The Gators made the most of their nine hits as they took advantage of Laurel Hill walks and errors. Maddox Smith had the hot hand for Baker, picking up three hits and driving in four runs.

Judah Morse got the starting nod on the mound for Baker and seemed to be in early trouble as Omerion Hill reached on an error and Cooper Degraaf walked.

Morse worked his way out the jam by picking up a strike out and inducing a pop up to left field. Hill, who had reached third was picked off base by Dawson Mitchem, an eighth grader, who was catching for Baker.

Baker picked up two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Joel Morse walked to lead off the inning but was out at second as Judah Morse reached on a fielder’s choice.

Judah Morse stole second and later scored on Smith’s first hit of the day. Smith came around to score when Case Armstrong walked with the bases loaded.

Judah Morse made quick work of the Hoboes in the top of the second inning retiring the side in order.

Baker’s offense erupted in the bottom of the second inning as the Gators sent 12 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs. The only Gator not to reach base at least one time in the second inning was Austin Stanley, but he had a productive out driving in a run.

Baker took advantage of four walks in the inning to score the eight runs.

Laurel Hill finally got on the scoreboard in the third inning scoring both of its runs.

Pinch-hitter Adrian McRae walked to lead off the inning and moved to second as Sean Smiley hit a swinging bunt fielded by Judah Morse. Morse threw Smiley out at first as McRae advanced to second.

Degraaf singled with two outs to score McRae. Degraaf made it to third on a Gator error and scored when Weston Graves singled.

The Hoboes only had two more base runners the rest of the game as Chance Oglesby singled in the fourth inning and Graves walked in the fifth.

Baker scored three runs in the fourth inning to push the lead to 13-2 with Laurel Hill needing to score two runs in the top of the fifth to avoid the 10-run rule.

Armstrong and Rand Stokes walked to lead off the Gator fourth. A one-out hit by Joel Morse scored Armstrong. Stokes scored as Judah Morse grounded out.

As might be expected the respective coaches had differing views of the game.

Hobo coach Cory McSween wasn’t happy with the way his team has come back from spring break.

“I think tonight and last night, even though we were fortunate to get a win over Rocky, coming off spring break were probably our two worst performances all year,” he said. “Defensively we weren’t very good. And then we have to throw some more strikes to give our defense a chance.

“We didn’t challenge them the way I think we are capable of challenging them tonight.”

Baker coach Preston Nixon admitted the Gators made had some miscues but he wasn’t concerned.

“I feel good about the game,” he said. “It was our first game back after spring break and we made some mistakes and had some errors. But overall, I thought for our first game back we played pretty well.

“We did everything we needed to do.”

But a team did have to lose, and, on this night, it was the Bulldogs as Pace took the win 3-2.

Starting pitchers Anthony St. Vincent of Crestview and Nate Caston of Pace lived up to their billings as two of the top arms in the area.

St. Vincent worked seven innings holding the Patriots to two runs on four hits. He struck out three Pace batters and walked and walked three.

Caston went five innings for Pace and gave up one run and three hits. Caston struck out six Bulldogs and walked three.

As impressive as the starting pitcher were they wouldn’t be on the mound at the end. Cooper Cantrell worked the final five innings for Crestview and took a hard-luck loss. The Patriots went first to Tucker Ricks in relief of Caston and then turned to Tanner Sauls.

It was Sauls the picked up the win for the Patriots.

Pace took an early lead, scoring a run in the first inning. The Patriots would have done more damage if not for a solid Bulldog defense.

Pace made it 2-0 with a run in the top of the third. With Caston in control on the mound for the Patriots it seemed obvious that the Bulldogs were facing an uphill battle.

The Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning.

Kaleb Kompoltowicz led off the inning with a walk and stole second and third. He scored as Turtle Nocher grounded out to second base.

The score remained 2-1 in favor of the Patriots until the bottom of the seventh inning.

