Besides those three hiccups in their season, Salt Lake has been destroying opponents this year with an average margin of victory being 8.5 runs.
Yavapai College moves into the No. 3 spot this week after spending last week in the No. 4 spot. Yavapai College is 43-10 so far this year.
Yavapai College moves into the No. 3 spot this week after spending last week in the No. 4 spot. Yavapai College is 43-10 so far this year.
Offensively, Yavapai is led by freshman Brittany Keiser who holds an average of .497 with 18 runs scored. Keiser may not hit for power, but in terms of on-base percentage she is golden for the Roughriders. Yavapai has seven players hitting .400 or above and 14 players hitting above .300. With an offense that can produce such as this and good innings coming from within the circle, the Bruins will be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason.
4/14/2010
The Miami Dade College softball team took the double header from Palm Beach State College with scores of 2x1 and 7x1. Palm Beach scored their first and only run of the game the top of the fourth inning. The Sharks tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Ashley Silveira reached on a single, Lara advanced the runner to second, and with two outs on the board Geovany Nuñez single to left to tie the score at 1 a piece. Kristen Exposito hit her 12 homerun of the season in the bottom of the six inning to give the Sharks the lead and tie the MDC school record of most homeruns on a season stablished by MDC All American Alodia Aquino in 2005. Geovany Nuñez pitched 7 strong innings striking out 8 batters and allowing only 3 hits to earn her 11 win of the season. Nuñez constributed at the plate going 2x3 and RBI.
In the second game Tamara Hidalgo pitched fourth innings for the Sharks with 0 runs, 2 hits and strike out 4 hitters to earn her 5 win of the season. The Sharks scored 2 in the bottom of the first when Amanda Lara and Vivian Morimoto single and Nuñez doubled to right center to score Lara. Veronika Funkunishi walked with bases loaded to give the Sharks an early 2x0 lead. The Sharks added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when they scored 5 more times. Simone Miyahira hit a bases loaded double in that big inning for MDC. Geovany Nuñez again went 2x3 and RBI and Amanda Lara reached bases in all her four at bats, 2x2 and two walks. The Sharks improved their record to 35 and 4 on the season and lead the Southern Conference with a record of 12 and 2.
4/7/2010-MDC Softball Ranked #1 in the Nation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The NJCAA Division 1 Softball Poll has been released and at the top we find a new No.1 with the Sharks of Miami-Dade College (Fla.) taking the top spot from Salt Lake Community College (Utah) who has dropped down to the No. 2 spot. New to the top three this week is Santa Fe Community College (Fla.).
The Sharks took both games of a double-header against Indian River Community College last week and propelled themselves into the No. 1 spot.
The pitching from the Sharks continues to be outstanding, but you can't win games if you don't score runs. Leading in every offensive category except for runs scored is freshman standout Kristen Exposito. Exposito holds a batting average of .456 with 39 RBI and continues to be the driving force behind the Sharks offensive attack. As a team the Sharks have an average of .352.
Salt Lake Community College drops into the No.2 spot in this week's poll after dropping two games to NJCAA No.5 College of Southern Idaho last week. It was a true heavyweight fight between these two teams last week as both teams put up monster numbers offensively. Through the four games there were a total of 58 runs scored. The saying that would best describe these games is, "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger". After battling it out in the four game series both teams will be well prepared for any challenges they may face in the coming month.
Salt Lake CC will next play College of Southern Nevada who holds a record of 21-12.
Santa Fe Community College slides into the No. 3 spot this week after last week's No.3 Pima CC drops all the way No.12.
Santa Fe CC is led in the circle by former NJCAA Player of the Week Colena Lazar. Lazar has a win/loss record of 19-1 with a 0.73 ERA and 187 strikeouts through 134.1 innings of work.
Offensively, the St. Bernard's hold a team batting average of .357. There is no clear cut standout offensively as everyone in Santa Fe's lineup can put up big numbers at any given time with only four players averaging below .300 on the year and two averaging right at .500.
Santa Fe will attempt to remain in the top three as they play six games before next week's poll against Lake Sumter CC, Florida State College at Jacksonville, and Seminole State College of Florida
4/1/2010
Miami Dade College, who held on to the first place position in the Florida Community College Activities Association coaches poll for the 6 straight week and also holds the second place spot in the National Junior College Athletic Association for third straight week. The Lady Sharks won two games versus softball power house Indian River State College with identical scores of 8-0.
In the first game the Sharks attacked first when Vivian Morimoto reached on a single and Kristen Exposito reached on a base on balls. With two outs, Simone Suetsugu followed with a single to center earning two RBI's. The MDC squad added one more run in the 3rd on the legs of Amanda Lara and a big rally in the fifth inning when they scored 4 times. Simone Suetsugu singled again and finished the game 3x4 with 4 RBI's. In the bottom of the sixth inning Simone Miyahira and Rebecca Hall reached on singles and Tiffany Mullins-Diaz singled to left to end the game by the mercy rule.
