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.

This points to what has transpired over the years. It’s likely GC and Chipola will meet up to three times. Both teams can meet in the winners’ bracket final and in the district championship.

That was the case in the last two seasons, with GC sweeping Chipola in 2006 and Chipola holding off the Lady Commodores last year.

What will happen this time?

Well, I’ll say this, if GC plays like it did against Chipola in the final doubleheader of the season then the Lady Commodores will be tough to beat. It’s rare for a team to play so much better than it had in weeks prior, but that’s exactly what GC did.

The first game of the doubleheader was like watching vintage GC. The Lady Commodores had timely hits, played excellent defense and made good decisions all around. They did this all against Chipola’s ace pitcher.

However, while a championship may be in order, a quick exit is just as likely should GC play like it did in spots down the stretch. The bats weren’t clicking, the errors piled up and the reliable pitching could only do so much until the game was gone.

I’d bet GC would perform better than that this weekend. The key will be keeping it up for several days in a row. GC showed it could do that in the NFCA tournament earlier this season.

Painter said this team, which mirrors her previously youngest team in 2005. But this year’s group isn’t as far along as hitters as the 2005 bunch. Pitching is a strength and it will come around next year if it doesn’t this weekend.

The best news was the seasoned 2006 team advanced to the national final before falling to Pima, Ariz. in the championship. The same could be in store for the 2009 team, but Painter hopes this year’s season extends just a bit further.

You can check out the tournament brackets by clicking here. I’ll update them throughout the weekend.

Also, you can read my preview story by clicking here.

Post from: Organized Chaos

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.

……. 2 p.m. Saturday update

GC defeated Florida Community College-Jacksonville 10-6 to clinch first place in Pool 3. The Lady Commodores held a 10-1 lead, but FCCJ avoided the run rule with five runs in the final three innings against starting pitcher Ginny Walsh.

GC advanced to the Gold Bracket. Seeding was set to take place after the conclusion of the 12:30 p.m. games.

…… 9 p.m. Saturday update

GC defeated Indian Hills 10-5 after earning the fourth seed in the Gold Bracket. That sets up a rematch with Indian River Sunday at noon. Indian River took the top seed and pounded Wallace-Dothan, Ala., 7-2, which was the lowest output for Indian River in four games.

Chipola was 2-1 in pool play and opened the Silver Bracket later Saturday. I don’t know the score, but you can click here to find out all the bracket updates.

Sunday’s games are at 10 a.m., noon and championship and consolation finals are to be held at 2 p.m. I’ll be there on Sunday to cover GC’s games, as well as the championship regardless of who’s playing in it.

 ……. 4 p.m. Sunday update

Indian River gained revenge by beating GC 5-0 in the Gold Bracket semifinals. The Pioneers had only two hits, but both were home runs and accounted for four runs.

Indian River advanced to play Wallace-Hanceville, Ala., in the championship game.

Chipola College was eliminated in the Silver Bracket semifinals by Chattanooga State, 1-0 with a late run in the seventh inning. The Lady Indians opened Silver Bracket play with a 9-0 win over Brevard Saturday night.

 ……. 5:45 p.m. Sunday update

Indian River scored a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat Wallace-Hanceville, Ala., 2-1 for the tournament championship. The Pioneers won all six of their games played in the event, including three in bracket play.

GC’s Karri Bisbee made the all-tournament team. You can view the rest of the team by clicking here.

This was a well-run tournament and I don’t see any reason why the NJCAA national championship shouldn’t come to PCB. It would be a great boost for the economy and the staff at Frank Brown Park has shown it can handle two major tournaments in back-to-back years with more teams than come for nationals.

Post from: Organized Chaos

 The NFCA Juco Leadoff Classic tournament at Frank Brown Park was scheduled to begin at noon, GC softball coach Susan Painter said. There are four rounds of pool play games scheduled for today, with final games set for 7:30 p.m.

I will have updates from the tournament, including any delays due to bad weather. The forecast called for a slight chance of rain, which won’t be a major deal unless there’s a huge downpour like Thursday night.

You can find the schedule of games at the bottom of the previous post by clicking here.

Post from: Organized Chaos

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.

“This is another stepping stone to get these types of events under our belts,” Sanders said.

This weekend features six rounds of pool play. The teams will be seeded based on pool finish and run differential and placed in the Gold, Silver or Bronze brackets. Only the teams in the Gold Bracket, which includes the six pool winners and two at-large berths, are eligible for the title.

The field includes highly ranked teams in both Division I and II of the NJCAA, including defending Division I champion Chipola College and Gulf Coast Community College, which aims to build on a current four-game winning streak.

The Lady Commodores are 14-3 and will play two non-tournament games today at Joe Tom King Field. GC plays Chattanooga (Tenn.) State at 2 p.m. and Indian River at 6 p.m. Indian River and Chattanooga play at 4 p.m.

GC coach Susan Painter said this weekend’s competition will be a step above the quality the Lady Commodores encountered during their own tournament a few weeks back.

“Our tournament was a little taste of it,” Painter said. “This tournament has more seasoned teams, but that’s what we need to see.

