Eagles set to open title defense

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 17, 2015) - Tallahassee Community College's softball team will open defense of its Panhandle Conference Championship on Wednesday when it travels to Pensacola State College. 

The doubleheader begins at 5 p.m. eastern. 

Last season, Tallahassee won its first PC Championship since 1998, running away from the field with an 18-4 league record. The Eagles went on to claim their first FCSAA State Championship since 1994 and advanced to its third NJCAA Tournament since 2008. 

Through 24 games in 2015, Tallahassee is 18-6, ranked fourth in the latest FCSAA Softball Coaches' Poll and seventh in the NJCAA poll. All that pales in comparison, however, to what will transpire over the next four weeks. 

When the 16-game PC schedule wraps up April 16, the Eagles need to be one of the top four teams in the conference in order to advance to the FCSAA State Tournament. While four of the five PC teams still advance to the postseason, some components of the tournament are new. 

For starters, the tournament has moved from Pensacola, where Tallahassee won region titles in 2011 and 2014, to Vera Beach. Also gone is the eight-team format played by both the Gulf and Atlantic districts. In its place is a 16-team, double-elimination tournament that will bring together a quartet of teams from each of the FCSAA's four conferences. The final two teams standing will advance to the NJCAA Tournament and play a winner-take-all state championship game. 

With eight fewer games on the league schedule this season, a fast start is imperative. 

Pensacola State (15-6), who is riding a six-game winning streak and has won nine of its last ten, is the hottest team in the conference. Tallahassee, on the other hand, has split its last six games, but does boast a three-game winning streak. 

Much of the Pirates' success can be credited to freshman shortstop Bevia Robinson, the state's leading hitter (.592 average) who was named NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA Softball Player of the Week on Tuesday. She'll likely take her game one cuts against Tallahassee ace Mariah Rivera (6-2) and her 0.74  ERA. 

Rivera anchors a pitching staff that has posted a 1.24 team ERA. Either Alexandra Cook (7-0) or Gabrielle Decker (5-4) will get the game two start on Wednesday. 

Offensively, Brianna Tourtillott leads the Eagles with a .390 batting average and 28 RBIs and shares the team lead of three home runs with Kayla Boucher. 

Following Wednesday's conference opener, Tallahassee will return home to host Gulf Coast State College at 1 p.m. Saturday.