District Softball: Previews of each district as postseason tournaments start Monday

The month of May only means one thing in the sport of softball: it’s playoff time.

District tournaments across the state get underway on Monday as programs vie to claim a spot for regionals the following week.

Based on their ranking, many area teams are a virtual lock to continue their season past this week while others need to capture their district title in order to earn the right to compete in the state playoffs.

Gulf Breeze, Jay, Pace and West Florida each won their respective district championships a year ago while Milton, Northview and Pensacola Catholic hope to improve on runner-up finishes.

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Before all the fun begins, here are breakdowns and predictions of every district involving an area team:

District 1-6A (Milton, Navarre, Pace, Tate)

Where: at Higher Seed

Semifinals: No. 4 Milton at No. 1 Pace, 6 p.m. Monday; No. 3 Tate at No. 2 Navarre, 6 p.m Monday

District Final: 6 p.m. Wednesday

The skinny: Owners of a 22-1 record this season, the Patriots are the overwhelming favorite to collect their third-straight district title.

Pace enters the tournament as the top-ranked team in Class 6A and the No. 2-ranked team across all classifications. In the lone bracket strictly featuring area teams, the Patriots have a 5-0 mark against their district foes, winning those contests by a 50-2 margin.

Following back-to-back trips to state, Pace has been carried by arguably the area’s best two pitchers in LSU commit Jayden Heavener and fellow junior Mallory Baker. Heavener leads all area pitchers in ERA (0.08), strikeouts (205) and opponents batting average (.060). Baker is second (0.14), fifth (90) and second (.094) in those respective categories. Meanwhile, Shelby McKenzie carries the team’s best bat. The junior is batting .533 with nine home runs, 34 RBI and area-best 1.853 OPS.

Even with their dominance, they’ll enter the week with a chip on their shoulder. Pace suffered its first defeat of the season the last time it was in action, a 4-2 loss on Monday at Orange Beach (Ala.). Stuck with the sour taste of losing for seven days, the Patriots will be eager to get back to their winning ways, which is bad news for Milton or anyone else in their way.

Elsewhere, the Raiders would likely seal a spot in the state playoffs with a win against the Aggies. Navarre is currently ranked fifth in Region 1-6A.

Presently ranked 11th in the region, Tate’s best bet to continue past this week is to win the district. The Aggies and Raiders split a pair of regular season meetings, with each team winning on the other team’s home field.

District Final prediction: Pace over Navarre

District 1-5A (Booker T. Washington, Escambia, Gulf Breeze, Pine Forest)

Where: at Higher Seed

Byes: No. 1 Gulf Breeze, No. 2 Fort Walton Beach

Quarterfinals: No. 5 Pine Forest at No. 4 Escambia, 6:30 p.m. Monday; No. 6 Booker T. Washington at No. 3 Choctaw, 6:30 p.m. Monday

Semifinals: Escambia/Pine Forest winner at Gulf Breeze, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; Booker T. Washington/Choctaw winner at Fort Walton Beach, 6 p.m. Tuesday

District Final: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday

The skinny: As well as the Patriots have played, they do not have the area’s best record. That distinction belongs to the Dolphins, who have not tasted defeat in 23 games this season. They possess an amazing area-best run differential of plus-212.

Gulf Breeze’s offense has been its strength. Putting up 10 runs or more in 13 contests, the team leads the area with 239 runs scored. With seven players batting over .350 (minimum 60 plate appearances), the Dolphins are hitting an area-best .381 as a team.

Kenna King and Jacey Reed have been their most productive players in the batter’s box. King paces the team with 33 hits and a .471 batting average. Reed has clubbed nine home runs and has an area-best 45 RBIs, 11 clear of the next closest hitter. Meanwhile, Leila Ammon has put together a stellar season from the pitcher’s circle. With 183 strikeouts to just 37 walks, the junior has a 0.54 ERA in 16 appearances.

The No. 1 seed’s path to a third-straight district title has one possible roadblock in Fort Walton Beach. The two teams met on March 2, with the Dolphins tacking on runs late to claim a 7-5 victory. However, the Vikings’ five runs were the most any opponent would score against Gulf Breeze all season.

District Final prediction: Gulf Breeze over Fort Walton Beach

District 1-4A (Pensacola, West Florida)

Where: at Higher Seed

Byes: No. 1 Wakulla

Quarterfinals: No. 5 Rickards at No. 4 South Walton, 6 p.m. Monday; No. 7 Pensacola at No. 2 West Florida, 6 p.m. Monday; No. 6 Godby at No. 3 Arnold, 6 p.m. Monday

Semifinals: Rickards/South Walton winner at Wakulla, 6 p.m. Tuesday; Pensacola/West Florida winner vs. Arnold/Godby winner, 6 p.m. Tuesday.