“We’re targeting our Round 2, which is March 18 (the start of the Panhandle Conference schedule). We’re getting closer to being ready for that date.”

I will be covering the NFCA tournament over the weekend and will include additional information on my blog about the event due to space constraints in The News Herald print edition.

Here is the schedule of games. I’ll update if there are changes. Feel free to click on links for selected teams.

NFCA Junior College Leadoff Classic
All games played at Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach
All times CST
Friday
Noon — Chipola vs. Meridian (Field 1); CCBC vs. Young Harris (Field 2); Chattanooga State vs. FCCJ (Field 3); Blinn vs. Central Alabama (Field 5); Georgia Perimeter vs. Chattahoochee Valley (Field 6); Aiken vs. Brevard (Field 7)
2:30 p.m. — Meridian vs. Navarro (Field 1); Young Harris vs. Mississippi Gulf Coast (Field 2); FCCJ vs. Parkland (Field 3); Central Alabama vs. Miami Dade (Field 5);
Chattahoochee Valley vs. Indian River (Field 6); Brevard vs. Wallace-Hanceville (Field 7)
5 p.m. — Southeastern vs. Chipola (Field 1); Mississippi Gulf Coast vs. Wallace-Dothan (Field 2); Parkland vs. Gulf Coast (Field 3); Miami Dade vs. Wenatchee (Field 5);
Indian River vs. Louisburg (Field 6); Wallace-Hanceville vs. Indian Hills (Field 7)
7:30 p.m. — Navarro vs. Southeastern (Field 1); Wallace-Dothan vs. CCBC (Field 2); Gulf Coast vs. Chattanooga State (Field 3); Wenatchee vs. Blinn (Field 5); Louisburg vs. Georgia Perimeter (Field 6); Indian Hills vs. Aiken (Field 7)
Saturday
10 a.m. — Chattahoochee Valley vs. Louisburg (Field 1); Brevard vs. Indian Hills (Field 2); Central Alabama vs. Wenatchee (Field 3); FCCJ vs. Gulf Coast (Field 5);
Meridian vs. Southeastern (Field 6); Young Harris vs. Wallace-Dothan (Field 7)
12:30 p.m. — Georgia Perimeter vs. Indian River (Field 1); Aiken vs. Wallace-Hanceville (Field 2); Blinn vs. Miami Dade (Field 3); Chattanooga State vs. Parkland (Field 5); Chipola vs. Navarro (Field 6); CCBC vs. Mississippi Gulf Coast (Field 7)

Post from: Organized Chaos

The preseason outlook points to success for the baseball team, with 11 returners from last year’s team that qualified for the state tournament for the second straight year. The pitching staff is deep, with the expected ace, Bryam Garcia, set to be at full strength for the Panhandle Conference season.

I was impressed with what I saw from the Commodores over the weekend. I saw the team’s first 18 innings over the course of three games. There were no errors, few bad swings and steady pitching, save a brief stumble in the seventh inning of the second game.

Gulf Coast, which opened 2-1 against Young Harris College of Georgia, is fighting through some early injuries, including a hamstring problem by Mason Meredeth. But, if they stay healthy for the most part, the Commodores will challenge Chipola for the conference title (with this year’s conference schedule shortened to 20 games, but more on that in a later report).

Across the way at Joe Tom King Field, coach Susan Painter might feel like this is her first year. There are 16 freshmen on this team and only two returners from last year’s team that placed third in the state tournament. Painter made it a point to clear out some of the riff raff from last season and this is every bit like starting over.

The outlook is bright, despite the youth of the team. Painter has high expectations and from what I’m hearing there’s much talent on the team. I’m in the dark a bit because I know a little about only a few of the players, including Marianna’s Jill Mathis and Holmes County’s Brianna Belcher.

I’ll be learning about this team as much as Painter does. There will be bumps in the road, but I agree with her that the team will be ready to go in March for the conference schedule.

You can view the softball schedule by clicking here.

You can view the baseball schedule by clicking here.

I’ll do these reports periodically to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the teams, as well as my thoughts as the season progresses.

Your thoughts?

Post from: Organized Chaos

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.

Gulf Coast won 52 or more games in five of the last six seasons, led by a school record 57 victories in both 2004 and 2006. Not coincidentally, those seasons culminated in national tournament berths and second-place finishes.

And there lies the one missing victory.

Gulf Coast needed just one win in 2001 and 2004 to secure national championships. The Lady Commodores came through the losers’ bracket last season, needing two wins in the title game before falling in its first try against Pima, Ariz.

Painter is confident a national title will come to Panama City. She has been close before and will undoubtedly be close again.
But even if she doesn’t win a national title, she’s still set the standard for all other coaches in the Panhandle to follow. It’s difficult to fathom someone ever topping Painter when she decides its time to move on or walk away.

And though she’s been modest about win totals throughout her career, there’s little question that she may think of eclipsing Gulf Coast’s all-time winning mark of 881, set by the late Bill Frazier with the school’s baseball program. At this rate, she’ll surpass that record in 2013.

And, as always, you can surf to my blog index for more entries.

Post from: Organized Chaos