Brady Godwin shared hugs with several of his teammates after the Royals’ season ended Tuesday night with a 3-1 loss to top-ranked Holmes County in Game 2 of a best-of-three Rural Regional final series.
A year ago, Godwin and the Royals won a state championship, the program’s first in more than a half century.
Pace, Jay and Milton all begin regional softball tournament play this week.
The Patriots are the top seed and host Fletcher Thursday night, though that could change based on weather forecast. The topped-seeded Royals have moved their regional opener against Chipley to Tuesday. Milton, a sixth seed, travels to Middleburg on Thursday.
Pace and Milton competed in the Region 1-3A track meet last Friday while Jay and Central were in action on Saturday at the Region 1-1A meet.
Both competitions were held at Pine Forest’s new track facility in Pensacola.
Jay and Central played a decisive Game 3 last Thursday night, and it was the Royals who are moving on, beating the Jaguars 13-6 in a Rural 1 Regional semifinal series.
Pace’s bid for a second consecutive trip to state in flag football came to an end last Thursday night at home.
The Patriots battled Chiles tough all night in a thrilling Region 1-3A final between two of the top five teams in the state.
After a 9-1 loss to Northview in the Rural District 1 final last Thursday, Jay softball head coach Brian Watson gathered his team in left field.
He and his assistant coaches spent 10 minutes talking with the team about the game, and more importantly, what was to come next.
Pace softball players ran to the outfield, cheering, smiling and savoring every moment of being crowned District 1-6A champions once again.
They defeated Navarre 5-1 Thursday to claim the title, beating the Raiders on the strength of three home runs, a brilliant pitching effort by Hannah DeMarcus and a defense that stands tall in big moments.
Future Alabama Crimson Tide player Nash Pires perfectly summed up Pace’s dominating performance in Game 1 of a Region 1-6A semifinal series against Tocoi Creek Wednesday night.
“We are just out here playing the game of baseball, having fun,” Pires said.
Jay and Central went head-to-head Tuesday night in Game 2 of a three-game series to determine who moves on to the regional baseball final.
In the end, the Royals prevailed, topping the Jaguars 12-7 to even up the series.
