JUCO: Final Top 50 Teams

Upset of Top-Ranked Central Arizona Lands Texas School in No. 1 Position

With its stunning 6-4, 10th-inning walk-off win in the Junior College World Series championship game, Texas’ Navarro College has finished the 2011 season in the No. 1 spot in Perfect Game’s ranking of the nation’s top 50 junior-college teams.

The Bulldogs (47-18) beat top-ranked Central Arizona in the final game as catcher J.T. Files snapped a 4-4 tie with a two-run homer. It was the 19th title overall by a Texas team, but the first by Navarro.

Appropriately, Navarro’s stellar pitching and defense played a key role in the team’s run to a national championship. University of Houston-bound righthander Austin Pruitt, the national ERA leader, worked the first nine innings for the Bulldogs, while the team played flawlessly in the field, befitting a squad that led the nation with a .975 fielding average.

“That’s what we’ve been doing all year,” Navarro coach Whoa Dill said. “I told our guys pitching and defense will win us a national championship.”

By contrast, Western Oklahoma State won the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series by outslugging its opponents on its way to a title. The Pioneers (51-16) led the D-II ranks in batting average (.403) and home runs (103) on the season, and scored 61 runs in six games in the national tournament, on their way to beating Jones County (Miss.) 11-1 in the final game.

Shortstop Roberto Duran was a difference maker in the final as he drove in six runs with four hits, including two doubles and a home run. The Pioneers climbed to No. 12 nationally with their first championship.

Meanwhile, Bellevue (Wash.) moved to No. 8 overall by capturing the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges title, their third in five years. The Bulldogs beat defending champion Lower Columbia (Wash.) 5-3 in the final.

Compiled by Perfect Game USA / National Junior College Athletic Association.