VERO BEACH- The College of Central Florida softball team won't be headed back to the NJCAA National Tournament for a second consecutive year.

After starting off the FCSAA State Tournament at 2-0 on Friday, the Patriots were eliminated with losses to Chipola College and Tallahassee Community College.

CF, the nation's No. 2 team, ends its season season at 53-9.

The Patriots lost 5-3 to Chipola to start the day and then were eliminated by Tallahassee Community College.

CF opened up the tournament with a 7-2 win over TCC, but were unable to solve them for a fourth time in as many meetings this season.

The Patriots also lost to the Eagles in last year's state championship game.

This time, CF and TCC were in an elimination game, as the Patriots were thrown there by Chipola.

Earlier this season, the Patriots had routed the Indians, but were unable to get the job done this time around.

Despite the loss, CF enjoyed a tremendous season under coach Kevin Fagan.

The Patriots, last year's national runner-up, spent six weeks as the nation's No. 1 ranked team.

CF also won its first-ever Mid-Florida Conference championship and swept rival Santa Fe College for the first time in school history.

A year ago, the Patriots won their first four games in the state tournament, but were unable to make it to the third day of the tournament for the third consecutive season.

TCC, who had lost 3-2 and 3-0 to CF in Ocala back in early March, won its fourth straight game since the loss to the Patriots in the opening round.