Pitching propels Raider softball to sweep against TCC

NICEVILLE, FL - On Saturday afternoon, the Raider softball complex was host to amazing pitching efforts by two teams battling for Panhandle Conference supremacy. Northwest Florida State College and Tallahassee Community College competed for close to five hours in two ballgames, and both teams featured incredible performances from inside the circle.  Fortunately for the Raiders, the NWF pitching staff benefited from clutch at-bats from their offense to spur them to two crucial victories in the early stages on conference play. The two wins, 3-2 and 3-1, improved NWF to 32-7 overall and 4-2 in the Panhandle standings.

Game One:

A walk-off home run led Northwest Florida past Tallahassee Community College 3-2 on Saturday. The Raider offense was silent for five innings, not getting a baserunner on until the bottom fifth, and trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning when Layla Thompson homered on a 2-1 count, scoring two runs.

The pitching was outstanding on both sides. For NWF, Alexis Wadsworth started the game and the southpaw went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out five.  The freshmen was excellent until finding trouble in the top of the seventh inning when she gave the ball to Julia Petty.  Petty inherited baserunners but shut the door with three crucial outs to keep the deficit to one run headed to the bottom of the seventh. Petty credited with the victory for Northwest Florida.

Offensively, Thompson led the Raiders with two hits in three at bats, none bigger than the game winner that was ripped over the left field wall to give NWF he walk-off victory. 

Game Two:

Picking up with the same theme as game one, both teams were strong on the rubber in game two. While each team had great moments in the circle, Northwest Florida defeated TCC Eagles 3-1 to pick up the sweep.  The Raider pitchers allowed just two hits in the game and got timely offense when they needed it to plate 3 runs. 

Allison Brunson was credited with the victory for NWF. Brunson allowed two hits and one run over six and a third innings, striking out six. Julia Petty threw two-thirds of an inning in relief out of the bullpen.

Offensively Maycie Hardy, Layla Thompson, Sydney Stewart, and Riley Gibson each collected hits to lead the Raider offense. 

The win was the second come-from-behind win for the Raiders on the day, as NWF trailed 1-0 early in both games.  The late inning heroics will surely give Northwest Florida some great momentum heading into their next doubleheader on the road at Gulf Coast State College on Monday, March 28 at 4:00 and 6:00 PM.

For more information on Northwest Florida State athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow @NWFRaiders on Twitter.