Elijah Martin led off the inning by reaching on a swinging bunt down the third base line. Carlton Harrigan moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Martin took third on a wild pitch.

Martin was still on third as Connor Riffe stepped to the plate with two outs. Down to the last Bulldog out, Riffe wasted no time in lining the first pitch he saw from Ricks up the middle to tie the game at 2-2.

The score remained 2-2 through the first four extra frames. Both teams threatened, but neither scored until the top of the 12th.

Grant Walters led off the inning with a single to left field. He took second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a bunt. Walters scored the game-winning run as Caleb Wheeler was out after hitting a chopper to third.

The Bulldogs went down in order in the bottom of the inning as the Patriots took the win.

Bulldog coach Tim Gillis could only tip his cap to the victorious Patriots.

“That was a war,” he said. “It was a battle. I’m real proud of our guys.

“We fought hard, and they fought hard, they just came out on the winning end. People don’t realize how big of a game it really was. It was just a well-played game.”

Kaleb Kompoltowicz was rock solid on the mound going the full seven innings to get the complete game win for Crestview. He allowed one earned run on four hits, a walk and a hit batter while striking five Eagles out.

Kompoltowicz was at his best when the Eagles threatened. He worked his way out of bases loaded jam in the third inning without allowing a run. The innings Pine Forest was able to score in the fifth and the sixth, Kompoltowicz held the Eagles to just one run in each inning.

“He (Kompoltowicz) gave us a chance and kept us in the game,” Bulldog coach Tim Gillis said. “He threw a lot of strikes and was able to backwards pitch (throwing a break pitch when down in the count) a little bit.”

The Bulldogs got off to a slow start offensively against Pine Forest starting pitcher Eli Brown. Brown held Crestview scoreless through three innings. The Eagles got a bit of a break in the top of the third when Crestview’s Carlton Harrigan appeared to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Connor Riffe.

Pine Forest center fielder Jalen Rawls showed his athleticism with a diving catch. It looked as if Harrigan, who was on third base, retreated to third and tagged before heading in for what would have been the first run of the game. When Pine Forest appealed the call, the home plate umpire ruled Harrigan left base before the catch and called him out at third.

There would be no appeals that could keep the rest of the Bulldog runs from counting. But there was no doubt Crestview took advantage of Eagle errors.

Two outs had been recorded when Bulldog catcher Brandon Kopp reached on a Pine Forest error. Courtesy runner Hayden Graham took over on the bases for Kopp. A double by Kompoltowicz scored Graham. And just when it looked as if the Eagles would get out of the inning having only allowed one run, lightning struck again in Crestview’s favor.

Kompoltowicz was on second base when Maddox Reeves struck out. The Pine Forest catcher didn’t field the ball cleanly and by rule, with first base open and a runner on base, the Eagles had to tag Reeves out or throw him out a first for the force out to end the inning.

Reeves hustled out of the box forcing an errant throw that allowed Kompoltowicz to score.

The game was tied 2-2 as Crestview came to bat in the top of the seventh. The Bulldogs sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs to put the game out of reach.

Harrigan was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Cooper Cantrell followed showing a bunt and then slapping a high hopper over the Pine Forest third baseman who had come in to field the bunt.

Eagle head coach Marty Lister went to the bullpen with two on and nobody out in the seventh replacing Brown with Connor Baer. It’s likely that Lister would have stayed with Brown if he could have seen what was about to unfold.

Riffe hit into a fielder’s choice and was safe at first when Pine Forest was unsuccessful in trying to throw the speedy Harrigan out at home. Things snowballed from there as Baer struggled with his control and the Eagle fielders struggled with basic plays.

The first seven Bulldogs to bat in the seventh inning scored as Crestview broke the game open.

Riffe ended up scoring as Kopp walked three batters later. Anthony St. Vincent and Kam McCord followed Riffe and moved up a base as Kopp walked to score Riffe. Kompoltowicz delivered one of three Bulldog hits in the inning to score McCord from third base. St. Vincent had scored on a wild pitch.

