OCALA, FL (352today.com) – College of Central Florida baseball standout Dawson Harman was named FCSAA State Player of the Year on Thursday, then backed up the honor with a clutch performance on Friday.

Harman launched his 23rd home run of the season in the top of the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie, setting a new single-season record for the Patriots and helping secure a 5-2 win over #2 seed Gulf Coast State College in the opening round of the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 final four tournament.

The win lifts the #6 seed Patriots (37-16) into the winner’s bracket, where they’ll face #1 seed Florida Southwestern State College (42-14) on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte. FSW advanced by defeating the State College of Florida 14-7.

Key contributors included starting pitcher Jay Jung, who improved to 6-2 after going seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out eight. Jose Paniagua closed the game, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts for his third save of the season.

Miles Curley and Marcus Bradshaw also delivered late insurance runs, with Curley driving in a run and Bradshaw hitting a solo home run to secure the Patriots’ opening-round win.

Gulf Coast State College (35-15) will face State College of Florida (37-20) in an elimination game Saturday at 1 p.m.

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