The biggest moments of the game included Toolan’s three run home run and a diving catch made by Taylor Courington to get an out in the bottom of the 5^th inning.

Choctaw added another run in the bottom of the 7^th inning but the Bulldogs were able to hold them off and earn their ninth win of the season. In the game, Crestview had four batters hit above .500.

Michelle Howard, the head coach of Crestview, said the key to beating Choctaw was making routine plays on offense and playing keep away from some of Choctaw’s hitters by “hammering the outside pitch.” The strategy was for the ball to be more likely to go to the right side with less force behind hits.

It worked and the Bulldogs now stand at 9-10.

Coming into the game, Crestview was third place in the district. With a win, they could move up to second place and put themselves in a better position to make the playoffs. The new rankings come out Monday, April 24.

When asked about her team getting back into the game, Howard said she was a pleasantly surprised to see them continue fighting in spite of the early adversity.

“Usually our team… they fall to pressure a lot and I feel like tonight, they knew this game was important for our ranking in the district,” Howard said. “They said ‘what pressure?’, they ran with it and they came back and wound up winning.”

Howard believes that with a confidence boosting win like this, Crestview can make an impact come playoff time. Crestview will play Pensacola Catholic April 24.

Toolan and Forrest share pitching duties for Crestview. When Toolan isn’t in the circle, she can be found at shortstop.

“Cambell has a good attitude,” Howard said. “She has one of the hardest work ethics I’ve ever seen. There’s also motivation and empowerment.

“She’s such a well-rounded player, I wish had 26 Cambells,” she added. “If I had 26 Cambells, we would be the team to beat all the time.”

Toolan doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t playing softball, saying “I’ve been playing since I was in diapers.”

It may not have been that long, but it has been most of her life.

It seemed natural for her to play as she followed her older sister, Kennedy, around the travel ball circuit.

Cambell said she’s tried to model her game at shortstop after her older sister.

“She’s very quick and had good footwork and I tried to follow that,” Cambell said.

Toolan has had to grow up fast sharing the pitching duties at such an early stage in her high school career.

“You’ve got to keep throwing,” she said. “You have to push to overcome adversity. I want to work on being more competitive.”

It’s hard for Howard to imagine her young star being more competitive.

“There’s more competitiveness in her body than I’ve had my whole life,” said Howard, a former college player. “There’s not a kid on this team, or in the Panhandle, that has the mind Cambell does for softball.

“Cambell is sitting in school, texting people trying to figure out how to become more competitive,” she added.

It’s Cambell’s competitive nature that Howard believes will carry her as far as she wants to go in softball.

“She’s different than any kid I’ve ever had,” the coach said. “She’s the best shortstop we have. And pitching, I’m going to put a saddle on her and ride her for four years.

“She’s going to be outstanding when she leaves here,” Howard added. “She’s worked her whole life to be here and it shows. And she continues to put that work in every single day.”

Baker coach John Carlisle has plenty of good things to say about his talented freshman.

“She’s just a phenomenal player,” he said. “She’s very smooth. She’s one of two freshmen that we’ve had that have started on the varsity since she was in the seventh grade. She’s got a tremendous skill set.

“She’s got a gold glove-caliber defense at third base. And she’s a solid catcher behind the plate.”

Surrounded by her teammates on the diamond, St. John is at home.

“I know all of the girls really well,” she said. “Just being around all the people and how it takes reality away is my favorite part of the game.”

Although she bats cleanup for the Lady Gators, St. John prefers to be in the field flashing the leather over being at the plate swinging the stick.

“Catching is my strong spot,” she said. “I love to throw down (to second base and try to get people stealing).”

When asked about the player she tries to model her game after, St. John quickly named former Lady Gator Shelby Sloan.

Like Sloan, St. John is a Jill of All Trades. And while she plays third base and catches for the Lady Gators, she’s not limited to those positions.

“I know she does some things away from school ball,” Carlisle said. “She plays some shortstop (on her travel team). You can put her anywhere and she’s very smooth.

“She’s competitive and she wants to compete,” he added. “She does an awesome job for us at the plate.”

It’s the competitive fire that separates the great players from the good players. It’s the hard work that churns the cream to the top.

“She’s got a lot of experience,” Carlisle said. “She’s got school ball experience. This is her third year playing varsity, plus she’s played travel ball.

“She’s faced a lot higher caliber pitching than she is going to see at this level for us,” he added. “She’s a tough competitor. She likes to compete.”

The win avenges a 7-3 loss to the Braves last month.

The key to the game was the Lady Gators were able to take the lead and keep the pressure on Walton.

“Walton is a good team,” Baker coach John Carlisle said. “We lost to them over there at their place in ugly fashion. To have them back over here at our place and get a split with them is big.

“Anytime someone scores, whether it’s in the top of the inning or the bottom of the inning, you want to be able to answer, and the girls did a good job of that tonight. That gives us a little bit of an advantage. It’s huge in the mindset of the game not having to play from behind all the time.”

Baker scored twice in the bottom of the first inning to press the issue against the Lady Braves.

Mylee Frazier led the inning off with a double and scored as Carlie Hopps was safe at second on a Walton error. Hopps later scored on a wild pitch.

Walton scored twice in the top of the second to tie the game at 2-2. The Lady Gators quickly broke the tie in the bottom of the inning.

