Commodores Swept Indians

The Chipola Indians baseball squad is finding the going rough right now in Panhandle Conference play as they were swept in their most recent series with the Gulf Coast Commodores. The swept was difficult to stomach for the Indians as they held leads in two of the three loses but saw those leads evaporate. Last Friday the Indians traveled to Panama City and took an early 2-1 lead. The game was tied at 3-3 after four innings and Chipola held a 5-3 after six innings of play. But Gulf Coast plated seven runs in the seventh and another three in the eighth to post a 13-5 win. LeVon Washington was 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Jonathan Gilbert was 1-4 with two RBI and one run scored.

A home game on Saturday followed but again the Indians fell, this time by a score of 8-6. Gulf Coast took the early lead in this contest, leading 4-0 after five innings. Chipola tried to rally with runs scored in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings but it was not enough to overcome the Commodores. Aaron Etchison was 2-5 with a home run, double and two RBI. Blake Newalu was 2-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.

The most difficult pill to swallow in this three game swept by the Commodores was a 20-12 loss on Monday. Chipola lead 9-0 after 2 ½ innings and 12-2 after 3 ½ innings of play. But Gulf Coast rallied with six runs in the bottom of the third and then three more in the fourth to trim the Chipola lead to 12-11. Gulf Coast tied the game at 12-12 in the sixth and then exploded for eight runs in eight inning to seal the win. Washington was 2-4 with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored. Gilbert was 2-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Newalu was 3-5 with 3-5 with two RBI and a run scored.

They swept by Gulf Coast followed a match up with Tallahassee in which the Indians lost their last two games in that series. After starting 3-1 in conference play the Indians have dropped five straight Panhandle games. Chipola’s record now stands at 16-17 overall and 3-6 in conference play. The Indians have a short break from conference play this week and will take on L.B. Wallace at home on Thursday at 5 pm. They will resume conference play with a 3 game series against Northwest Florida State College beginning on Monday at home.