Sports Archive

With her arms stretched out and a smile on her face, Shelby McKenzie acted as if she was an airplane coming in for a landing, swaying back and forth as she headed towards home plate Thursday night.

Whether or not the three softballs she hit ever landed is up for debate, but what there is no doubt about is that McKenzie’s big night was a difference maker for top-seeded Pace in a 9-2 win over Lake Howell in a Region 1-6A quarterfinal.

For most of the night in a Region 1-5A quarterfinal game against Gainesville Thursday, Milton’s softball team kept itself in the hunt for a victory on the road.

The Panthers grabbed an early two-run lead and trailed by only one after four innings of play.

Pace’s best flag football season in program history came to a close last Monday night.

The Patriots went on the road to battle Fleming Island and fell 19-7 to the Golden Eagles in a 1-2A regional final.

Milton’s baseball team saw its season come to an end last Tuesday night in a 2-0 loss to Gulf Breeze in the semifinal round of the District 1-5A tournament.

The Panthers battled the top-seeded Dolphins tough all the way through, keeping the game scoreless through the first four innings.

Pace’s Ava Grace Wheaton and Sean Drummond are ranked first and second, respectively, in the girls and boys javelin heading into Friday’s 3A state meet at the University of Florida.

Wheaton recorded a throw of 119-feet-9-inches at the regional to win a championship and is hoping to win her first state title in the event.

Broc Parmer came back to the dugout feeling confident before the bottom of the seventh inning of Pace’s District 1-6A championship game against Tate.

It didn’t matter that the score was tied at 4-4, or that the pressure was mounting even more than it had in the previous six innings of a thrilling classic between two of the best teams in the state and nation.

As Haylee High stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning, a runner on base, and the outcome against Niceville hanging in the balance in the District 1-6A championship game, one thing was on her mind.

“It’s getting close to the end of the game. I have to make something happen for my team,” High said.

Amaya Pablo had just been sacked in the end zone, resulting in a safety, and now Chiles had a one-point lead over Pace in a District 1-2A regional semifinal game last Thursday night at home.

But the Patriots didn’t panic. A team on a mission, they responded to the adversity and scored the next 19 points on their way to a 26-8 victory, moving them a step closer to a trip to the final four.

Kaden French remembers talking with teammate Blaine Padgett about the possibility of this weightlifting season being a special one for Milton.

Their hope became reality as both lifters played a pivotal role in producing the most successful season in program history.

Bryan Hoeing helped the Pensacola Blue Wahoos earn a split in their series with Biloxi. Hoeing won his second game of the year as Pensacola came away with a 4-1 win.

He threw seven scoreless innings and allowed only two hits. Hoeing struck out eight.