HOUSTON – The San Jacinto College softball team is poised and ready to take a shot at its fist national championship this week at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national tournament in Plant City, Florida.

The San Jacinto College softball team will play for a shot at the national title this week at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national tournament in Plant City, Florida.

As the twelfth seed, San Jac will face fifth seeded Tallahassee Community College tomorrow (Thursday), at 10 a.m. (CDT), in opening round action from Plant City Stadium & Randy L. Larson Four-Plex. This is the first-ever appearance at the national tournament for San Jac.

“We’re incredibly happy to be in the national tournament,” said fifth-year head coach Kelly Saenz. “We’re going to do our best, as we’ve done all year, and we can’t wait to get out on the field.”

San Jac enters the national tournament with an overall record of 37-15 after winning the Region XIV tournament for only the third time in school history May in Brenham, 1-3 in Brenham, Texas. Freshman pitcher Kelsey McClain, a product of Pasadena Memorial High School, pitched all four games during the regional tournament, and leads the team in innings pitched (146.0), ERA (2.30), strikeouts (108.0), and wins (16). San Jac won each game, going undefeated in the tournament, and knocking out tournament favorite, and nationally ranked Galveston College.

Offensively, San Jac is led by sophomore shortstop Brittany Boren (Bryan High School / Bryan, Texas) and freshman outfielder Cheyenne Parent (Needville High School / Guy, Texas). Boren averages .368 behind 144 at bats, 53 hits, a team-leading 15 doubles and 36 RBIs. She has also scored 37 runs. Parent is hitting .418 behind 64 hits and 14 RBIs. Parent also leads the team in stolen bases with 22.

For information about the 2008 NJCAA softball national tournament, including a complete tournament schedule and results, visit http://www.njcaa.org/ or http://www.internationalsoftball.com/.

For more information about the San Jacinto College softball program, visit www.sanjac.edu/athletics.