Players were hugging, with the seniors saying their final softball goodbyes. There were tears, as is always the case in these moments as Jay’s softball season came to an end Tuesday night in the Rural Region 1 championship game.
Amid the heartbreak of a 4-1 loss to Northview at home, however, there was also a lot for the Royals to be proud of, something head coach Brian Watson pointed out in a postgame interview.
There are some differences within the Pace football program as spring practice rolls on. Most notably, a new head coach, though Vance Smith is hardly a stranger.
He played for Pace and had been an assistant under his dad, Kent, before taking the reins in December when his dad retired.
Navarre, Pace and Central all sent athletes to the FHSAA state track and field meet this past weekend.
Several of those athletes came home with medals.
No words could comfort Joeseph Skipworth in the wake of a crushing loss to Buchholz in the finale of the Region 1-6A championship series Saturday night.
He was in tears. His teammates were as well. A 5-4, eight-inning defeat to the top-ranked Bobcats in a win-or-go-home Game 3 in Pace ended the Patriots’ dream of a state final four bid.
A trip to state is on the line Saturday when Pace and Buchholz square off in the third game of a best-of-three Region 1-6A championship series.
The Patriots and Bobcats split their first two games and now play a win-or-go-home battle at 2 p.m. in Pace. It’s a matchup between the top two teams in the state.
Milton’s softball team kept the No. 3 team in the state off the scoreboard for five innings in its Region 1-5A quarterfinal on the road Thursday night.
The Panthers held a 1-0 lead until the sixth, when the Broncos scored five times and took control in a 5-1 win that ends Milton’s season.
With two outs and a two-run lead – Kamryn Pierce had crushed a home run moments earlier – Abby McLean stepped up to the plate and sent a ball over the left field fence.
Just like that, the Patriots were up three runs on Fletcher in a Region 1-6A softball quarterfinal.
West Florida Baptist’s baseball team has claimed the Panhandle Christian Conference championship for third time in program history.
But it wasn’t easy. The Conquerors needed extra innings to get the job done, rallying for a 10-9 victory on Tuesday.
Former Pace softball star Jayden Heavener is in contention for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I Freshman of the Year.
Heavener is one of two LSU players on the list, which originally featured 25 players but was narrowed to 10 last Thursday.
Central and Pace are both sending athletes to the FHSAA state track and field meet in Jacksonville.
The 3A meet is scheduled for May 9 at the University of North Florida while the 1A meet is set for May 10.
