Two former area softball players are now national champions at the college level.
Pace alum Mallory Baker and Milton grad Lulu Luedtke were part of Northwest Florida State’s run to its first NJCAA championship in program history.
Pace’s softball team returned to the state tournament for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, reaching the championship game for the third year in a row.
Lana Gonzales and her Pace teammates stood in the outfield here in Longwood late Saturday afternoon sharing long embraces. They fought back tears the best that they could as they listened to the coaches talk.
Losing a state championship game is never an easy thing to digest. Losing it when the only run scored was off a bases-loaded walk makes it hurt even more.
Pace’s softball team will play for back-to-back state championships today in Longwood.
The Patriots take on Doral Academy at 2 p.m. EST at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in a battle of the top two teams in the state.
Abby McLean missed graduation practice on Friday because she was at the FHSAA 6A state softball final four in Longwood. No big deal.
She wouldn’t trade delivering the biggest hit of the day for anything. Her two-run double proved to be the difference in a 2-0 semifinal victory over Parrish Community that sends the Patriots to the state title game for the third consecutive year.
The Pace Patriots take aim at continuing their quest for a repeat as 6A state champions when they face Parrish Community today at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood.
Game time is Noon EST. Pace comes in at 23-3 and ranked second in the state in 6A. Parrish is No. 3 and is 26-3.
Pace’s football team finishes spring practice this Friday when it takes on Navarre in a spring game at Bennett C. Russell Stadium. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Pace softball players smile and wave from the windows of minivans. A few others do the same from the sunroofs of the vehicles, which begin rolling down a road lined with fans holding signs and taking videos as the team heads out for Central Florida.
This scene here on a mid-May afternoon hasn’t become an annual guarantee, but it sure is close. The reigning champion Patriots are headed to the state final four for the fifth consecutive year.
Milton’s football team wraps up spring practice this week, getting in work for three days on the practice field.
The Panthers host their Black and Gold Game on Friday.
Quincy Wilson has been one of the best players in the area all season.
Last Friday, the Central standout punctuated a successful high school season by earning East MVP honors at the Pensacola Sports Association All-Star Game.
