BAKER — Adam Henry hopes spring break won’t be too large a distraction for Baker School’s baseball team.

The Gators entered the break on a three-game winning streak and had last Friday’s District 3-1A home game with South Walton canceled due to weather concerns. Baker returns to the field Friday for a district game at Freeport.

“The momentum swing couldn’t have come at a better time,” Henry said. “The difference is they are playing with heart and intensity right now. They have a little bit more fire for them.”

Senior Austin Davis — one of the players who has helped lead the team in the surge — was 3-for-3 with a triple, three runs batted in and was hit by a pitch in Thursday’s win over Rocky Bayou Christian. He also played flawlessly at shortstop despite wet field conditions.

“Austin is irreplaceable,” Henry said. “We are truly going to miss him next year. He plays hard every play, during practice and games.”

The three wins have brought Baker’s record to 5-8, but Henry knows there is a lot of work to do before the team gets to .500.

“We’ve got to hit the ball better,” he said. “We have to take a better approach at the plate. We have a good two-strike approach and put the ball in play.

“Our top two pitchers, Austin and Gabe (Nelson), have pitched well. We have to have a few more behind them pitch well. And we just have to stay healthy.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker baseball team prepares for stretch run

CRESTVIEW — Spring break, such as it is, got off to a good start for Crestview High School’s baseball team Monday.

Ryan Weekley threw a complete game, two-hit shutout and Corey Armstrong went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the Bulldogs to a 6-0 win over Monroe Academy Ala.

No Volunteer base runner made it safely past second base. And only three runners advanced to second, one on back-to-back Bulldog errors. Weekley finished the game with four strikeouts.

“I think that’s a good baseball team over there,” Bulldog Coach Tim Gillis said of Monroe Academy. “They won a state championship last year in Alabama and they didn’t graduate a lot of guys. You can tell they are well-coached and that made it tough.

“We had a couple of big hits. Corey got a couple and Dayne (Justice) got a big hit there in the first. Ryan was really, really good, he battled all night long and gave us a chance and we need enough plays behind him to win it.”

Crestview (9-6) took control of the game in the first inning. Zach Degraaf walked to lead off the game, but was retired at second when Bryant Berry bunted into a fielder’s choice.

Armstrong followed Berry with the first of his three singles as he sent a hard grounder through the right side of the Monroe Academy infield. Dayne Justice cleared the bases with a triple to left-center field. Justice scored on a Volunteer throwing error that went into the Bulldog dugout.

B.A. Larkins walked and Alik Whited was hit by a pitch to start the Crestview second. Berry walked with one out to load the bases and Armstrong singled up the middle to score Larkins and Whited.

Armstrong finished off his big day in the fourth inning with a single to score Berry. Berry reached on a walk and stole second base to move into scoring position for Armstrong.

Armstrong, a senior shortstop, accounted for half of Crestview’s six hits. Berry had an infield single in the sixth inning and Colter Hancock singled in the fifth.

“Corey has been really good over the course his career here,” Gillis said. “He’s been consistent and he does it all the time. He’s just a tough out and just great competitor.

“Right now he’s just in a zone and I hope he can stay in it all year.”

Crestview’s defense was spotty at times committing four errors, but the Bulldog defenders came up with big stops when needed.

The Bulldogs turned three double plays.

A potential threat by Monroe County in the first inning was slowed by the first, and less traditional, of the three double plays.

Griffin McKenzie walked to lead off the game for the Volunteers and stole second base. Dalton McKenzie was out on a fly ball to Bryant in center field. Bryant made a strong throw that almost got away from Larkins at third.

An alert Weekley did his job and covered third base to retired Griffin McKenzie as he tried to take the extra base. That was as close as the Volunteers got to scoring.

The Bulldogs turned traditional double plays in the fifth and seventh innings. The seventh inning double play ended the game just 92 minutes after Weekley threw the first pitch.

“It’s all about competing in the moment,” Gillis said. That’s what we are going to keep telling those guys to do. I’m proud of this group.

“We’ve got a long ways to go, but I’m proud of them.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview's Weekley shuts down Monroe Academy

CRESTVIEW — Before Seth Forrest took his first class at Crestview High School in 2013, he already made an early impression on the baseball team.

Pitching in the Justin Richards Scholarship tournament that June, Forrest helped lead the Bulldogs to an upset win.

Three years later, he hasn’t duplicated that performance, but he embodies the Bulldog spirit, coming out of the bullpen as a middle reliever and supporting his teammates however he can.

