Northwest Florida State helped out Gulf Coast in a big way on Thursday, as the Lady Commodores locked up a state softball tournament berth.
The Raiders blasted Pensacola State 16-0 in the first game of a Panhandle Conference doubleheader, securing fourth place for GC a day after it wrapped up the regular season. NWF State won the second game 2-0. Pensacola needed a sweep to force a best-of-three tiebreaker with GC for the fourth and final tournament spot allotted to the Panhandle.
GC finished the regular season 26-31 overall and 8-16 in the conference. Tallahassee (34-11, 18-4) enters the state tournament as the conference champion, followed by NWF State (39-15, 16-8) and Chipola (30-20, 10-12). Pensacola finished with six conference wins, four coming against GC and two over Chipola.
The FCSAA Gulf District/NJCAA Region 8 tournament takes place May 2-4 at Exchange Park in Pensacola. GC opens the double-elimination tournament against the Suncoast Conference champion, which projects to be Polk State (37-10), which is ranked third in the state.
The Gulf District winner earns a berth in the national tournament May 14-17 in St. George, Utah. The Gulf and Atlantic district champions also will play for the state title at the conclusion of both tournaments. GC seeks an eighth trip to nationals and first since 2009.