BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Tripp Davis and his St. Johns River State College teammates saw their season come to an end with a 6-5 loss to LSU Eunice on May 31 in the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series.
Davis, a 2021 Union County High School graduate, hit a run-scoring single in the top of the ninth that put St. Johns up 5-3. LSU Eunice rallied in the bottom of the inning, with the winning run scoring on a wild pitch.
LSU Eunice would go on to win the national championship, defeating Brunswick 9-3 on June 1 for the program’s eighth title.
St. Johns (42-25) got off to a 2-0 start in the World Series before losing 4-2 to LSU Eunice on May 28. The Vikings bounced back, defeating Des Moines 3-1 on May 29.
That put the Vikings in the semifinal round, where they defeated LSU Eunice 8-7 on May 30, forcing the second game that resulted in the 6-5 LSU Eunice win.
Davis drove in the first run in the May 30 semifinal game with a single in the top of the first. He later scored on a double as the Vikings went up 4-0.
The Vikings’ season ended with Davis as their second-leading batter with a .363 average. Davis was third in on-base percentage (.464) and fourth in slugging (.508). He also had eight doubles, two triples, two home runs and 27 RBI.