District Final: 6 p.m. Thursday

The skinny: West Florida is another program aiming to extend its district-championship run.

The Jaguars have conquered District 1-4A each of the last two years as the No. 2 seed. Each time West Florida has claimed the crown, a top-seeded Wakulla team has been on the wrong end of the result during the Finals.

The Jags held on for a 6-4 triumph over the War Eagles in 2021 before earning a 8-3 victory in the 2022 title game. South Alabama commit Sydney Scapin tossed complete games in both meetings.

However, the question leading to a potential three-peat is can West Florida manufacture enough runs in support of Scapin, who is having a great junior year (1.47 ERA, 183 Ks, .109 OBA).

Leianna Wagner has been the squad’s offensive spark plug. The freshman utility player leads the team in batting average (.477), RBIs (13), on-base percentage (.575), slugging percentage (.707) and OPS (1.283).

Scoring 100 runs through 25 games, the Jaguars will need more players to contribute, offensively. It has in past tournaments.

Will history repeat itself one more time?

District Final prediction: West Florida over Wakulla

District 1-3A (Pensacola Catholic)

Where: at Higher Seed

Byes: No. 1 Walton, No. 2 Pensacola Catholic, No. 3 North Bay Haven Academy

Quarterfinals: No. 5 Rutherford at No. 4 Bay, 6 p.m. Monday

Semifinals: Bay/Rutherford at Walton, 5 p.m. Tuesday; North Bay Haven Academy at Pensacola Catholic, 5 p.m. Tuesday

District Final: 6 p.m. Thursday

The skinny: Unlike Pace, Gulf Breeze, West Florida and Jay, the area’s lone representative in this bracket isn’t looking for a three-peat. It is simply just looking to end a 16-year drought. Pensacola Catholic is in search of its first district title since 2007.

The Crusaders have a great chance of reaching that goal thanks to a couple of big bats in the lineup. Morgan Smith is a multi-faceted threat from the leadoff spot, leading the area with a .552 batting average and stealing 20 bases. The sophomore has hit seven home runs.

Titera Dukes is just as much a threat to go deep, as she has clubbed five home runs while hitting .464.

Elsewhere, Rachel Ludwig will have an important role in Catholic’s chances. Having pitched 84 percent of her team’s innings, the senior has been solid as the Crusaders’ No. 1 option. She has a 1.90 ERA with 148 strikeouts.

Everyone in this bracket faces a win-or-go home scenario this postseason. Walton, the No. 1 seed, is only ranked 11th in Region 1-1A while Pensacola Catholic is 15th. If you don’t win the district and earn that automatic bid, the season is over.

District Final prediction: Pensacola Catholic over Walton

District 1-1A (Central, Jay, Northview)

Where: at Northview High School

Byes: No. 1 Jay, No. 2 Northview

Quarterfinals: No. 6 Laurel Hill vs. No. 3 Paxton, 4:30 p.m., Monday; No. 5 Central vs No. 4 Baker, 7 p.m.

Semifinals: Lauren Hill/Paxton winner vs. Northview, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday; Baker/Central vs. Jay, 7 p.m. Tuesday

District Final: 7 p.m. Thursday

The skinny: The defending Class 1A champions built a tough schedule for the 2023 season and have been a bit of a roller coaster. Following a five-game losing streak, the Royals responded by winning their next five games, only to lose three in a row immediately after that.

Victorious in three of its last four contests to enter the postseason with a 12-11 record, Jay appears to be headed in the right direction.

One player in particular that has gotten better as the season has rolled on is Jenna Toups. Tasked with replacing the arms that carried the program to a state title last year, the senior pitcher has bounced back from a rough start to lower her ERA to 1.70. Elsewhere, Ella Nelson has been a steady presence in the lineup. The 2021 PNJ Hitter of the Year is hitting .458 with five home runs and 19 RBIs.

If this bracket goes chalk, it will be a rematch of one of 2022’s best games. The Royals survived for a 5-4 victory against Northview in last year’s District 1-1A Final after Brett Watson made a highlight-reel grab for the game’s final out.

District Final prediction: Jay over Northview

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: High School Softball: Pensacola-area teams take aim at district titles