Southwest Baseball Team In Region Play-In Game Against Roane State

For more information, contact:
Keith Gentry
901-333-4114
mgentry@southwest.tn.edu

The Southwest Tennessee Community College baseball team will travel to Columbia, Tennessee May 8-12 for the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Tournament hosted by Columbia State Community College.

The ninth-seed Saluqis will play eighth-seed Roane State in a play-in game on May 8 at 3 p.m. The winner advances to the eight-team double-elimination tournament which begins on May 9 with the championship game set for May 12. The tournament champion will travel to the Region 17 Championship for the NJCAA East Central District May 18-20 with the winner advancing to the NJCAA National Championship May 28-June 4 in Grand Junction, Colorado.

The Saluqis' top hitter this season is freshman catcher Rusber Estrada, who leads the team with a .342 batting average, 24 runs scored, 12 doubles, four home runs, 66 total bases, a .564 slugging average and .429 on-base average. Other top hitters are freshman infielder Daren Ortiz (.300 average and 12 runs batted in), freshman outfielder Hank McKay (.297 average and 10 runs batted in) and freshman shortstop Alejandro Cardinale (.288 average, team-highs of 51 hits, three triples and nine stolen bases).

Freshman righthander Dillon Bonee, who received the TCCAA Pitcher of the Week award (for the Motlow State series), leads the pitching staff with 52 strikeouts and two saves. Other top pitchers are sophomore righthander Bradley Crain, who leads the team with 12 games started and 57 innings pitched, and freshman righthander Houston Haag, who leads the team with three wins.