The Milton Panthers are starting to find their way on the diamond. And that was evident last Tuesday night as a late-inning offensive surge led to a 14-6 victory over a Pine Forest team that is one of the best in the area.
Milton entered play with a 2-6 record. A rather young team with only six seniors, the Panthers are building chemistry with one another day by day. And they put the chemistry they have built on display.
It wasn’t as if Jay failed to create scoring opportunities in its softball game against Milton Tuesday night.
The Royals put runners in position to score early and often. The Panthers just didn’t let them cash in.
L.E.A.D. Academy baseball coach Chris Lyle points to an example during an interview of how competitive his team has become in 2023.
It’s a game against Paxton that he highlights. The Lions lost 6-1 to the Wildcats on March 9. A game like that wouldn’t have been nearly as close in the past.
It’s late December. Just before Christmas. Corliss Waitman’s second season in the NFL is winding down, his first as a full-time starter, and the former Milton Panther took a moment to reflect on his journey.
He calls it a ‘blessing’ to be a part of cut-throat league where every decision is about business, and longevity is anything but a guarantee.
Pace checks all the boxes in flag football.
The Patriots have talent on both sides of the ball. They understand what it takes to win. And they have the potential to make a run at the program’s first state championship.
Two Pace standouts have earned impressive recognition on a national level by Legacy & Legends Softball.
Teammates Jayden Heavener and Shelby McKenzie are ranked in the top 10 nationally among Class of 2024 players, with Heavener, an LSU commit, notching the No. 1 spot.
Quent Blackwell has been around football his whole life.
His dad, a former standout at Escambia, earning all-decade recognition along-side players like NFL legend Emmitt Smith, is a coach at Milton and inspired his son to want to play the game as well.
Jonathan Acuff is an offensive lineman, a position that is often more in the shadows than the spotlight.
That said, it doesn’t make the Milton senior any less of a competitor. He is fierce when it comes to that.
Nathan Caston needed one out. One out to seal the deal on a no-hitter. One out to close the door on a shutout win over Yukon, Oklahoma, in the Tate Aggie Classic.
But as he fired a pitch at the plate in the seventh inning on a chilly Wednesday evening in mid-March, he had a feeling his no-hit bid was probably done.
Milton’s softball team ended its pre-spring break schedule with three consecutive losses. Two of those were by a run. The other was a shutout loss to Pace, one of the nation’s best teams.
But while the season hasn’t started off as expected, the Panthers aren’t hanging their heads. They simply keep pushing forward.