In the second game the Sharks also attacked first in the bottom of the first inning when Vivian Morimoto, who finished the game 3x3, with 2 runs scored, 4 RBI's and a HR reached on a single and Geovanny Nuñez doubled to right field. The Sharks added three more runs to their lead in the bottom of the second inning when Vivian Morimoto hit a 3 run homerun to right field. The Sharks continued to add to their lead in the bottom of the third inning when they scored 3 more times. Simone Miyahira had 2 RBI'S single in the inning and finished the day 2x2.
Geovanny Nuñez pitched two complete games striking out 9 and earning the wins in both games to elevate her season total to 7-1. The Sharks record for the season is 31-4 and 8-2 in conference play. The Sharks will return to action on Wednesday, April 7 when they visit Borward College. The next home game for the Sharks is Saturday, April 10 versus Palm Beach Community College in a double header set to start at 2:00 PM.
3/27/2010
The Lady Sharks three main components of success this season, defense, pitching and hitting were present in the first game of Saturday's double header at Palm Bay when they defeated Brevard Community College, 6 - 0. The Sharks attacked first and scored 1 in the top of the first, on the legs of Amanda Lara who stretched MDC's lead in the top of the 4th inning with a two out hit to left field earning her two RBI's. The Sharks returned to the attack in the top of the fifth inning when Geovany Nuñez reached on a hit and scored on a two out double by pinch hitter Katrina Miguel. The Sharks added 2 more runs to their lead in the top of the seventh when Nuñez reached on a double and Kristen Exposito had a RBI base hit to left field. Exposito crossed the plate on a hit to right field by Veronika Fukinisshi. Geovanny Nuñez pitched 7 strong innings allowing just two hits and striking out 9 batters.
In the second game the Sharks lost 1-0 in extra innings, 15 innings, the longest game in the history of the program, they surpassed a 13 extra inning game played in 2007 against the same team on the same field. Erika Bennett pitched 9 complete innings allowing 1 hit and striking out 9 batters. Geovany Nuñez pitched 6 inning in a relief effort earning her first loss of the season and striking out 9 batters in her effort. The Sharks fought well throughout the entire game, they had several chances to put the game away including an out at the plate in the top of the fourth inning when Kristen Exposito doubled with two outs and Simone Miyahira singled to center field and the Brevard defense played perfect on key situations. In the top of the ninth inning the Sharks had runners on second and first with two outs when pinch hitter Vivian Morimoto hit a line drive to LF to end the inning. The Titans won the game in the bottom of the 15th inning when Halpin singled to left and with one out on the scoreboard Vanessa Tapia singled to center to score Halping with the wining run.
"It was a great game, it's always good to be in the winning side unfortunately that didn't happen this time, but we need this kind of intensity game. I was exhausted after 15 innings and I didn't play, I couldn't imagine my players. It was a great game, both teams played EXTREMILLY well, we have learned from it and we will move on," coach Caro said.
The Sharks are now 29 & 4 with a conference record of 6 & 2. The Sharks return to action on Thursday when they face southern conference rival Indian River State College in a double header staring at 2:00 pm at MDC Kendall Campus, home of the Sharks.
3/26/2010
MDC Softball game vs. Broward on 3/28/2010 will be rescheduled due to rain out. New date/time: TBA
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The NCJAA Division 1 Softball Poll is out in just its second installment and once again, at the top we find Salt Lake Community College (Utah). Coming in at No.2 is Miami Dade College (Fla.), and at No. 3 is Pima Community College (Ariz.).
Still unbeaten, the Salt Lake Community College Bears walked a tight rope last week as they played in four games with NJCAA No.20 North Idaho College and came out the victor in all of them but won by just two runs in two out of the four. This is certainly unusual territory for the Bears as they are used to beating their opponents by a comfortable margin. As a team, they continue to be driven by an overpowering offense that has a combined batting average of .419. This week the Bears will play the part of Goliath as they play host to a struggling Western Nevada College who currently holds a record of 1-20.
Miami Dade College sits at 28-3 this week after securing multiple wins over Broward College (Fla.) and Palm Beach Community College (Fla.). As a team, the Sharks continue to remain balanced at the plate and in the field. With a team average of .361, the Sharks can hang with any offense in the country and defensively they are averaging just over one error per game. In the circle their pitching staff has put together a combined ERA of 2.03 making it very difficult for opposing teams to bring runs across the plate. The Sharks will have two games this week against Brevard Community College (Fla.) who holds a record of 21-16 this season.
Pima Community College is in the No. 3 spot again this week as they hold to a 42-3 record at this point in the season. As a team, the Aztecs average .390 at the plate and have belted out 14 home runs this season. Like the two teams in front of the Aztecs, they have a pitching staff that keeps opposing teams off balance as they hold a team ERA of 2.65 and together have 287 strikeouts. This week Pima will put their No.3 spot to the test as they play Eastern Arizona, Gateway Community College (Ariz.), and one of the most successful women's softball programs in NCJAA history, Central Arizona College.
3/22/10-Softball Ranked #2 in the Nation
The Miami Dade College Softball team is ranked # 2 in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association Poll, the highest ranking ever for a MDC fast-pitch softball team since the program started in 1993. A total of five Florida Colleges are ranked within the top eight in this week's poll.
