The final score in the hodge podge of a game was 6-6. So yes, there is tying in baseball. Or at least there was Friday night in the game played at Pensacola State College.

It will never be known how the game would have turned out if both teams had been represented by all the players selected for the game. And it is only speculation that the East would have won if not for the three runs players originally scheduled to play for the East had in scoring for the West.

North Okaloosa County was set to be represented by Baker’s Judah Morse, Anthony St. Vincent and Jaden Appleby of Crestview and Omerion Hill and Benny Hudson of Laurel Hill. The tandem from Laurel Hill were the only players to make it to the game.

And while neither player got a hit, Hill walked and both players turned in defensive gems.

Hudson especially was a thorn in the flesh of Tate’s Cliff Quiggins. Hudson robbed Quiggins of possible extra base hits in back-to-back innings.

Hudson was playing right field in the third inning when Quiggins hit a dying pop up down the right field line that looked as if it was going to find a safe landing spot. The only landing spot it found was the center of Hudson’s glove as he made a now catch on the dead run.

Quiggins should have checked to see where Hudson was playing in the fourth inning. The Laurel Hill standout had moved to left field and when Quiggins sent a liner in that direction, Hudson was there to make the play for the out.

Jay’s Ethan McDonald was one of the East members that played for the West, and he led off the game with a double and later came around to score the first run of the evening.

The East squad proved to be masterful at manufacturing runs. The six runs came on just two hits. But numerous walks and few errors by the West along the way helped the East stay in the game.

The East tied the game in the bottom of the second when Nate Caston of Pace led off the inning with a walk and scored when A.J. Morgan was safe on an error.

The West went back in front in the fourth thanks to a throwing error by the East.

A two-run double off the bat of Niceville’s Evan Root scored Tanner Sauls of Pace and Cole Crocker of Navarre.

The East went up by two runs when Niceville’s Jeremiah Blair walked and Jay’s Wyatt Peaden, who was a courtesy runner for Blair, scored on a wild pitch.

The West scored three in the top of the seventh inning to move in front 6-4.

A two-out double by Morgan scored Caston and Ashton Sieg to close out the scoring for the night.

He struck out 11 batters while only allowing one hit, one walk and one hit batter. It is probably an understatement to say that St. Vincent dominated the visitors on the mound.

He was no slouch at the plate either drawing an intentional walk, delivering a two-run triple and being hit by a pitch. Courtesy runner Asher Kimbrough scored in St. Vincent’s place after the hit by pitch.

“I’m real proud of Anthony tonight,” Bulldog coach Tim Gillis said. “I’m real proud of the team. It was a good win against a quality opponent.

“For us to come out and play well heading into the district tournament is a big deal.”

The Bulldogs scored the only run they would need in the third inning when Elijah Martin was a safer on an error to start the inning and later scored on as Kam McCord walked with bases loaded.

Cooper Cantrell followed Martin as the second Crestview batter of the inning was hit by a pitch. Cantrell scored on a sacrifice fly by Connor Riffe.

Jaden Appleby had a key sacrifice bunt in the inning to move Martin from second to third base and Cantrell from first to second.

Martin, Crestview’s nine-hole hitter in the batting order, doubled off third base with one out in the Crestview fourth.

With two gone and Martin still at second base, Appleby was hit by a pitch bringing St. Vincent to the plate. St. Vincent just missed hitting a home run into the corner out in the left field corner. The long drive was good for a triple to score Martin and Appleby.

Riffe singled to start the Crestview fifth and later scored on a Jaguar error.

Up 5-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Crestview was in control of the game as St. Vincent kept the Jaguars off guard throughout the game.

With two outs, St. Vincent was hit by a pitch and McCord was safe on an error. Both would score before West Florida was able to record the final out of the frame.

Baker’s first four batters, Joel Morse, Wyatt Straight, Smith and Riley Renfroe all reached base and scored in the first. Morse and Straight singled, Smith walked and Renfroe doubled. Renfroe’s double scored Morse and Straight.

Smith scored from third base on a wild pitch as did Renfroe.

Omerion Hill led off the bottom of the first for Laurel Hill and advanced to second on a throwing error by Baker. Hill later scored from third as Benny Hudson grounded out to the infield.

Straight walked with one out in the Gator second inning. Smith followed with a drive to right field that Laurel Hill misplayed and was able to reach third base on the error. Straight scored on the play.

Smith scored as Renfroe reached on an error.

The Gators sent 10 batters to the play and scored seven runs to break open the game.

Rand Stokes and was hit by a pitch. Morse was next up and singled to left field. A walk to Straight loaded the bases for Smith.

With a one-ball count, Smith crushed a pitch by Cooper Degraaf that hit the roof of a pavilion just beyond the left field fence.

Baker coach Preston Nixon was glad to see one finally leave the yard for Smith.

