Surprising
Finishes Highlight
Final
Ranking of JC Teams
Central
Alabama defeated Palm Beach (Fla.) State 7-3 on June 1 in the Junior
College World Series championship game, completing one of the more
improbable seasons at the junior-college level.
Not
only were the two finalists unranked in Perfect Game’s pre-season
ranking of the nation’s Top 50 JC teams, but Central Alabama began
the 2013 season with six straight losses before closing with a 31-4
rush, including 16 straight wins that pushed the school to the brink
of its first national title. Palm Beach finished a distant second in
its own conference during regular-season play, before putting on its
own finishing kick only to fall a step short in its first Junior
College World Series appearance.
Meanwhile,
Central Arizona, which was ranked No. 1 by PG at the outset of the
junior-college season, was never a factor in tournament play as it
failed to win even a post-season game. Navarro (Texas) and Connors
State (Okla.), which began World Series play ranked Nos. 1-2
nationally, both went just 1-2 at the 10-team tournament, played in
Grand Junction, Colo.
With
its unexpected triumph, Central Alabama (43-14) finished No. 1 in
PG’s final ranking of the nation’s top junior-college teams. Palm
Beach State (42-21) came in at No. 6.
The
two teams met three times altogether at the Junior College World
Series, with Central Alabama opening and closing the tournament with
wins over Palm Beach State. Freshman righthander Paul Young, who was
primarily an outfielder this season for the Trojans and started only
five games altogether on the mound, went the distance in the deciding
tilt, scattering seven hits while striking out five. He also won an
earlier start in the tournament for the Trojans, and with a fastball
in the low- to mid-90s may have improved his stock significantly in
this week’s first-year player draft.
Meanwhile,
Oklahoma’s Murray State was an improbable winner in the National
Junior College Division II World Series, beating four-time national
champion LSU-Eunice, 4-3, in the championship game. It was the first
national championship of any kind for Murray State (46-22).
Oddly,
Oklahoma’s Murray State had suffered its worst loss of the 2013
season to LSU-Eunice, a 26-3 drubbing back in February, with freshman
righthander Brad Horn surrendering nine runs in an abbreviated start.
With redemption at hand in the D-II championship game, Horn fired a
complete-game win against the heavily-favored Bengals (52-10),
allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out six.
With
the win, Murray State went from unranked entering the D-II World
Series to a final ranking of No. 20, while LSU-Eunice slipped from
No. 3 to No. 8.
If
upsets characterized play at the Division I and II levels, form
definitely held in the NJCAA Division III ranks as New Jersey’s
Gloucester County won four straight games to capture its seventh
national title. The Roadrunners convincingly beat Century (Minn.)
16-4 in the final to stretch its record on the season to a gaudy
49-3—easily the best in the country. They were ranked No. 12 to
close the season.
Washington’s
Everett Community College also won as expected, beating defending
champion Pierce College, 4-1, in the Northwest Athletic Association
of Community Colleges championship game. The Trojans (39-9) improved
to a final ranking of No. 13.
NWAACC
(Oregon and Washington) and California junior colleges are not
members of the NJCAA. Earlier, Cypress (32-14) won the California JC
title in an upset to finish at No. 18 in Perfect Game’s Top 50.
Final |
Prev. |
Team |
State |
Record |
1 |
23 |
* Central Alabama |
AL |
43-14 |
2 |
5 |
Cochise |
AZ |
52-18 |
3 |
6 |
Spartanburg Methodist |
SC |
48-15 |
4 |
1 |
Navarro |
TX |
44-17 |
5 |
2 |
Connors State |
OK |
53-11 |
6 |
21 |
Palm Beach State |
FL |
42-21 |
7 |
4 |
Midland |
TX |
48-15 |
8 |
3 |
LSU-Eunice |
LA |
52-10 |
9 |
8 |
State College of Florida-Manatee |
FL |
45-13 |
10 |
9 |
Miami-Dade |
FL |
35-10 |
11 |
10 |
Tallahassee |
FL |
46-10 |
12 |
27 |
*** Gloucester County |
NJ |
49-3 |
13 |
32 |
% Everett |
WA |
39-9 |
14 |
12 |
Crowder |
MO |
47-13 |
15 |
13 |
Central Arizona |
AZ |
43-15 |
16 |
7 |
Kaskaskia |
IL |
39-12 |
17 |
14 |
Cowley County |
KS |
45-11 |
18 |
15 |
# Cypress |
CA |
32-14 |
19 |
16 |
Delgado |
LA |
47-11 |
20 |
NR |
** Murray State |
OK |
46-22 |
21 |
11 |
Walters State |
TN |
37-18 |
22 |
18 |
Fullerton |
CA |
32-15 |
23 |
19 |
New Mexico |
NM |
44-15 |
24 |
20 |
Santa Rosa |
CA |
34-9 |
25 |
22 |
Iowa Western |
IA |
45-14 |
26 |
24 |
Sierra |
CA |
33-9 |
27 |
25 |
Faulkner State |
AL |
41-11 |
28 |
26 |
Grayson County |
TX |
40-18 |
29 |
28 |
Western Nevada |
NV |
47-20 |
30 |
29 |
Wabash Valley |
IL |
46-16 |
31 |
30 |
Southern Nevada |
NV |
40-17 |
32 |
17 |
Heartland |
IL |
50-11 |
33 |
31 |
Seminole State |
FL |
36-14 |
34 |
33 |
Alvin |
TX |
38-22 |
35 |
34 |
Chipola |
FL |
38-21 |
36 |
35 |
Georgia Perimeter |
GA |
36-19 |
37 |
36 |
Lamar |
CO |
41-21 |
38 |
37 |
Middle Georgia |
GA |
39-13 |
39 |
38 |
Chattahoochee Valley |
AL |
42-12 |
40 |
39 |
St. Johns River |
FL |
38-18 |
41 |
41 |
Palomar |
CA |
29-14 |
42 |
42 |
Jefferson |
MO |
36-16 |
43 |
43 |
Salt Lake |
UT |
35-19 |
44 |
44 |
Seminole State |
OK |
38-19 |
45 |
45 |
San Jacinto |
TX |
35-21 |
46 |
46 |
Cisco |
TX |
40-15 |
47 |
47 |
Neosho County |
KS |
36-26 |
48 |
48 |
Southern Union State |
AL |
43-17 |
49 |
49 |
Potomac State |
WV |
40-15 |
50 |
50 |
Northeastern |
CO |
40-21 |
Dropped out: No. 40 Scottsdale, Ariz. (39-21)
** NJCAA Division II champion
*** NJCAA Division III champion
# California state champion
% NWAACC champion