Eagles head to Pensacola State for PC opener

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 13, 2015) - Tallahassee Community College's quest for a third consecutive postseason berth begins at 4 p.m. eastern Saturday with the Panhandle Conference opener at Pensacola State College. 

The threat of inclement weather pushed the three-game series back a day. As a result, game two is back in Tallahassee at 3 p.m. eastern Sunday. The teams return to Pensacola for the series finale at 6 p.m. eastern on Monday. 

The FCSAA No. 9 Eagles, who are 18-8 on the season, enter league play having won six straight and eight of nine overall. At 18-10, Pensacola State has already surpassed its win total from 2014 (14). 

The 20-game PC schedule will feature a three-game set against each of the other four league opponents followed by a home-and-home set against each school. The champion and runners-up will advance to the NJCAA Gulf District/FCSAA State Baseball Tournament in Lakeland, Fla., May 8-13. For the second year, the third-place finisher will earn the league's wild card berth and a tournament play-in date against the No. 3 team from the Southern Conference on April 27. 

The new postseason format proved advantageous for Tallahassee a year ago. In previous seasons, the Eagles would have been eliminated from postseason contention with about two weeks to spare. Instead, the possibility of a wild card berth kept Tallahassee alive, and after the Eagles won three straight to close the season and got some help, they suddenly found themselves in the postseason. Tallahassee routed Seminole State College in one of two Wild Card play-in games and eliminated a pair of conference champions on the same day in Lakeland to reach the 40-win plateau for the second straight season. 

Pensacola State, on the other hand, hasn't reached the postseason since 2008 when it won the PC Championship. If their current resume is any indication, the Pirates are going to be a threat in 2015. They own wins against five nationally-ranked opponents – No. 3 Delgado (La.) Community College, No. 8 State College of Florida, No. 10 Santa Fe College, No. 19 Wabash Valley (Ill.) College and NJCAA DII No. 7 Louisiana State University-Eunice. 

Pensacola State also boasts the reigning NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA Baseball Player of the Week in freshman shortstop Romero Greer, whose .410 batting average is second in the PC and fifth in the state. 

Two freshmen and a veteran lead the Eagles' offense. First-year players Ethan Crout and Tyler Kinard are batting .392 and .368, respectively. Sophomore D.J. McKnight is next in batting average at .350 and shares team-high honors with 18 RBIs. 

Sophomores Chris Elander (1-0, 3.15 ERA) and Chad Mabini (2-1, 2.22) are expected to get two of the starts for Tallahassee. The third starter has not been announced. ​