Powered by an eight-run second inning, the Baker baseball team made quick work of Laurel Hill in a battle of North Okaloosa County neighbors and District 1-1A rivals.
When the game ended after the top of the fifth inning due to the run rule, the Gators had a 13-2 win in their return to action after spring break.
When the umpire yelled, “Play Ball,” to start the baseball game between Crestview and Pace on Wednesday night, it’s doubtful anyone present realized how long the Bulldogs and Patriots would play.
The game was one part an endurance contest and two parts a pitching battle that went 12 innings. In the end, it was a great high school baseball game. And as the cliché goes, it was ashamed one team had to lose.
The age-old question of whether a baseball team starting spring break or ending spring break might have been answered on Friday night when Crestview traveled to Pensacola to take on Pine Forest.
Okaloosa County schools were scheduled to return to class on Monday, March 25 while Escambia County students were celebrating the start of the week away from the classroom Friday evening. In this case it was the team returning to school that had the upper hand. Or it might just be that the Bulldogs are better than Eagles in taking the 9-2 win.
A well-played game is a thing of beauty for those that love and understand baseball.
Last Wednesday’s game between Crestview and Tate can only be described as a thing of beauty that even Aggies fans could appreciate in the 7-1 win by the Bulldogs.
Baker School baseball coach Preston Nixon summed up Tuesday’s game between the Gators and visiting Winona Miss., well.
“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 Laurel Hill baseball team gave Florala all it could handle for three innings on Monday in a bit of a homecoming game.
Wildcat coach Tyler Zessin was a player when Hobo coach Cory McSween was the LHS assistant coach. Zessin’s father, Kent, was the longtime boys basketball coach and volleyball coach.
Maddox Reeves scored on a wild pitch in the top of the eighth inning to give Crestview a thrilling 6-5 win at Niceville on Wednesday.
There was still work to do after Reeves crossed the plate for the Bulldogs as the Eagles had their chance to tie or win the game in the bottom of the inning.