“Maddox has been swinging a hot bat lately and it was nice to see him hit that one,” he said.

Renfroe singled, and with one out, Kurt Armstrong walked. Both Renfroe and Armstrong scored on an Ethan Hardy double. Hardy scored from third as Cole Hardin grounded out.

Morse and Smith scored in the fourth and Stokes added a run in the seventh to finish out the Baker scoring.

Hudson doubled, stole third base and scored on a throwing error in the fourth inning for the Hoboes. Hudson’s run didn’t seem to matter much as Baker was still up by a score of 15-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning by which time Nixon had emptied the bench.

Nixon said he wanted to reward his reserves for the work they put in whenever he had the opportunity.

“It’s 100 percent important to give the younger kids playing time,” Nixon said. “Those kids show up to practice every day and cheer on their teammates every game. They are always up and never down so it’s important to get them some time in the game.”

The Hoboes needed four runs to avoid being run-ruled. They did that and more scoring five runs to cut the Gator lead to 15-7. And the rally started with nobody on base and two outs.

Hill reached on an error to spark the rally. By the time the final Hobo out was recorded in the inning Hill, Chance Oglesby, Weston Graves, Hudson and Degraaf and reached base in one way or another and crossed the plate.

Oglesby scored the final Laurel Hill run in the seventh, reaching on a walk and scoring on a wild pitch.

Degraaf’s struggles on the mound led Laurel Hill coach Cory McSween to turn to lefty Caden Taylor.

Taylor, a sophomore, looks every bit the part of a big-time pitcher. Only time will tell if he consistently has the right stuff on the mound. He did for a few innings on Tuesday limiting the Gator damage in the second half of the game.

Hobo coach Cory McSween wasn’t surprised that his team fought until the last out.

“We had a come from behind on Monday,” he said. “We’ve had a couple this year, so I know they aren’t going to lay down.

“That speaks to the six seniors that we have on the team. We are not going to get too high or too low. We are just going to do what we can and battle to the end.”

“He’s a big physical kid that works hard,” Gillis said. He’s got an excellent future ahead of him. He’s going to be a good one.

“He’s got all the tools. He’s a 6.7, 6.8 (seconds) 60 (yard sprint) guy. He’s got a cannon for an arm. He’s got some juice (power), and when he gets the barrel (of the bat) to it (the ball), he does some damage.”

Riffe is a baseball guy, having played since he was four-years old. And he’s a Crestview guy that has lived in the Hub City all his life.

Riffe started playing baseball because his friends were playing. He’s still playing with some of the guys he started with more than 10 years ago.

“They are basically family at this point,” he said. “I’ve been playing with them so long we have a big team connection and we each other’s backs every game.”

Riffe said baseball has taught him how to work hard and develop those relationships. Those are the things he enjoys the most about playing the game.

Riffe bats second for the Bulldogs and plays either first base or the outfield. If Kameron McCord is on the mound, Riffe takes over at first base. But he feels most at home in the wide spaces of the outfield.

“I’d rather play the outfield,” he said. “I feel like I have more range. I think I can go chase down any balls out there.”

Riffe dreams of playing baseball at Florida State after graduating from CHS. He then hopes his baseball path will take him to the Major Leagues.

Playing for Gillis, a former professional, helps Riffe and his teammates.

“He keeps us to a high standard,” Riffe said. “He tries to make us the best players we can be.”

Riffe has bought into the hard coaching and has a plan in place to develop into the player he longs to be.

“The big part is staying in the weight room, getting proper nutrition, to stay strong in the classroom and just try to keep my mind straight,” he said.

Saying Khor threw a shutout doesn’t begin to say how he dominated the Bulldog offense. Crestview had two base runners and one hit.

Cooper Cantrell was hit by a Khor pitch to lead off the Crestview fourth. Cantrell was retired at second base when Catholic turned a double play on a ball off the bat of Connor Riffe.

Freshman pinch-hitter Hayden Graham lined the first pitch he saw from Khor to right field for the only Bulldog hit of the night.

Khor was dominate but not overpowering as he mixed his pitches to keep Crestview batters from making solid contact. The Bulldogs only struck out six times, but that was of little consequence when only getting one hit. No matter how an out is recorded, it’s still an out.

Kam McCord started on the mound for Crestview and allowed for nine runs in three innings of work.

Turtle Nocher made his first appearance on the mound in almost two months relieving McCord. Nocher held the Crusaders scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings.

The senior finally started to tire in the sixth inning walking the bases loaded before giving way to Andrew Dauphin. The Crusaders took advantage of the walks and scored their last two runs in the sixth with those runs charged to Nocher.

Bulldog coach Tim Gillis was quick to give Catholic credit for the outstanding performance.