Karley Bishop walked to lead off the inning. Bishop scored on a pickoff attempt gone bad. The Braves attempted to pick Bishop off first base, but instead threw the ball into deep right field allowing Bishop to score from first base on the error.

Walton scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take the lead for the only time in the game. That lead didn’t last long though as Baker responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Frazier got things started with a one-out walk. She then stole second base and took third on a wild pitch. Hopps walked, giving the Lady Gators runners on first and third.

A double steal scored Frazier and moved Hopps to second base. Alaynah Smith walked. Smith, the Baker pitcher, was replaced on the basepath by courtesy runner Victoria Beckworth.

Hopps scored as Abbie St. John reached on an error. Beckworth scored on a wild pitch to end the scoring for the game.

Frazier and Smith each had two hits to lead the Baker attack. Frazier and Hopps each scored twice.

Smith went the distance in the circle for Baker allowing just four Walton hits while striking out three batters.

Walks, passed balls and wild pitches turned out to be the demise of Laurel Hill.

Despite striking out 11 Yellow Jacket batters, Twitty also walked eight allowing Vernon base runners in almost every inning.

Laurel Hill scored first when Savannah Riley was safe at first base after a striking out and a dropped ball by the catcher on the third strike. Riley took second base on a wild pitch and scored as Twitty reached on an error.

The Lady Hoboes held the 1-0 lead until the sixth inning when Vernon tied the game on a walk and a double.

Laurel Hill bounced back on top in the bottom of the inning scoring. Twitty led off the inning with a double and pinch-hitter Andrea Barnhill sent her home with single.

Vernon struck for four runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 5-2 lead.

Laurel Hill was still in striking distance as the Lady Hoboes came to the plate in the bottom of the inning.

Ashley Leach got things started with a lead off single and stole second base. With one out, Kailen Martin connected for single to score Leach.

Twitty became the potential game-tying run when she singled with one out.

Twitty’s hit was the last spark for the Lady Hoboes as two quick outs were recorded by Vernon as the Lady Yellow Jackets took the win.

Laurel Hill assistant coach Kasey Campbell pointed out it was a failure to get the weaker hitters at the bottom of the Vernon batting order that was the team’s downfall.

“The ones that are guaranteed strike outs, we didn’t get it done,” she said. “Hannah did her job. We just came up short today.”

The win avenges a 7-3 loss to the Braves last month.

The key to the game was the Lady Gators were able to take the lead and keep the pressure on Walton.

“Walton is a good team,” Baker coach John Carlisle said. “We lost to them over there at their place in ugly fashion. To have them back over here at our place and get a split with them is big.

“Any time someone scores, whether it’s in the top of the inning or the bottom of the inning, you want to be able to answer, and the girls did a good job of that tonight of being able to do that. That gives us a little bit of an advantage. It’s huge in the mindset of the game not having to play from behind all the time.”

Baker scored twice in the bottom of the first inning to press the issue against the Lady Braves.

Mylee Frazier led off the inning with a double and scored as Carlie Hopps was safe at second on a Walton error.  Hopps later scored on a wild pitch.

Walton scored twice in the top of the second to tie the game at 2-2. The Lady Gators quickly broke the tie in the bottom of the inning.

Karley Bishop walked to lead off the inning. Bishop scored on a pick off attempt gone bad. The Braves attempted to pick Bishop off first base, but instead threw the ball into deep right field allowing Bishop to score from first base on the error.

Walton scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take the lead for the only time in the game. That lead didn’t last long though as Baker responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Frazier got things started with a one-out walk. She then stole second base and took third on a wild pitch. Hopps walked giving the Lady Gators runners on first and third.

A double steal scored Frazier and moved Hopps to second base. Alaynah Smith walked. Smith, the Baker pitcher, was replaced on the basepath by courtesy runner Victoria Beckworth.

Hopps scored as Abbie St. John reached on an error. Beckworth scored on a wild pitch to end the scoring for the game.

Frazier and Smith each had two hits to lead the Baker attack. Frazier and Hopps each scored twice.

Smith went the distance in the circle for Baker allowing just four Walton hits and while striking out three batters.

“I don’t know if I want to put her at first. I don’t know if I want her to hit. I don’t know if I want her to pitch or do all three,” Howard added. “She is so valuable and she is just irreplaceable.”

Forest started her softball journey in t-ball while still a preschooler. She took her first serious step in the sport when she was 11 and started playing travel ball. She dreams of taking a bigger step in 2026 when her Lady Bulldog career is completed.

“I want to play softball for Florida State,” Forest said. “That’s just where I want to go. It’s been a big dream.

“I love the way they play and the way they look. I love their coach (Lonnie Alameda). And that’s the way it is.”

Howard believes that goal is within the reach of Forest, but it will be up to the player to make it come true.

“All in all, she’s a very well-rounded player,” Howard said. “Her future is going to depend on her. Her parents are very supportive and I’m also supportive of her.

“I think if she keeps her head down and keeps working every day as she has been, by the time she’s a senior she’s going to go to whatever college she wants,” she added.

Forest loves the game for what can be accomplished by working with others.

“I like having success with your friends and teammates,” she said. “I like when you are working hard and you have success and achieve everything you were wanting to.”

Forest has a demeanor and skill set that sometimes makes Howard forget that she is so young.

“I think pitching will be her position in college,” Howard said. “I’ve seen her throw amazing and I’ve seen her (struggle some when she’s) nervous.

“Sometimes I have to remind myself she is a freshman and is still learning,” she added.