Graham, running for Kopp and Kompoltowicz also scored for Crestview in the crazy seventh inning.

Given some room to work in the bottom of the seventh, Kompoltowicz wasted no time in sending the Eagles on spring break as he retired the side to end the game.

Even though Crestview was able to work the Eagles for seven runs in the final inning the rust of spring break was clear. The Bulldogs had 11 fly ball outs and struck out five times.

Gillis was pleased to get the win, but he wasn’t happy with the sluggish Bulldog offense.

“I was really disappointed in the way we swung the bats,” he said. “We hit too many balls in the air and struck out too many times early in the game.

“You have to hit the ball on the ground. We kind of did that in the seventh and it paid off for us.”

The sophomore is the Gators’ leadoff hitter.

“He’s done well wherever we put him,” Baker baseball coach Preston Nixon said. “He plays the infield, the outfield, on the mound. He can even go behind the plate. He does whatever we need him to do.”

Unlike his older brother, who plays football for the Gators, Joel’s other sport is soccer. Baker doesn’t have a soccer team, so Joel is allowed to play soccer at Crestview.

Nixon believes the footwork needed in soccer transfers well to the baseball diamond.

“I think it helps him,” Nixon said. “As a middle infielder he has to be able to go side-to-side. In the outfield, he’s one of our better outfielders, but we have to use him everywhere.  We don’t get to him keep in one position.”

Morse said he’s been playing baseball since he was 6 years old. And, at times, playing with his older brother isn’t easy.

“It can be rough sometimes,” Joel Morse said. “He’s thrown me to the dogs (to learn) things on my own.”

Great athletes thrive in pressure situations and Morse doesn’t back away from a challenge when asked about what enjoys most in baseball.

“Probably tough situations like the game we just had (against Winona, Miss.) where it’s close going to the seventh inning,” he said.

If given the opportunity to play at his dream school, Morse would choose Alabama. And having played all over the field at Baker, what position would he want to play at the next level?

“I would take second base because I like the short throw and there’s not as much competition there,” he said.

Nixon said what Morse lacks in athleticism he more than makes up for in other areas.

“He doesn’t have blazing speed, but he will get there,” Nixon said. “Looks are deceiving for him. His maturity level has gotten a lot better.

“The older he’s gotten he has settled in at the plate and in the field,” Nixon added. “He bats lead off for us and gets us started. He’s done well at the plate.”

Nixon said Morse’s future in baseball is what he makes it by putting in the hard work to be successful. In the meantime, Nixon’s glad he’ll have his do-it-all player through 2026.

“It’s great going forward to have him for two more years,” Nixon said.

“It was a very strange game,” he said. “We left too many runners on base all night and didn’t capitalize. We made too many errors throwing the ball around. And we have to clean some stuff up moving forward.”

The very strange game ended in a 10-9 loss for Baker.  

To say the Tigers were fast and athletic would be an understatement. The visitors from Mississippi had speed that might remind longtime area residents of the Gator track teams of the mid-1970s with McTear brothers Houston and George.

That speed was on display as the first two Winona batters tripled and the third doubled. And just like that the Tigers were up 2-0 in the ‘very strange game.’

In the bottom of the first, Baker’s Judah Morse showed that anything the Tiger players could do he could do as well. Morse delivered a 1-out triple but had to stay put as Wyatt Straight beat out an infield hit.

Straight stole second with Maddox Smith at bat. Smith finally got Morse home with a base hit and Straight scored on Riley Renfroe’s single.

The game was tied 2-2 heading into the third. The Tigers scored four in the top of the inning and Baker kept things close with two runs in the home half of the frame.

Winona pitchers had trouble finding the strike zone walking Morse and Straight to get the inning started. Both would score as Gator teammates were hit by pitches with the bases loaded.

The Gators inched closer to the lead in the fifth inning when Kase Armstrong walked, took second on a wild pitch and scored as Rand Stokes reached on a Tiger error.