“He’s been good for us for three years,” Crestview Coach Tim Gillis said. “I expect big things out of him next year (when), hopefully, he’s going to step into a role that will be expanded a little bit.

“He’s a guy that’s always upbeat. The kids all like him. He’s a good-hearted kid and that’s good to see.”

Forrest said playing for Gillis makes it easy to stay upbeat.

“First of all, it’s the great coach we’ve got (that makes playing for the Bulldogs fun),” Forrest said. “He comes out here every day and keeps us encouraged and tells us to keep our heads up. Even if I have a bad inning, he tells me to just do my best.”

In addition to pitching, Forrest can play the outfield, but there’s no doubt which position he prefers.

“I like holding the ball in my hand with everybody having their eyes on me looking for me to throw or strike or get a ground ball or pop up,” he said. “If we start off with a  fast righty and I come in, I throw them off with my slowness. My ball tails some, and they haven’t seen that all day.

“They’ve seen fastballs all day and I come in with my slow, junk curveballs.”

Having left-handed pitchers is a team luxury, Gillis said.

“Lefties are tough to hit,” he said. “The thing about lefthanders is if you can throw strikes, you can be effective. The more you have, the better off you are going to be.”

Forrest said he doesn’t try to model his game after any particular pitcher, but that former Bulldog teammate Matt Gillis, another left-handed pitcher, had a big influence on his life.

“He (Matt Gillis) really helped inspire me in my relationship with God and on the field, being a good player and a good teammate,” Forrest said.

Tim Gillis hopes the potential Forrest showed almost three years ago will pay dividends.

“We’ve just got to get him locked in during serious situations,” the coach said.

“We will probably pencil him into a starter spot next year, but there’s a long ways to go before then, and you never know what will happen.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Seth Forrest is Crestview's lefty with heart

BAKER — Scattered thunderstorms in the area and heavy rain in the first inning couldn’t stop Baker School’s baseball team Thursday as the Gators hosted Rocky Bayou Christian.

By the time the weather cleared Baker was on its way to a 9-4 win.

The Gators have won three straight since losing to Chipley on March 8.

“We’ve been playing with a lot more intensity,

 Gator Coach Adam Henry said of the recent win streak. “We are playing a little bit of small ball right now. We’ve got to get the bats going a little better.

“This win is getting us closer to .500, which is definitely a positive step. Pitching wise we had some good pitching tonight and we had a few good at bats.”

Lightning in the area delayed the start of the game by about 30 minutes. And as Baker came to bat in the bottom of the first the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down.

But not even the heavy downpour slowed the initial Gator push.

Austin Davis led off the game for Baker with a base hit to left, and took second base on a Knight error. He then stole third base.

Logan Rickmon followed and was safe on an error. A one-out walk to Bubba Ellis loaded the bases.

Dakota Blackburn walked to score Davis. Rickmon scored as Will Davis walked.

Gator pitcher Ryan Weidenhammer had his way with the Knights through the early part of the game. Weidenhammer held Rocky Bayou to two hits and struck out three in five innings of work to pick up the win.

Weidenhammer had plenty of help from the guys behind him as the Gator defense made just one error despite playing on rain soaked field.

Baker (5-8) scored four runs in the third inning to put the game out of reach.

With one out Blackburn was hit by a pitch, Weidenhammer reached on an error and Will Davis was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gabe Nelson’s sacrifice fly scored Blackburn. RJ Bush singled to score Tom Crowson, who was running for Weidenhammer and move Will Davis to third.

Bush turned what could have been a base running blunder into a heads up play. He seemed to be picked off first base, but he ran straight for second and beat the throw. With the attention of the Knight defenders on Bush, Will Davis was able to score from third.

A single by Austin Davis scored Bush to make it 6-0 after three innings of play.

Baker scored three more runs in the fifth inning. The big blow of the inning was a two-run triple by Austin Davis to drive in Nelson and Chandler Rockwell. Davis scored when Rickmon was safe on another Knight error.

Crowson replaced Weidenhammer on the mound for the final two innings and gave up four runs on three hits. He struck out four batters.

Austin Davis led the Gator attack with three hits and two runs scored. He was hit by a pitch in his other plate appearance. Blackburn, Nelson and Bush had Baker’s other hits.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker baseball team gets third straight win

CRESTVIEW — Powered by a seven-run seventh inning Pace High School’s baseball beat Crestview 10-2.

