After a brief send-off rally by Galveston College administration, faculty and staff on Thursday, the No. 16-ranked Whitecaps softball team packed up and headed to Bossier City, Louisiana for the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Region 14 Tournament, where they will make a bid to advance to nationals.

 

“Regionals is the next step for us. We’ve had a great season and I’m proud of what the team has accomplished so far,” said GC Athletic Director and Head Softball Coach, Kelly Raines. “We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from the community, as well as from the college, from our regents and president to our faculty, staff and students. It’s been a fun season, but now it gets real. All the teams in the regional tournament are there because they are good and have talented players that helped them get there. It’s going to be a tough tournament, but we have a tough team.”

 

The Whitecaps will open the tournament at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night at Cavalier Field against Tyler Junior College.

 

The top two teams in the regional tournament will advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Oxford, Alabama, to be played May 23-27.

 

GC finished the regular season with a 37-9 overall record, the highest overall winning percentage (.804) in the conference, and won the Region 14 South Zone Division with a 17-5 mark after splitting a tense doubleheader with conference rival San Jacinto College-South on May 3. The Whitecaps lost the first game 9-6 and held off a last-inning rally by the Ravens to win the game and the divisional crown, 8-7.

 

“The team has grown over the course of the season and gained a lot of experience since we started the season in January,” said Raines. “That experience was evident against San Jac and it will help us at the next level in regionals.”

 

GC had a regular-season batting average of .347 with 59 homers. Leading the way offensively are sophomore Gabby Guzman with 8 home runs, 56 RBIs and a .400 batting average, freshman Karlie Barba with 11 dingers, 53 RBIs and a .381 average, sophomore Aviana Gonzalez with two home runs, 18 RBIs and a .400 average, and freshman Jessica Munro with 11 homers, 42 RBIs and an average of .335.

 

Tyler, GC’s first round opponent in the single-elimination regional tournament, finished the season 24-26 overall and in fifth place in the Region 14 East Zone Division with a 12-12 record.

 

In the event of advancing to the semifinal round on Saturday, the Whitecaps will face the winner of the Paris Junior College-Angelina College matchup at 7:30 p.m. The championship game will be played on Sunday at 5 p.m. Both games will be played at Cavalier Field.

 

For more information about the Galveston College Whitecaps softball program, rosters and season schedule, visit https://www.gcwhitecaps.com/landing/index.

 

ABOUT GALVESTON COLLEGE

Galveston College was founded in 1967 and is a comprehensive community college providing the residents of Galveston Island and the surrounding region with academic, workforce development, continuing education and community service programs.