Sante Fe College softball seeks postseason success after breakout regular season

Timely hitting and the emergence of an ace pitcher led Sante Fe College softball to its first 40-win season in 13 years.

The Saints (43-13, 28-12 Citrus Conference) will look to build upon that success when they open play at the NJCAA DI Softball Region 8 championships in Clearwater on May 13 against Miami Dade College (1 p.m. first pitch).

Sante Fe finished the 2026 season second in the Citrus Conference and ranked 6th nationally in the NJCAA D1 softball rankings. Offensively, the Saints have been a slugging, patient team, leading the state in walks (211) and home runs (71).

"We have a really good group of returners that led the freshmen that just really like to play softball," Sante Fe coach Savannah Webster said. "I think that's half the battle is they just really enjoy playing with each other. When things get tough and get difficult, this team just, that's when they really shine and get excited to play ball for each other."

Pitching-wise, Santa Fe sophomore Belle Mancillas has made a significant jump. Mancillas has gone 16-5 with a 1.24 ERA this season, with 141 strikeouts in 153 innings pitched. During the offseason, Mancillas put in extra work with Santa Fe College pitching coach Katie Chronister, a former UF and Gainesville High pitching standout.

"In my opinion, she's the best pitcher in the state and that's just because of a lot of the hard work she put in over the last year," Webster said. "She throws the ball a little bit harder than she did last year. She spins the ball well and hits her spots. She added a changeup in there as well and I think that throws a lot of people off."

The Saints will count on the pitching of Mancillas and an offense led by sophomore Molly Bender (.410, 13 home runs, 45 RBIs) and sophomore McKenzie Cox (.382, 18 home runs, 40 RBIs). Santa Fe is the number three seed in the eight-team, double elimination tournament, with the winner advancing to the NJCAA Division 1 Softball World Series.

Cox said the key to advancing is to stay in the moment.

"Stay confident, work together," Cox said. "Make sure we take everything step by step and don't look too far ahead of what we're doing and just stay together as a family."

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.