Northwest Florida Falls to Chipola in Extra-Inning Heartbreaker

TAMPA, Fla. — Northwest Florida State battled back late but came up just short Friday, falling to Chipola 5-4 in a walk-off loss in the ninth inning to open the FCSAA Championship. With the loss, the Raiders move into the elimination bracket and will face State College of Florida on Thursday at noon (CDT).

The Raiders leaned on another stellar outing from ace Bradley Garrett, who delivered 7.1 strong innings and kept Northwest Florida within striking distance all afternoon. Garrett threw 133 pitches, allowing four runs while striking out six in a gritty postseason performance.

Chipola struck first in the fifth on a sacrifice bunt that plated the game's opening run, then extended its lead to 2-0 in the sixth with a solo home run.

Trailing 2-0 entering the eighth, Northwest Florida finally broke through with a four-run rally. A bases-loaded walk to Tristan King brought home the Raiders' first run before Angel Santiago tied the game with an RBI groundout. Moments later, Anthony Quigley delivered the biggest hit of the day, lining a two-run single to left field to give Northwest Florida its first lead at 4-2.

Chipola responded immediately in the bottom half of the eighth, cutting the deficit to one on an RBI single before tying the game at 4-4 on a bases-loaded walk.

In the ninth, the Indians completed the comeback with a walk-off RBI single to center, handing the Raiders a tough opening-round defeat.

Anthony Quigley led the offense with a pair of hits including two-RBI single in the eighth. Angle Santiago and Tristan King were the only other players to record RBIs in the game with their bases loaded walks.

Despite the setback, Northwest Florida remains alive in the double-elimination tournament and will look to extend its postseason run against State College of Florida on Saturday.