First Coast Varsity Weekly: Walk-Off Classic now rings in Jacksonville softball season too

The sounds of bat and glove mean a little more this week for a dozen softball teams across Northeast Florida.

This time, they're part of history.

"I'm excited to play out here and get the season going," First Coast shortstop Brooke Edmonds said Monday, before the Buccaneers' scheduled game against Episcopal.

First Coast was among 12 teams in the bracket for the inaugural softball edition of the Walk-Off Charities High School Classic, while a no-hitter opened the baseball tournament Monday at the new Bragan Baseball Complex at Fort Family Regional Park on Baymeadows Road.

The annual tournament raises funds for Walk-Off Charities' youth baseball programs.

While scores won't count in the standings until Monday's opening to the Florida High School Athletic Association regular season, Paxon earned the distinction as the tournament's first-ever softball winner. The Golden Eagles topped Clay 9-4 on Monday afternoon with freshman pitcher Kassidy Edwards coming within a home run of the cycle.

Meanwhile, it was business as usual for baseball in its sixth season for the annual tournament, starting with a speedy Stallion statement: Providence's Jacksonville University signee Kyle Powers and sophomore Ryan Walls combined on a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts in Monday's 3-0 win over Wolfson, a rematch of last year's regional playoffs.

For players like Ponte Vedra senior Dominic Masto, the week's start brought a chance to take on live competition as well as adjust to the artificial-turf fields, a rarity in high school play.

"We're going to get some good reps in, see some of the top pitching out here," Masto said. "There's some kids in the 90s [pitching velocity] out here, so it feels good to get out here, get some more ground balls and kind of get into that game scenario feeling before the big season."

Waffle House time for Stanton soccer

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes may be heading to Disneyland after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night, but for Stanton girls soccer, the goal destination for the second week in February is a little less glitzy.

The motto, shouted out with vigor in the Blue Devils' postgame huddle against Bishop Kenny last Friday: "Waffle House time."

"It's a tradition. Each of the last three years, we've had to drive out to the Panhandle, and there aren't that many places that are open after a game," Stanton coach Brian Heggood said. "So the last couple of years, we've gone out to a Waffle House, win or lose."

And Waffle House it is, too, after the Blue Devils landed a Wednesday night regional final trip to South Walton in Santa Rosa Beach, one step away from the FHSAA final four.

But just how many Waffle House locations could be in Stanton's future? Time for a little geography and a little math.

A quick scan of the restaurant's locations between Jacksonville and Santa Rosa Beach turns up more than a dozen options: two along Interstate 10 on Jacksonville's Westside, one in Baldwin, one in Macclenny, three in Lake City, one in Live Oak, one in Madison, five near the highway in Tallahassee, two in Marianna, one in Chipley, one in Bonifay, one in DeFuniak Springs and one in Freeport.

Decisions, decisions…

"We've kind of set that as an unofficial goal," Heggood said, "to make it back to getting to eat at the Waffle House."

Who knows? Maybe they'll even run into Trevor Lawrence along the way. The Jaguars quarterback is a noted Waffle House fan, even stopping at the eatery with teammates after the Jags' comeback playoff victory over the Los Angeles Chargers a year ago.

California dreaming for soccer pair

Destination, California.

Clay forward Brooke Bunton and St. Johns Country Day forward Sydney Schmidt both earned selections Monday from the United States Soccer Federation for a training camp for the Under-16 women's national team.

The two will join 22 other players from around the country for the camp from Feb. 22-29 at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., just south of San Diego.

With the selection, both locals move a step closer toward a potential national team selection for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, scheduled from Oct. 16 to Nov. 3 in the Dominican Republic. The United States qualified for that tournament by winning the CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship on Sunday, beating host Mexico 4-0 in the final.

Westside lifts girls wrestling district

Westside took top honors in the District 2 girls wrestling championship, the first step in the sport's postseason.

Layah Mixon (125 pounds), Karla Ortiz (155) and Cherinice Knight (190) won their individual divisions for the Wolverines, who earned 105 points to place ahead of White, Baker County and Riverside.

In District 3, Middleburg placed second, sandwiched between the Flagler County pair of Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast. Winning individual events for the Broncos were Skyla Fisher at 105 and reigning state champion Cheyenne Cruce at 190. The girls wrestling postseason continues with the Region 1 championships, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Tallahassee Chiles.

Meanwhile, after the girls began playoffs last week, the boys get their turn in the coming days.

Hosts and start times for Northeast Florida district boys tournaments are as follows: District 1-3A, at Fletcher, 9:30 a.m. Feb. 17; District 2-2A, at Tallahassee Chiles, 2:30 p.m. Feb. 16; District 3-2A, at Oakleaf, 11:30 a.m. Feb. 14; District 4-2A, at New Smyrna Beach, 12 p.m. Feb. 15; District 2-1A, at Florida High, 11 a.m. Feb. 15; District 3-1A, at University Christian, 9:30 a.m. Feb. 17; District 4-1A, at C.L. Overturf Learning Center in Palatka, 11 a.m. Feb. 14.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Walk-Off Charities Classic: Tournament opens baseball, softball season