“They just beat us,” he said. “I know people don’t want to hear this, but they are a better team than we are. They have eight or nine (college) Division I players on that roster.

“They’re the best team we’ve seen this year.”

St. Vincent allowed just one earned run and Niceville only scored two runs. If someone had told Bulldogs fans that Niceville would be held to two runs, they would have thought Crestview won. They would have been wrong as the Eagles took the win 2-1.

Niceville pitcher Brady Martin worked his way out of a first-inning jam holding Crestview to one run. He was lights out the rest of the game.

Bulldog coach Tim Gillis wasn’t pleased with the performance of his players at the plate or in the field.

“We got shoved,” he said. “The pitcher just beat us. He just whipped us.

“He answered the bell, and we didn’t, it’s just that simple. We had some opportunities to get out of situations, but you’ve got to catch the ball.”

Gillis said St. John kept the Bulldogs in the game with his fine performance on the mound.

“I’m proud of our guy,” he said. “Saint was excellent. He battled and gave us a chance.

“We were just very poor at the plate, and I give their pitcher credit. He was excellent. He threw breaking balls in fast ball counts and hit the spot and we had no resistance.”

Crestview’s lone run and two hits came in the first inning.

Leadoff man Cooper Cantrell walked to start the game and took second base as Connor Riffe singled. With one out, the runners moved up a base when Kameron McCord grounded out to first base for the second out of the inning.

Appleby, playing in just his third game of the season after recovering from a football injury, singled to right field scoring Cantrell. Riffe tried to score from second base but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

Martin retired the next eight Crestview batters before Appleby reached on the third strike passed ball.

The Eagles scored an unearned run in the second inning. Niceville scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the fourth inning with three infield hits, two of which were off the gloves of Bulldog fielders.

The three infield hits accounted for half of Niceville’s hits.

St. John went the distance on the mound and struck out six Eagle batters in taking the hard luck loss.

Baker batters only had seven hits but were able to take advantage of 10 walks and a hit batter as the Gators won 7-4.

Baker coach Preston Nixon explained why it was all hands on the mound.

“We have four games this week, so we were trying to keep them on a pitch limit,” he said. “Every one of them did what they were supposed to do, they went out there and threw strikes.”

Joel Morse got the start and struck out three Pirates as he worked into the third inning. PDL scored an unearned run in the second inning with Joel Morse on the mound.

Smith relieved Joel Morse with one out and a man on first in the third inning. Smith was able to get out of the inning without any damage and the third but was a victim of a Gator error in the fourth that allowed three runs to score.

And while a couple of defensive lapses might have allowed the Pirates to score those unearned runs the Gator defense came up with plenty of big plays as well.

Baker first baseman Rand Stokes started a double play in the first inning when he fielded a ground ball, stepped on first for one out and threw a strike to shortstop Wyatt Straight, who applied the tag on the baserunner, to complete the double play.

The Gator defense snuffed out a possible fourth run in the fourth inning when Riley Renfroe hit Joel Morse, the cutoff man, and Morse threw to Kase Armstrong at third to nail Mark Flynn trying to stretch a double into a triple.

Straight was on the mound when the Gators turned in two more defensive gems in the fifth inning. Catcher Dawson Mitchem, an eighth grader, picked a PDL runner of third base. Two batters, the Gators turned another double play to get out of the inning.

Baker’s offense was equally impressive, showing the needed patience at the plate to work Pirate pitchers for the 10 base on balls. When the Gators got a pitch that was to their liking, they usually hit it and hit it hard.

Baker scored first, picking up two runs in the second inning. Armstrong singled with one out and, with two outs, Mitchem was hit by a pitch. Joel Morse walked to load the bases.

Judah Morse was next and drove in Armstrong and Mitchem with a single to right field.

Straight led off the Baker half of the third inning with a single and later scored on a Pirate error.

PDL led 4-3 when the Gators came to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Morse brothers scored for Baker to give the Gators the lead they would hold the rest of the game. Joel Morse walked with one out and later scored on a PDL error. Judah Morse had a base hit, stole second and scored a Straight base hit.

Baker put the game away in the fifth inning.

Armstrong led off the inning and singled to left field. He was able to reach third on the hit when the Pirate left fielder mishandled the ball. Stokes was next and delivered a sacrifice fly to right field to score Armstrong.

Joel Morse walked with two outs and scored on a wild pitch. The irony of the scoring play was Straight actually struck out on the play, but when the PDL catcher was unable to catch the pitch cleanly, Straight was able to reach first, and Joe Morse scored.

Judah Morse closed out the game on the mound getting the last two outs of the game.

Judah Morse led the Gators with three hits. Armstrong and Straight had two hits each. Armstrong and Joel Morse each scored two runs.

“They battled from start to finish,” Nixon said. “It was an all-around game. The defense made play after play after play that saved runs for us.”