Organized Chaos

Susan Painter is a patient person, or at least she’s shown she can be.

For years she has been at the top of the junior college softball world, searching for that elusive national title. The first step in reaching another national tournament begins Friday in Auburndale for the FCCAA Gulf District/NJCAA Region 8 tournament.

The winner of the Gulf District moves on to the national tourney in Plant City later this month. But that’s a long way away.

GC is the underdog of sorts. Chipola, the defending state and national champions, are the favorites and have played as such throughout the season. Manatee also is a contender, but only one team, Manatee to be exact, outside of the Panhandle Conference has won the Gulf District title.

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Updated throughout the weekend

Gulf Coast defeated Parkland and Chattanooga State in one-run games on Friday. The games were played in a driving wind and the temperature dipped as the night went on. At least the NFCA games were able to be played, especially with the threat of rain looming all day.

Pool play resumed Saturday at 10 a.m. There is another round of pool games at 12:30 p.m. One round of bracket play is slated for Saturday afternoon, in what is expected to be even colder temps.

Other notable items included defending national champion Chipola College splitting its first two games. The Lady Indians played against Southeastern and a pitcher who played for the Venezuelan Olympic team.

Fellow GC and Chipola state rival Indian River exploded for 33 runs in its two games. It’s obvious Indian River was smarting from its loss to GC on Thursday and wanted to take it out on someone.

For a complete wrapup of pool games, click here.

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Twenty-four junior college softball teams will converge on Frank Brown Park this weekend for the NFCA Juco Leadoff Classic. The tournament is slated to run Friday through Sunday, but harsh weather could push the event back a bit.

This is the second time the NFCA has staged a major collegiate tournament in Panama City Beach. The first was in 2007 for the NCAA Division III Leadoff Classic. The NAIA Leadoff Classic is next year.

This is a major step in PCB trying to land the NJCAA national tournament. The city bid for the tournament a few years ago, but it was passed over for Plant City. The bid for the 2009-2011 NJCAA tournaments is upcoming, but Richard Sanders, director of sports marketing for the PCB Convention and Visitors Bureau, said on Wednesday that there were no immediate plans to bid again.

A big hangup for the selection committee was the lack of a larger airport in the area. Sanders said the new airport would help in showing the NJCAA that teams can come into Panama City without paying a high air fare.

The tentative plan is to put in another bid for the three-year deal to host the NFCA events. Sanders said the bidding process will be at the NFCA convention either this year or next year. Sanders is confident the NFCA will choose PCB again.

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Gulf Coast Community College softball coach Susan Painter should earn her 600th career fastpitch victory this weekend, giving her a milestone that few have reached.

The Lady Commodores, ranked third in the state, travel to Winter Haven for the Polk Tournament Saturday and Sunday. They will play five games, two of which come against other Top 10 teams. Painter should be to 600 and beyond barring an unheard of five-game losing streak.

All of her wins have come at Gulf Coast. She took over the program in 1994, coaching the team in its final season of slowpitch. The fastpitch era began in 1995 and she hasn’t looked back.

Painter will soon become only the third active junior college coach in the state with 600 or more wins. St. Petersburg’s Lance Lamport and Florida Community College-Jacksonville’s Jami Friedman lead the way with 815 and 781 wins, respectively.

Painter also will be only one of 10 active juco coaches in the country with 600 or more wins, according to NJCAA records. Also, a quick count among NCAA coaches past and present yields a number of about 64 coaches on both levels who have 600 or more victories.

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