NWF State downs Tallahassee in walk-off fashion

NICEVILLE, Fla. (April 16, 2014) – Tallahassee Community College's postseason chances took another hit on Wednesday night when Northwest Florida State College scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Eagles, 7-6. 

After the Raiders' Steven Jernigan drove in Tanner Halstead with the tying run, a throwing error allowed Danny Blanco to score the winning run and hand the Eagles their fourth one-run loss of the conference season. 

Tallahassee (34-16) now sits at 6-11 in Panhandle Conference play and trails Northwest Florida State (8-7) by three games with three to play in the regular season. The Raiders have five games remaining on their slate and can eliminate the Eagles from postseason contention with a win at Eagle Field on Friday in the rubber game of the teams' season series. 

Not only did the Eagles miss a chance to pull within a game of the Raiders for the all-important third-place spot in the PC standings but it would have clinched the season series against the Raiders as well as the accompanying tie-breaker in the event the two teams finish league play with identical records. 

Tallahassee can still take care of the latter with a win on Friday but would face a two-game deficit with two to play and need some help along the way. 

D.J. McKnight, who delivered a walk-off hit of his own against the Raiders in a 6-5 win on March 27, singled home the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth, breaking a 5-all tie and erasing a three-run deficit. His hit came on the heels of Johnny Blue Craig's game-tying single earlier in the inning that scored Jonathan Burkett. 

Both teams got on the scoreboard in the second – Tallahassee jumped in front 2-0 then watched Northwest Florida State answer with five runs. 

Friday's game begins at 5 p.m.