Softball team to open state tournament Thursday against Chipola

The Eastern Florida State College softball team is one of the final eight teams in the state advancing to the state tournament.

The Titans finished second in the Southern Conference to advance to the NJCAA District/FCSAA State Softball Tournament which begins Thursday at Boombah Soldiers Creek in Longwood.

"I am very proud of all of our softball student-athletes and our assistant coaches for all of their hard work which qualified us for the Final 8," Eastern Florida State College softball coach Jim Beitia said. "All of our players and coaches truly believed we could do something unexpected and finish in the top two in our conference and we did that. The way we have played in March and April shows we deserve to be in the state tournament."

Eastern Florida State College will be tested early as they will face No. 1 seed Chipola College at 4 p.m. Thursday. The Indians are 46-1 this season and won the Panhandle Conference behind a pitching staff that comes into the state tournament with a team ERA of 0.55.

The Titans went 23-8 in the final two months of the season to advance to the state tournament and have five hitters batting .340 or better on the season.

"I have been coaching at the college level for over 30 years, and I will put this year's team right up there with my all-time favorite teams to coach," Beitia said.

The tournament is a double elimination tournament with the top two teams advancing to the NJCAA National Championship Tournament May 16-19 in St. George, Utah. Admission to the tournament is $10 per day or $20 for a tournament pass.