The score was 7-5 as Baker came to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning.

For a short time, it looked as if six would be the lucky number for the Gators as Baker scored three runs to take an 8-7 lead heading into the seventh and final inning.

Straight singled and later scored on a Winona error as Austin Stanley reached on fielder’s choice.

That’s when the game went from strange to stranger. Renfroe was at third base and Stanley at second base when the Winona pitcher made an anemic attempt to pick Renfroe off base.

Rather than a low fastball to third base, the pitcher threw a pickoff throw that more resembled a slow-pitch softball pitch with a well-defined arch. Only the throw was at least four feet over the head of the leaping Tiger third baseman, allowing both runners to score on the throwing error.

The Tigers scored three runs in the top of the seventh to regain the lead at 10-8.

By that point, the Gators had used all their free pass cards as they only scored one run. Joel Morse was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and later scored on a Renfroe single.

“We have a lot of things to clean up,” Nixon said. “We came out here a little flat. We’ve got some base running things and other things to work on. We’ve got to make the plays on what should be an easy out.”

The first shade of beauty in a baseball game would be a shade of pitching.

Crestview pitcher Kam McCord checked that box. McCord went the distance, allowing four hits and not allowing the Aggies a free baserunner by way of a walk or hit batter.

McCord struck out four Tate batters, and during one stretch, retired 11 straight Aggies.

The second shade of baseball beauty would be defense. Check that shade for the Bulldogs as well as they made no errors. McCord’s command of the strike zone coupled with the flawless defense minimized the number of Aggies that reached base to the four that had hits.

The final shade or color needed on the canvas is timely hitting and run support to complement the components of pitching and fielding. And again, the Bulldogs put the color of offense in the artwork of the win.

Crestview only had seven hits, but they worked Tate pitchers for five walks and only struck out three times.

Tate’s only run came in the top of the seventh inning, by which time the Bulldogs were leading 7-0 and had the game will in hand.

Bulldog coach Tim Gillis praised his team for its all-around effort.

“I was super proud of Kam,” Gillis said. “He kept the ball in the strike zone all night. There were no walks, and we made every play behind him.

“It was a really good defensive, well-played game for us,” Gillis continued. “We had some timely hits but there are still some things offensively I wish we could shore up. But again, any time you can get out with a win against a good Tate team, you are fortunate.”

Tate leadoff man Maddox Land started the game with a hit. The next Aggie hit came with two outs in the fourth inning.

Crestview’s offense also got off to a slow start.

Cooper Cantrell doubled to lead off the game before the next six Bulldog batters were retired.

Crestview catcher Brandon Kopp drew a walk to lead off the Bulldog third inning and was relieved on the base paths by courtesy runner Hayden Graham.

With one out, Cantrell singled. With two Bulldogs out in the third, Anthony St. Vincent drew a walk to load the bases. McCord helped his own cause with a single up the middle to score Graham and give the Bulldogs the lead they held the rest of the game.

Kaleb Kompoltowicz delivered a one-out base hit to get Crestview started in the fourth inning. Kopp followed Kompoltowicz with a walk and gave way to Graham on the base paths.

Kompoltowicz and Graham scored as Elijah Martin reached on a Tate error.

Crestview put the game out of reach in the sixth inning, scoring four more runs.

Kompoltowicz started things off with a double followed by Kopp reaching on a walk. Martin also walked to load the bases.

A third consecutive walk by Aggie pitchers, this one to Cantrell, scored Kompoltowicz.

Connor Riffe doubled to drive in Graham and Cantrell. McCord’s second hit of the game scored Riffe.

Conner Hassle led off Tate’s seventh inning with a double. Hassle took third on a groundout to second base and scored on a groundout to third as the Bulldogs were getting the sure outs allowing the run of no consequence to score.

The run broke a 14-inning scoreless streak by Bulldog pitchers that started in the eighth inning of the win over Niceville on March 6 and was followed by a shutout of Milton on March 8.

