PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The defending Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) D2 Champions will face the defending Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) D2 Champions in the opening round of the Visit PCB College Baseball Classic on Thursday morning.
Due to wet and cold conditions postponing their season opener last Tuesday, head coach Ryan Ihle and the Govs will kick off their season at the Classic which has traditionally hosted many of the top teams in junior college baseball.
The #17 Govs will face the NJCAA D2 runner-up from a season ago, and #2 ranked Pearl River Community College out of Poplarville, Mississippi, at Publix Sports Park in Panama City Beach. First pitch is set for 10 AM on Thursday.
Following that game, Wallace will take on Wabash Valley College, a D1 NJCAA squad out of Mount Carmel, Illinois, at 12:30 PM.
Due to impending weather entering the panhandle later this weekend, organizers were forced to change the format of this year's tournament from a bracket style tournament. Instead, teams already know their opponents prior to their arrival and will play two games on Thursday and wrap up with another pair of games on Friday.
At 12:30 PM on Friday, the Govs will match up with Northeast Mississippi Community College before closing with NJCAA D1's #7 ranked team, Florence Darlington Technical College from South Carolina, at 5:30 PM.
After a slow start a year ago, which included losing all four games in Panama City Beach, the Govs are eager to get the 2026 season started differently.
"I think now that our sophomores had a taste of that 1-13 start, they don't want to do it again," Ihle said, speaking at the Encore Sports Medicine Media Day on Wednesday.
"Especially going down to the Panama City Beach tournament, they want to put up a good showing because there are a lot of eyes on you down there, a lot of scouts, so these guys are ready and hungry to make sure that we don't get off to a bad start like last year."
Tournament Information
Visit Panama City Beach College Baseball Classic tickets: https://tinyurl.com/VisitPCBCBCtickets
Livestream for the Visit Panama City Beach College Baseball Classic: https://www.perfectgame.tv/
Rosters and tournament schedule: https://gulfcoaststate.prestosports.com/sports/bsb/VPCBBaseballRosters