The Patriots led 3-2 heading into the final frame with all three runs being unearned off Bulldog starting pitcher Ryan Weekley. Weekley walked Pace leadoff batter Bennett Shell to start the seventh. That’s when Bulldog Coach Tim Gillis went to his relievers and things quickly unraveled for Crestview

Dayne Justice replaced Weekley on the mound and walked a batter and hit two others. Seth Forrest replaced Justice and gave up two hits and a walk as the Pace lead swelled to 8-2. Alik Whited was the fourth Bulldog pitcher of the inning.

Whited struck out the first batter he faced before allowing a sacrifice fly that plated the sixth Pace run of the inning. He also gave up an RBI single.

Gillis stood by his decision to remove Weekley based on what he knew at the time.

“He was getting up there in his pitch count – he was right around the 100 mark,” Gillis said. It was his second start of the year so I felt like I needed to take him out. Obviously, that was the wrong decision.

“We are in the age now of developing people. The last thing you want to do is hurt an arm. The bottom line is we still have to throw strikes and we’ve got to catch the ball.”

Weekley breezed through the first inning allowing a one-out walk as he held the Patriots scoreless.

The Bulldogs (7-6) came out hot at the plate against Pace starting pitcher, Trent Short.

Zach Degraaf led off the inning with a double to right field. Degraaf then got caught in no man’s land as Austin Polk grounded to shortstop. The Patriots threw Degraaf out when he wandered too far off second allowing Polk to reach first base.

Corey Armstrong followed Polk and doubled to left field scoring Polk. Armstrong strayed too far from second base with Justice up to bat and was thrown out.

A Justice single and walks to Colter Hancock and Matt French loaded the bases. The inning ended when Devin Wimmer grounded back to Short.

Aided by a pair of Bulldog errors, Pace scored two runs in the third inning. The Patriots scored another run in the fifth to go up 3-1.

Crestview scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull to within a run of the Patriots.

Hancock reached on a Pace error to lead off the inning. French singled moving courtesy runner Bryant Berry to second. French was picked off first base and Berry took third on the play. Berry scored as Wimmer grounded out to second base.

“We made two outs in the first inning on the bases,” Gillis said. “We had three hits, two of them doubles, and we score one run. That is just unacceptable.

“We obviously didn’t overcome it. Against good teams they are going to hurt you and Pace did.”

Armstrong and Justice had two hits each for the Bulldogs. French and Degraaf each had a hit.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Pace capitalizes on Crestview mistakes

BAKER — Gabe Nelson is making his mark on Baker School’s baseball team. The sophomore, Baker’s starting center fielder, also is the pitching staff’s ace.

Gator Coach Adam Henry has high praise for his young gun.

“He’s probably thrown 80 percent of our innings for us,” Henry said. “He comes in and throws his fastball well and his changeup gets everybody off their feet.

“… He’s athletic. He’s long and lanky and he throws the ball well off the mound.”

We now catch up with Gabe Nelson.

How old were you when you started playing baseball?

I was probably around 3 or 4 years old.

What's the best part of baseball?

Winning.

What's the worst part of baseball?

Losing.

What are your expectations this season?

To start hitting and get on a winning track.

If you had to pick a different sport to play, what would it be?

Basketball, because that’s my second sport.

What is your favorite baseball experience?

When I was 11, I went and won the state championship in Georgia with my travel ball team.

What are your hobbies outside baseball?

I like to ride four wheelers and work out.

What's your dream career?

I want to be a professional athlete.

Do you want to play college baseball?

Yes. I want to go to Texas A&M so I can get away from home.

What is your favorite movie?

“Talladega Nights.”

Who is your favorite singer?

Future.

If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be?

The Family Guy, because he’s funny.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 13 things you didn't know about Baker School's Gabe Nelson

CRESTVIEW— It was tough sledding for Crestview High School’s baseball team Thursday night as the Bulldogs hosted Navarre in a District 2-7A game.

The Raiders sent senior ace Matt Cronin to the mound and he showed why he is one of the top pitching prospects in the area. Cronin allowed just four hits and struck out 14 Bulldog batters to lead Navarre to a 6-3 win.

“You have to tip your hat to him (Cronin), he was really good, as he has been his whole career,” Bulldog Coach Tim Gillis said. “You aren’t going to make a living facing him every time out.

“We didn’t put the at bats together and put the ball in play and put the pressure on him a little bit better. That’s on me as the coach. We have to get that part of the game shored up and I hope we get better as we go on.”

The Raiders scored first in the second inning when Tyler Rebber was safe on a Bulldog error and later scored as Rusty Rogers tripled.

Crestview (7-4, 2-1) tied the game in the bottom of the third inning. Dayne Justice led off the inning with the first Bulldog hit of the game. Justice took second base on a Cronin wild pitch and scored as Alik Whited laced a single to left.