Cantrell reached base three of his four plate appearances for the Bulldogs and drove in a run. Riffe’s only hit was a big one as he drove in two teammates.

Kompoltowicz had two hits and scored twice.

Kopp had a hit and two walks with Graham scoring three runs as Kopp’s courtesy runner.

Martin reached on an error and scored.

The very strange game ended in a disappointing Baker loss by a score of 10-9.  

To say the Tigers were fast and athletic would be an understatement. The visitors from Mississippi had speed that might remind longtime area residents of the Gator track teams of the mid-1970s with McTear brothers Houston and George.

That speed was on display as the first two Winona batters tripled and the third doubled. And just like that the Tigers were up 2-0 in the “very strange game.”

In the bottom of the first, Baker’s Judah Morse showed that anything the Tiger players could do he could do as well. Morse delivered a 1-out triple but had to stay put as Wyatt Straight beat out an infield hit.

Straight stole second with Maddox Smith at bat. Smith finally got Morse home with a base hit and Straight scored on Riley Renfroe’s single.

The game was tied at 2-2 heading into the third. The Tigers scored four in the top of the inning and Baker kept things close with two runs in the home half of the frame.

Winona pitchers had trouble finding the strike zone walking Morse and Straight to get the inning started. Both would score as Gator teammates were hit by pitches with the bases loaded.

The Gators inched closer to the lead in the fifth inning when Kase Armstrong walked, took second base on a wild pitch and scored as Rand Stokes reached on a Tiger error.

The score was 7-5 as Baker came to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning.

For a short time, it looked as if six would be the lucky number for the Gators as Baker scored three runs to take an 8-7 lead heading into the seventh and final inning.

Straight singled and later scored on a Winona error as Austin Stanley reached on fielder’s choice.

That’s when the game went from strange to stranger. Renfroe was at third base and Stanley at second base when the Winona pitcher made an anemic attempt to pick Renfroe off base.

Rather than a low fastball to third base, the pitcher threw a pickoff throw that more resembled a slow-pitch softball pitch with a well-defined arch. Only the throw was at least four feet over the head of the leaping Tiger third baseman allowing both runners to score on the throwing error.

The Tigers scored three runs in the top of the seventh to regain the lead at 10-8.

By that point, the Gators had used all their free pass cards as they only scored one run. Joel Morse was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and later scored on a Renfroe single.

“We have a lot of things to clean up,” Nixon said. “We came out here a little flat. We’ve got some base running things and other things to work on.

“We’ve got to make the plays on what should be an easy out.”

It’s hard to say if the pupil/player has surpassed his teacher/coach or if his team is just more talented. It’s probably the latter. The Hoboes and Wildcats were tied at 4-4 after three innings.

Three innings later Florala had a 19-7 win.

Perhaps the scheduling deck as stacked against the Hoboes. Laurel Hill has three games on the schedule this week and McSween had to use his pitching judicially as he thought ahead to later in the week.

“We have three games this week, so we had to kind of manage our staff a little bit,” McSween said. “We got Benny (Hudson) out (of pitching) early. He would have stuck it out a little longer, but we are going to use him Friday so it’s just playing that game where you have three games in a week, and you only have so many pitchers.

“Cooper Degraaf (the starting LHS pitcher) did a good job. He gave us a shot.”

Laurel Hill made a solid defensive play to start the. Florala leadoff man Cody Walsh tried to stretch a single into a double and was gunned down at second base by Hobo left fielder Brannon Henderson. Henderson threw a strike to second baseman Chance Oglesby, who applied the tag for the first out of the game.

Florala did manage a run in the first. The Hoboes responded with a two spot in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer by Hudson with Weston Graves on base.

The Wildcats scored two runs in the top of the second inning on a two-run shot by Walsh.

Laurel Hill tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Oglesby walked, advanced to third on wild pitches and scored when Bradley Stewart was safe on a fielder’s choice off a bunt.