The Lady Sharks, 26-3 on the season, previous highest ranking was 5th in the 2007 season, when they captured their first-ever Atlantic District Title and finished fifth at the national championship tournament.
MDC is second to Salt Lake Community College, with a record of 31-0.
Other Florida college's that are ranked include Santa Fe College (4th, 22-4), Seminole State College (5th, 16-4), Chipola College (7th, 27-8) , and Florida State College at Jacksonville (8th, 23-7) .
"You can certainly see by the rankings that we are in a tough region of the country when it comes to fast-pitch softball," MDC Head Coach Carlos Caro said. " To be able to maintain a high ranking and continue on to qualify for the post-season is certainly no easy task for us."
As of now, the task has been easy with the right arm of sophomore pitcher Erika Bennett (Sierra Vista, Arizona) being credited for 17 wins and no losses, with a miniscule 0.549 era. Bennett also is averaging 1.46 strikeouts per inning pitched, the ninth highest avg in the nation.
Offensively, the Lady Sharks continue to hit the long ball, with freshman Kristen Exposito leading the team with 9 homeruns, the second highest total in the country and sophomore third baseman Simone Miyahira adding 7 homeruns and hitting .362. The team is hitting at a .360 average, the 18th highest average in the nation.
3/20/2010-MDC Rolls past Palm Beach State
The Lady Sharks won both games against Palm Beach State College on Saturday, March 20. In the first game, the Sharks beat Palm Beach 8 - 5. The winning pitcher was Erika Bennett (18 - 1) who had 9 strike outs. The offense was led by Amanda Lara who went 2 - 4 with 1 run scored; Vivian Morimoto went 2 - 3 with a triple, 3 runs scored and 1 RBI; Geovanny Nunez hit a two run homerun in the top of the first and Kristen Exposito went 2 - 2 with 3 RBIs and a double.
In the second game, the Sharks defeated Palm Beach with a score of 11 - 1. The winning pitcher was Gevonnay Nunez (5 - 0) who had 4 strike outs and only allowed 2 hits. Offensively, Vivian Morimoto went 3 - 3 with 2 homeruns, 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs; Kristen Exposito hit a grand slam and have now 10 homeruns on the season, she went 1 - 3 with 1 run scored and 4 RBIs; and freshman center fielder Stephanie Buendia went 1-2 , with a double and a run scored.
3/15/2010-MDC Ends 11 game Win Streak
Miami Dade College won 3 games at the Southern Conference tournament they hosted at MDC Kendall last Saturday and Sunday before losing 2x3 to Brevard Community College ending their winning streak at 11 games. On Saturday the Sharks bats were alive to beat Indian River State College and Palm Beach State College with identical final scores of 8-1. The best hitters for the Sharks on that double header were Vivian Morimoto 4x7, 5 runs scored, 2 doubles, a HR and 4 RBI's. Rebecca Hall 3x7 a double and 3 RBI's and Kristen Exposito went 3x3, 2 runs scored, a double, a HR and 4 RBI's. Erika Bennett struck out 6 and earned her 17th win of the season versus Indian River and Geovanny Nunez struck out 12 against Palm Beach reaching a season high for her.
On Sunday the Sharks attack, for a win of 9-1 against Broward College, was lead by Simone Suetsugu 2x3, a HR and 3 RBI's and Simone Miyahira with a HR and 3 RBI's. Geovanny Nunez earned her 4th win of the season striking out 6 in 5 innings of work. On the losing effort versus Brevard Community College the best MDC bats were Geovanny Nunez who went 2x3 with 1 RBI and Kristen Exposito 1x2 with a double and RBI. Erika Bennett was charged with her first loss of the season striking out 8 batters on the effort for the Sharks that are 26-3 on the season. The Sharks return to action on Wednesday when they face Broward College on a conference game double header starting at 3:00 pm at Kendall.
3/8/2010-MDC Defeats Hillsborough
The MDC Sharks extended their wining streak to 8 by beating Hillsborough Community College 10-2 and 5-3 today at MDC Kendall Campus and improving to 23 and 2. In the first game, Erika Bennett earned her 16th win of the season, not allowing a hit and striking out 5 batters in 4 innings of work. Rebecca Hall went 2x3, 2 runs scored, 3 stolen bases, 4 RBI's and Simone Miyahira went 1x2, with s double and 3 RBI's leading the sharks offense. In the second game the Sharks scored first in the bottom of the first when Geovanny Nuñez doubled to right center, she went 2x3 and tripled and Kristen Exposito, 2x2 and 5 RBI's, hit a 2 run homer. In the bottom of the 3rd inning Kristen Exposito hit a 3runs homer to elevate her total to 8 on the season. The Sharks have hit 25 homeruns in 25 games played so far this season. The Sharks start conference play next weekend and they open against Indian River State College at 10:30 am and Palm Beach State College at 1:00 pm on Saturday and on Sunday the Lady Sharks will play Broward College at 10:30 am and Brevard Community College at 1:00 pm when they host the southern conference tournament at MDC. |
