The #1 Seeded College of Central Florida Patriots (52-6) opened up the 2023 Alpine Bank JUCO World Series with a 12-0 shutout of the #10 Seeded Andrew College Tigers (34-23) from Cuthbert, Georgia. The Pats are back in the World Series for the second consecutive season and are looking to better their 1-2 record from last year.

 

Patriots' ace pitcher, Brian Holiday threw a complete game five inning shutout allowing only two hits and recording fourteen strikeouts out of the fifteen possible outs. The game ended after five innings due to the NJCAA mercy rule. Holiday, an Oklahoma State commit, improved his season record to a perfect 10-0.

 

Central Florida got off to a fast start when Kareh Valentin connected on a two-out three-run home run to deep center field to give the Pats a 3-0 lead. The lead was pushed to six when Kainen Jorge hit a three-run home run to right field in the third inning. It was Jorge's 14th home run of the season.

 

The Patriots really exploded in the fourth inning when Mike Guilliams lead off with his fourth home run of the season. This was followed by singles from Cole Bullen and Bradke Lohry, then a walk to John Marant loaded the bases for Carson Bayne who singled in two runs to make it 9-0. Juan Correa reached on an error to reload the bases. A Valentin sac fly made it 10-0. Bayne scored on a wild pitch and Guilliams drove home the final run with a sac fly. Lohry and Bayne each collected two hits while Valentin and Jorge combined for seven RBIs.

The Patriots will play Weatherford College (Texas) in a second-round game on Memorial Day 6:00 PM at Suplizio Field in Grand Junction.