The teams traded runs in the third inning with Dalton Jackson hitting a solo homer for Florala and Clay Fowler scoring for Laurel Hill.

The rest of the night belonged to Florala as the Wildcats scored three funs in the fourth inning, five in the fifth and seven in the sixth as a McSween tried to find a pitcher that would be consistent in the strike zone.

The Wildcats led 19-4 was Laurel Hill came to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning. The score would have been much worse if Zessin had allowed the Florala baserunners to take advantage of all the LHS passed balls, errors and wild pitches.

With his team down by 15, McSween put his little used bench players in the game in pinch hit roles.

Both Caden Taylor and Sean Smile walked and scored for Laurel Hill. Hobo starting catcher Omerion Hill had a hit and scored as well.

“We hung in there for a little while,” McSween said. “We’ve got to do those things (that kept things close) throughout an entire baseball game.

“They’ve got a few really good players over there. Number 99 (Jackson) is probably one of the best players in the area.

“I think we swung the bat better tonight. If that continues throughout the week, we have a really good shot to pick up a couple (of wins).”

The Gators sent 18 batters to the plate and scored 13 runs in the first inning on nine hits, three hit batters and two walks.

Baker added three more runs in the second inning as the Gators poured it on to take a 16-2 win in five innings.

“Our pitcher tonight, Wyatt (Straight), threw strikes tonight and we were hitting it right off the bat,” Gator coach Preston Nixon said. “Pretty much everybody stood out tonight. I’m proud of the way we came out and swung the bat tonight.

“We started out cold in a couple of those games but tonight we came out and swung it (the bat) and swung it well,” Nixon continued. “This game shows us what we can do and builds the confidence more. It will be exciting to see what this team can do.”

Straight struck out the first Eagle batter before giving up a walk and two hits. With the bases loaded and one out, Straight was able to work his way out of the jam striking out Chris Padgett on a called third strike and getting Braden Barnard to hit into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

Baker’s offense then took over in an impressive way. Seven Gators reached base before the first out was recorded. All seven scored and the route had begun.

Joel Morse led off the game for the Gators with a swinging bunt for a base hit. Judah Morse then laid down an actual bunt and was safe at first as his brother advanced to second base. Straight became the first Gator hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Cleanup hitter Maddox Smith delivered the third hit of the inning, a single to left to score Judah Morse and Straight. Joel Morse scored earlier on a wild pitch with Smith at the plate.

The onslaught continued as Austin Stanley singled, Riley Renfro was hit by a pitch and Kase Armstrong delivered a base hit. Stanley and Armstrong drove in runs with their hits.

Rand Stokes picked up a one-out hit and drove in a run to flip the Gator batting order.

Seven Gators in a row reached the second time through the batting order before Ethan Hardy recorded the second out of the inning, but it was a productive out, driving in a run.

Everyone in the Gator batting order either scored or drove in a run in the first inning.

Joel Morse scored two runs with a hit and being hit by a pitch. Judah Morse had two hits and scored twice. Straight was hit by a pitch, walked and scored twice.

Smith had two hits and scored two runs. Stanley scored two runs and reached on a hit and a walk. Renfroe was hit by a pitch, had a hit, drove in two runs and scored one. Armstrong scored a run, drove in a run, had a hit and was hit by a pitch.

Hardy popped out and grounded out but drove in a run while grounding out. And Stokes had a base hit, scored and drove in a run.

Straight, Smith and Stanley scored for the Gators in the second inning.

Smith and Renfroe each had three hits. Straight, Smith and Stanley each scored three runs. The Gators finished the game with 13 hits.

The only two Eagle runs came on a pair of Gator errors in the fourth inning.

Straight worked four innings on the mound, striking out five Eagle batters and giving up three hits and two unearned runs.

Smith worked the fifth and final inning on the mound for Baker to hold the Eagles scoreless.