Eagles set to begin FCSAA title defense

VERO BEACH, Fla. (April 30, 2015) – Tallahassee Community College opens postseason play Friday at noon in opening round action at the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Softball Tournament at Vero Beach's Historic Dodgertown. 

Tallahassee (29-15), the No. 4 seed from the Panhandle Conference, drew the top seed from the Mid-Florida Conference, FCSAA No. 1 and NJCAA No. 2 College of Central Florida (51-7).

The game can be seen on NJCAA TV.

Friday will mark the third time the Eagles and Patriots have met on the diamond in 2015. It is also a rematch of last season's FCSAA State Championship Game, won by Tallahassee, 4-1.

Last month, the teams met in Ocala, where Central Florida took both games of a doubleheader.

In game one, Tallahassee took a 2-0 lead to the fifth only to see the Patriots score three times and claim the 3-2 victory. Central Florida struck for three quick runs in game two and won by a 3-0 score.

Win or lose, the Eagles will play a second game on Friday as part of the double-elimination tournament.

If Tallahassee wins, it will move into the winner's bracket and play the winner of Polk State College and Palm Beach State College at 5 p.m. Lose and the Eagles will face elimination at 7 p.m. against the Polk State-Palm Beach State loser on NJCAA TV.

The latter scenario is where Tallahassee found itself a year ago after an opening-round loss to Hillsborough Community College. But the Eagles kept their season alive by defeating State College of Florida in the second game on opening day then followed with five more elimination game victories, culminating with a doubleheader sweep of Polk State to capture the FCSAA Gulf District Championship and the accompanying berth to the national tournament in St. George, Utah.

A new tournament format will make an opening round loss even tougher to overcome in 2015 – two separate eight-team tournaments has been replaced by a 16-team field, with the last two teams standing earning automatic bids to the national tournament. They'll also play one final game to determine the FCSAA's state champion.

The new format does, however, provide the opportunity for two teams from the same conference to advance to the national tournament. Tallahassee, at No. 7, is one of three teams from the PC ranked in the final FCSAA Softball Coaches' Poll. Conference champion Chipola College is No. 3 while Pensacola State College is No. 10.

Tallahassee, Pensacola State and Northwest Florida State College finished in a three-way tie for second place in the league standings, but the tie-breaker resulted in Northwest Florida State being awarded the No. 2 seed followed by Pensacola State and Tallahassee.

Friday also marks the debut as tournament host for Historic Dodgertown, and if Tallahassee is looking for any good omens, two, in particular, stand out.

The last time the event moved to a new location – Pensacola, Fla., in 2011 – the Eagles won the district championship. Tallahassee has also enjoyed much success when playing the role of underdog. In 2008 and 2011, the Eagles won the district championship as the PC's No. 4 seed.