See FHSAA softball playoff brackets for 8 Pensacola area teams
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Eight Pensacola area softball teams know their path to the Final Four after the state playoff brackets were released May 1.
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Pace (6A) and Northview (Rural) will be the top seeds in their respective regions after winning district championships. West Florida (3A) was also awarded a home game after winning the District 1-3A championship. Escambia (4A) clinched a spot in the field after winning the District 1-4A championship. Navarre (6A), Gulf Breeze (5A), Milton (5A) and Jay (Rural) earned at large-bids in the field.
The state playoffs start May 6 with regional quarterfinals for classes 1A-4A on May 6 and classes 5A-7A on May 7. Rural regional semifinals will also take place May 7. 1A-7A regional semifinals and the rural regional finals will be May 12 and the 1A-7A regional finals will be May 14.
All roads lead to the state championships at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood May 19-23. Pace and Northview were both state runner-up a year ago. The Patriots won the 6A state championship in 2024.
Below are the regional brackets featuring Pensacola area teams. Local teams are in bold, while district champions are marked with an asterisk (*) and will host in the regional quarterfinals unless matched up with a higher seed district champion.
Region 1-6A
- (1) Pace* vs. (8) Nease*
- (4) Crestview vs. (5) Horizon
- (2) Tocoi Creek* vs. (7) Forest*
- (3) Navarre vs. (6) Buchholz
Analysis: The Patriots (22-4) wrapped up homefield advantage through the regional rounds with a 4-3 win over Navarre in the District 1-6A championship. Pace will be looking for its sixth straight Final Four appearance and will start that journey against a Nease (11-12) squad that clinched its spot by winning the District 2-6A championship.
The Golden Bears are making their first state playoff appearance since 2018, when they advanced to the 5A regional finals.
Navarre (13-10) will start at home and look to advance to the regional finals. The Raiders lost to Pace in the Region 1-6A final a year ago and lost to the Patriots three times in the regular season. They'll face a Buchholz (17-9) squad making its first state playoff appearance since 2014.
Region 1-5A
- (1) Niceville* vs. (8) Fleming Island*
- (4) Gulf Breeze vs. (5) Ponte Vedra*
- (2) Chiles* vs. (7) Milton
- (3) Lincoln vs. (6) Middleburg
Analysis: Both area teams will travel for the regional quarterfinals. Gulf Breeze (15-11) heads to Ponte Vedra (17-8) despite being the higher seed after the Sharks won the District 2-5A championship.
Gulf Breeze is in the state playoffs for the sixth straight year, which includes a regional finals run in 2024. Ponte Vedra is making its second straight appearance but hasn't won a state playoff game since 2019. The Dolphins could get a rubber match with Niceville (20-7) in the regional semifinals after splitting with the Eagles this season.
Milton (16-10) is making back-to-back state playoff appearances for the first time since it made six straight from 2013-18 and is looking for its first state playoff win since 2018. The Panthers will face a Chiles (18-3) program looking to build on its Region 1-5A semifinal run a year ago.
Region 1-4A
- (1) Columbia* vs. (8) Escambia*
- (4) Arnold vs. (5) Clay*
- (2) Baker County vs. (7) Menendez
- (3) Fort Walton Beach* vs. (6) St. Augustine
Analysis: Escambia (9-15) gets a rematch with Columbia (24-3), who ended their season in the Region 1-4A quarterfinals a year ago. The Tigers won their first district championship since 2017 on Thursday and have won their most games in a season since 2014.
No. 3 seed Fort Walton Beach (14-12) is the defending 4A state champions.
Region 1-3A
- (1) Wakulla* vs. (8) Wolfson*
- (4) West Nassau vs. (5) Yulee
- (2) Paxon* vs. (7) Suwannee
- (3) South Walton vs. (6) West Florida*
Analysis: West Florida (9-15) earned a regional quarterfinal home game after beating South Walton 8-5 in the District 1-3A final on Thursday.
The Jaguars are making their 16th straight state playoff appearance and have won games in nine years during the run, including the 2014 4A state championship. That includes a Region 1-4A semifinal appearance last year.
South Walton (15-7) is making its third state playoff appearance in the last four years, advancing to the regional semifinals in 2023 and 2024.
Rural Region 1
- (1) Northview* vs. (4) Holmes County
- (2) Chipley* vs. (3) Jay
Analysis: Both regional semifinals are rematches from a year ago.
Northview (18-5) beat Holmes County 1-0 in the same round in 2025, while Jay (11-12) beat Chipley 9-1.
Northview (18-5) will be at home in the first two rounds as it looks to bring home the program's first state title after finishing state runner-up a year ago. Jay is making its eighth straight state playoff appearance and lost to the Chiefs in the regional final last year.
Chipley is looking to win its first state playoff game since 2017, when it advanced to the 1A state semifinals.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: 8 Pensacola area softball teams qualify for FHSAA playoffs