Softball Headed to FCSAA State Tournament
Daytona State, currently ranked #17 in the NJCAA Division I, will head south this Friday, April 28, for the 2017 FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 tournament. The seventh-seeded Falcons (34-16, 15-9) will face tenth-seeded Palm Beach State (30-22, 14-6) at 11:00 a.m. in Vero Beach, Fla., at Historic Dodgertown.
The Falcons finished third in the Mid-Florida Conference this year behind two other nationally ranked teams, earning one of 16 spots in the state tournament. This is the 10th state tournament appearance for DSC women's softball, who have been in the NJCAA Top 20 rankings all season, reaching as high as 11th in the polls.
"I am excited that our team's hard work has paid off with a birth to the state tournament," said Sabrina Manhart, Falcon softball head coach. "I have a special group of young ladies who are deserving of the opportunity to compete for a championship. This team has proven themselves against nationally ranked teams in the past. We know what it takes to win and we know we have it. If everything comes together at the right time and we have a little luck on our side this weekend I believe this team is capable of making it to the final round."
Following their match-up with Palm Beach State, the Falcons will take on either second-seeded Florida SouthWestern (56-5, 18-2) or unseeded Tallahassee Community College (21-23, 5-15). Both games would be at 4:00 p.m.
Falcon fans can download the tournament bracket here and watch the games live on YouTube or follow @DSCSoftball on Twitter.
Other Falcon Sports News:
Baseball
Daytona State baseball (21-20, 12-12) is also headed to the postseason. After closing out the regular season last Friday at home versus Santa Fe State College, the Falcons will either face Tallahassee Community College (26-23, 11-12) or Gulf Coast State College (32-16, 10-13) in a play-in game for the FCSAA state tournament this Thursday, game location and time to be determined.
The Falcons will also host a baseball spring showcase May 20 for high school players grades 10-12. Players will work on infield and outfield drills, batting, pitching and catching during the one-day event. Registration is now open.
Women's Golf
The Daytona State women's golf team was edged out by conference rivals Seminole State at the NJCAA Region 8 Championship this past weekend. The Falcons finished with a total team score of 583 over two rounds of play, while the Raiders finished with 571 points. Freshman Grace St-Germain posted the lowest score for the Falcons with a 69 in the second round. Along with her first round score of 73, her combined total of 142 earned St-Germain second place overall.
"Seminole State played their best golf of the year," said Falcons' head coach Laura Brown. "But that's just going to motivate our players to work that much harder heading into nationals next month."
Daytona State will head to Duluth, Georgia, May 15-18 to defend their NJCAA Championship crown at Chateau Elan Golf Club.