By Hector D. Gonzalez
Sports Editor
The Miami Dade College softball team was all smiles as they arrived at Miami International Airport.
The Sharks had good reason to feel giddy.
They had just defeated Wallace State Community College located in Alabama at the National Junior College Athletic Association National Tournament. The win earned the Sharks their first National Junior College Athletic Association championship in softball on May 23, at St. George, Utah.
The Sharks won all five games they played at the three- day, 16-team tournament. They outscored the competition 46-11.
“They were the best team on the field,” Head coach Carlos Caro said. “They competed to the best of their abilities and they won it.”
Pitcher Erika Bennett, who posted a record of 4-0 and a 0.54 ERA while being named the tournaments’ MVP, led the way.
“My pitching was on fire this weekend,” Bennett said.
She finished the season with a record of 26-2.
But Bennett was not the only one to pack a punch for the Sharks. The team finished the tournament with 11 homers. Freshmen infielder/outfielder Kristen Exposito had three home runs. The Sharks also had 13 stolen bases and made only three errors.
“It was like an explosion with everything that could go right, going right,” Exposito said. “Everyone’s energy went up. Everyone was hitting and awake. This is awesome.”
Caro was named the Karen L. Sykes Outstanding Coach of the 2010 NJCAA Tournament. Freshmen outfielder/catcher Veronika Fukunishi, sophomore infielder Simone Suetsugu, sophomore pitcher/infielder Geovany Nunez, and catcher Vivian Morimoto were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Sharks finished the year (51-6), setting school records for most wins and the fewest losses in a season.
Several of the team’s players have been offered scholarships at four-year schools.
Amanda Lara and Bennett both will attend Marshall University, Suetsugu will attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Morimoto has made a verbal commitment to attend Florida Gulf Coast University.
Despite losing key players, Caro believes the team is poised to repeat as national champions next year.
“It has been the result of hard work throughout the year. We got together, planned it together and accomplished it together,” Caro said. “They won it and next year we will try to do it again.”
Sports Editor
The Miami Dade College softball team was all smiles as they arrived at Miami International Airport.
The Sharks had good reason to feel giddy.
They had just defeated Wallace State Community College located in Alabama at the National Junior College Athletic Association National Tournament. The win earned the Sharks their first National Junior College Athletic Association championship in softball on May 23, at St. George, Utah.
The Sharks won all five games they played at the three- day, 16-team tournament. They outscored the competition 46-11.
“They were the best team on the field,” Head coach Carlos Caro said. “They competed to the best of their abilities and they won it.”
Pitcher Erika Bennett, who posted a record of 4-0 and a 0.54 ERA while being named the tournaments’ MVP, led the way.
“My pitching was on fire this weekend,” Bennett said.
She finished the season with a record of 26-2.
But Bennett was not the only one to pack a punch for the Sharks. The team finished the tournament with 11 homers. Freshmen infielder/outfielder Kristen Exposito had three home runs. The Sharks also had 13 stolen bases and made only three errors.
“It was like an explosion with everything that could go right, going right,” Exposito said. “Everyone’s energy went up. Everyone was hitting and awake. This is awesome.”
Caro was named the Karen L. Sykes Outstanding Coach of the 2010 NJCAA Tournament. Freshmen outfielder/catcher Veronika Fukunishi, sophomore infielder Simone Suetsugu, sophomore pitcher/infielder Geovany Nunez, and catcher Vivian Morimoto were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Sharks finished the year (51-6), setting school records for most wins and the fewest losses in a season.
Several of the team’s players have been offered scholarships at four-year schools.
Amanda Lara and Bennett both will attend Marshall University, Suetsugu will attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Morimoto has made a verbal commitment to attend Florida Gulf Coast University.
Despite losing key players, Caro believes the team is poised to repeat as national champions next year.
“It has been the result of hard work throughout the year. We got together, planned it together and accomplished it together,” Caro said. “They won it and next year we will try to do it again.”
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