Softball team faces Northwest Florida in first round

The Eastern Florida State College softball team is the No. 7 seed for the FCSAA Division I Softball Championships and will open Tuesday in Clearwater.

The Titans, who are 38-20 this season, are making their second straight appearance in the state tournament and will face No. 2 seed Northwest Florida State College in the first round at 10 a.m. at Eddie C. Moore Complex.

Northwest Florida State College comes into the tournament 54-2 and was 20-0 in the Panhandle this season. Cailyn Heyl was the Pitcher of the Year for the Panhandle and heads into the postseason 28-1 with a 0.83 ERA in 143 innings. Sophomore first baseman Sister Arnold was the Panhandle's Player of the Year after hitting .437 this season with 12 home runs and has driven in 50 runs.

Freshman Avery Velazquez was the Citrus Conference North Player of the Year leading the state in RBIs with 65 while hitting .414 with seven home runs and 22 doubles. On the mound Velazquez is 23-10 with a 1.14 ERA in 208 1/3 innings.

Florida Southwestern State College is the No. 1 seed in the tournament while Indian River State College is the No. 3 seed.

The 38 wins are the most in the regular season for the Titans and have reached the 30-win mark for the ninth time in the past 25 years.

The game will be a rematch of last season's South Atlantic District B Championship in which Northwest Florida won, advancing to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament.

Tickets can be purchased in advance for the tournament by clicking here.

The tournament will also be shown live online, fans can watch all of the games here.