Navarre regained the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Crestview starting pitcher, Jeremy Willis, walked the first two Raider batters of the inning. Those two walks came back to haunt Willis and the Bulldogs when Andre Macedo doubled to clear the bases.

The Bulldogs answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Austin Polk walked to lead off the inning. Corey Armstrong followed Polk with a base hit up the middle.

Matt French sacrificed to move Polk to third and Armstrong to second. Colter Hancock was safe on an error scoring Polk and moving Armstrong to third.

Bryant Berry took the field as a courtesy runner for Hancock, the Bulldog catcher. It looked as if Berry was going to be picked off first base, but he continued to run to second base forcing an errant throw and allowing Armstrong to score.

Seth Forrest replaced Willis on the mound for Crestview in the fourth inning. Forrest gave up six hits and two runs in 1 1/3 innings of work to take the loss. Forrest was lifted for Matt Bottom with one Raider out in the fifth inning and finished out the game for Crestview allowing one run on one hit.

Armstrong led the Bulldogs with two hits.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Cronin leads Navarre past Crestview

BAKER — Nothing seemed to go right for Baker School’s baseball team in Tuesday’s District 3-1A game with Chipley.

The Gator defense was porous. The Gator offense struggled. And Baker base runners had mental lapses that led to outs.

About the only thing going for the Gators was the pitching of Austin Davis and Gabe Nelson. Davis and Nelson held the Tigers to seven hits. Unfortunately Baker fielders made nine errors leading to eight unearned Tiger runs as Chipley took a 10-2 win.

“We’ve got to find some hear to play,” Baker Coach Adam Henry said. “You’re not going to win any ball game making nine errors.

“The errors gave them four runs in the first two innings. We just have to come back out here and work on our defense.”

The game got off to a shaky start for the Baker defense when Chipley’s first two batters reached on errors. The Tigers turned the errors into runs as they took a 2-0 lead they would build on the rest of the game.

Davis reached on a bunt single to lead off the Gator first, but he was called out trying to steal second.

The Tigers added three runs in the second inning on four hits and the third Baker error of the game.

Nelson struck out to lead off the bottom of the third for the Gators, but reached first when the third strike got based Chipley catcher Cordell Carley. Nelson moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Chandler Rockwell.

A base hit by Connor Bartlett moved Nelson to third and Baker (2-8, 0-4) had runners on the corners with one out, but the Gators were unable to cash in on the situation.

Chipley scored three runs in the fourth inning and one run in the fifth and sixth innings to take a commanding 10 – 0 lead as Baker came to bat in the bottom of the sixth.

Baker finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning to avoid the shutout. 

Davis was safe on a Chipley error to lead off the inning, He moved to second as RJ Bush walked. Dillon Nixon grounded out moving the runners up a base.

A single by Ryan Weidenhammer scored Davis. Bush scored as Bubba Ellis reached on a fielder’s choice.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Errors costly as Baker's baseball team falls to Chipley

LAUREL HILL — Bryan Pursley has become one of the leaders on Laurel Hill School’s young baseball team.

When the Hoboes need somebody to pick them up, Pursley takes charge. The versatile sophomore can handle almost any position on the field.

“He pretty much means everything to the team,” Coach Andrew Wirth said. “He’s a utility player. He’s middle infielder and will play shortstop or second base for us.”

Wirth believes Pursley has a future in baseball beyond the high school level, if that’s his goal

“I think with a little bit of work and some weight lifting, to get a little strong and a little quicker, he can go to the next level,” Wirth said.

We now catch up with Bryan Pursley.

How old were you when you started playing baseball?

I was 6 years old.

What's the best part of baseball?

Being out with your friends.

What's the worst part of baseball?

Losing.

What are your expectations this season?

Working hard and playing with my friends.

If you had to pick a different sport to play, what would it be?

Probably basketball, because it’s the only other sport here.

What is your favorite baseball experience?

Catching when we went to state with Paxton youth baseball when I was 12.

What are your hobbies outside baseball?

Riding ATVs (all terrain vehicles) and playing football and basketball.

What's your dream career?

Baseball.

Would you want to play college baseball?

At Alabama, because it’s just my favorite team.

What is your favorite movie?

“Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

Who is your favorite singer?

Colt Ford.

If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be?

Bugs Bunny, because he’s funny.

If you could live in any other period in history, which one would you choose?

Probably when Babe Ruth was alive (in the 1920s or 1930s) because I’ve always wanted to meet him.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 13 things you didn't know about Laurel Hill's Bryan Pursley