Central Florida Patriots to make first JUCO World Series appearance in 24 years
After more than two decades, the College of Central Florida baseball team is headed back to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I World Series.
The Patriots, ranked No. 4 in the nation, have had an unprecedented season, setting a team record for wins (46) and breaking numerous other team records in the process. CF is heading into the series with an overall record of 46-15, finishing the regular season and playoffs with wins in 33 of their last 36 games.
Things didn’t really start to click for the Patriots until the start of the Mid-Florida Conference schedule. The team went into its first conference game barely above .500 (13-11). They lost that game, but they never looked back after that.
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“We lost the conference opener to Santa Fe, but we were in the game the whole way. It was just like, ‘We’re better than this,’” said CF head coach and FCSAA Coach of the Year Marty Smith.
“We beat (the Santa Fe Saints) the next five times we played ‘em and swept about three teams in the conference. The conference season starting is what kind of woke us up. The games counted. It was time to get after it and play like we were capable of playing.”
Following that first loss to the Saints, the Patriots went 33-3 down the stretch, including a 27-3 record in conference play.
“Honestly, we just started to have fun each day,” said Ben Chestnutt, the FCSAA Pitcher of the Year. “At the field, practice, at games. Doesn’t matter what we’re doing as a team, we’re just having fun. And that’s translated to a lot of success on the field.”
There are a lot of things that you can point to for why the Patriots have found success this year, but the most apparent reason for their success has been the influx of new talent to the team this season.
Top newcomers
Among the newcomers to the team this year are:
Caleb Cali: State POY, Conference POY; Led team in batting average (.440), 2nd in runs (70), hits (91), home runs (16) and RBI (75).
Victor Castillo: First-Team All-State, First-Team All-Conference; 3rd on the team in batting average (.372), home runs (11) and RBI (56), 4th in runs (61) and hits (68).
John Marant: Second-Team All-Conference; 4th on the team in home runs (10), 5th in RBI (50), and 6th in runs (48) and hits (53).
Landon Ginn: Second-Team All-State, First-Team All-Conference; 75.2 innings pitched, 9 wins, 95 strikeouts, 2.38 ERA.
Aaron Combs: First-Team All-Conference; 60 innings pitched, 8 wins, 74 strikeouts, 3.45 ERA.
Jared Evans: Second-Team All-Conference; 26 runs, 28 RBI, .314 batting average.
Those transfers and pickups accounted for 276 hits (34% of the Patriots’ total), 235 runs scored (41%), 231 RBI (43%) and 42 home runs (49%).
While it can’t be understated how big of an impact the new players made to the team, it wasn’t just the newcomers getting it done. Many of the team’s top leaders, both statistically and otherwise, were returning Patriots — specifically, the third-year players.
“Our third-year guys have really stepped up a lot,” said outfielder Kevin Kilpatrick. “We had a couple of young kids, a few that are new to the program that came in. We just stepped up and they asked us questions, and we gave them the best answers we could. Everybody’s leading by example and we step in any way we can.”
Top returning players
Some of the top returning players to the team included:
Kevin Kilpatrick: First-Team All-State, First-Team All-Conference, All-Region Gold Glove; Led team in runs (75) and hits (94), 2nd in stolen bases (8) and batting average (.381), 4th in RBI (50), 5th in home runs (9).
Edrick Felix: Second-Team All-Conference, State Tournament MVP; Led the team in home runs (17), RBI (77) and stolen bases (9), 2nd on the team in runs (67), 3rd in hits (77), 4th in batting average (.347).
Ben Chestnutt: State Pitcher of the Year, Conference Pitcher of the Year; 79.2 innings pitched, 11 wins, 103 strikeouts, 3.39 ERA.
Nicholas Calero: First-Team All-Conference; 5th on the team in runs (49), hits (59), and batting average (.335).
In keeping with the unprecedented nature of the season, the players have broken a number of single-season team records. Kilpatrick’s 94 hits are the most all-time in a season for the Patriots, as are Felix’s 17 home runs. Cali set the team record for RBI in a season with 74, and then Felix broke Cali’s record with 77 by the end of the state tournament.
“They work hard. We get after it in the weight room. We work out hard. We try to hit the ball as hard as we can. And we’ve got a good group of coaches,” Smith said when asked about his team’s record-setting success. “We’ve continued to work to get players better when they get on campus. Everybody on our team has improved. Everybody has gotten better since day one of this year and we hope they continue to get better.”
One of the biggest tests for the team this season came once the Patriots arrived at the state tournament. There, they were immediately faced the, then, No. 2 ranked team in the country: Chipola College.
The Pats were able to dispatch Chipola with a 7-2 victory and followed that win up with a 15-5 (8 innings) win over Indian River State College the next day.
CF then fell to the defending state champion Miami-Dade College Sharks, 15-9. But upon a rematch for a winner-take-all game the following day, the Patriots rallied for a 4-3 comeback win to earn the college’s first state championship since 1998.
Next up: JUCO World Series
Now, with a state title under their belt, the Pats' final test of the season comes this weekend. And while the players know that the level of talent they’ll face will be a challenge, they view this opportunity as a dream come true.
“It means the world. I’ve been here for three years and it’s crazy that my final year here we actually get the chance to go to the JUCO world series. It feels like the work has paid off, but the work is not done yet. It’s actually a dream come true,” said Kilpatrick.
“It means everything. I mean, we were really trying hard once we knew we had a shot at this thing. We went to states, we took down Chipola in the first game, and then we knew we had a shot to do this thing. I guess the thing we’re most excited for is kinda just to showcase our talents and our team to the entire country,” said Cali.
The World Series starts Saturday and will run through June 3 or 4 in Grand Junction, Colorado. Ten teams from around the nation will compete in the double-elimination tournament. All games will be held at Sam Suplizio Field.
While Smith has already been to the JUCO World Series twice before, it’s been 24 years since his last appearance. That fact only serves to give him an even better understanding and appreciation of what an opportunity like this means.
“It’s awesome. It’s something that we dream and strive to do every year. It’s really, really, really hard to get out of Florida. There’s really good baseball in Florida and we put it together this year and get to go back,” Smith said.
Grand Junction is "a really nice place where we’ll play in front of 10 or 15 thousand people. The kids get to have a great experience playing baseball in a big tournament that’s well-attended and well-scouted. It’s just a really great experience for the kids, it really is.”
The No. 4 seed Patriots will take on the No. 7 seed Cowley County Community College Tigers (46-9) out of Kansas at 11 a.m. EST to open the tournament. As for Smith’s plan for the team once they arrive:
“Just gotta continue to do what we do well. Swing the bat, be a tough out, throw a lot of strikes and get guys out and make plays. We wanna get better in every phase of the game to take it to the next level, but we’re pretty close to that,” Smith said.
“We’ve got as good a chance as anybody to win the thing.”
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: College baseball: Central Florida in JUCO World Series for first time in 24 years
