ST. GEORGE, UTAH-- Following its 4-2 loss to Angelina (Tex.) in the NJCAA National Tournament, the College of Central Florida softball team will need three wins on Saturday in order to claim a national championship
In trying to battle back, CF made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh.
The Patriots used singles by Nicole White, Jessica Smith and Cheyenne Blaha to load the bases with one out in the seventh, but Angelina's Sage Martinez ran down a pop up by Lindsay O'Steen in shallow left and doubled off Smith at second to end the game.
With the loss, the No. 8 Patriots (46-14) will have a rematch with No. 4 Chattanooga (Tenn.) State (55-7) on Saturday at noon EST.
CF knocked off Chattanooga State 4-2 earlier on Friday, but couldn't clinch a spot in its first-ever national championship softball game.
Now, it will play with no room for error.
If CF wins, it will have to knock off No. 10 Angelina twice, with the first game taking place at 2 p.m. and the final game taking place at 4 p.m.
After allowing the three runs in the sixth, CF answered in the bottom half of the frame thanks to its leader.
Amy Szymanowski tied the state record for most career home runs with 37, as she slammed a solo homer for her 21st of the season and her second of the tournament. The Florida State signee tied the career state record that was held by Lake City's Monique Marier (1999-2000) and Chipola's Katie Harrison (2013-2014) and extended her school career and single season home run marks.
Szymanowski went 2-for-3 to lead CF at the plate.
Hanners (8-5) went six innings and took the loss for the Patriots. She is 3-1 in the tournament and has logged 25 innings in four games.