Pace softball's pitching duo of Baker and McLean allow just one hit in win | AREA ROUNDUP
Rain, rain, go away. And, preferably, don't come back another day.
Mother Nature made it difficult for some area teams on Friday, postponing or canceling a lot of lacrosse, baseball and softball contests throughout Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. A few games that were on the road were able to go on as scheduled, or maybe a little delayed.
Elsewhere in the state, a few local wrestlers are still alive in the Individual State Tournament. Some of those wrestlers will be fighting for the weight class crown on Saturday.
Without further ado, here are area results from contests that happened on Friday, March 1.
See your team's scores or stats missing? Be sure to update MaxPreps regularly, or report scores to sports reporter Ben Grieco at bgrieco@gannett.com. This will be updated as more results are posted.
Softball
Pace 11, Ashford (Alabama) 0: It's another shutout for the Patriots, who haven't allowed a run since their season-opening game on Feb. 20.
Pace won the game in five innings. It scored twice in the first inning, then plated three runs in the third. Runs in the third and fourth innings kept the Patriots rolling before securing the run-rule in the fifth with four more runs.
Pace's offense was red-hot on Friday. The Patriots recorded three home runs in the game. Jayden Heavener went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run, adding three RBIs and a run. Abigail McLean, with a solo home run, went 2-for-2, with an RBI and a run. Britten Kettler had a grand slam as her lone hit in the game, recording four RBIs and a run.
Shelby McKenzie went 2-for-3 with a double, adding three runs. Juliana Henderson, Grayson Cox, Emma Hicks, Tatum Hasting, Lana Gonzales and Kaylee Hicks all had hits as well. Cox, Hasting and Hicks (2) all scored, while Gonzales and Mallory Baker tacked on RBIs.
Pace's pitching duo of McLean and Baker allowed just one hit in the game. Baker, who earned the win, struck out 10 batters in four innings, allowing one hit. McLean, in relief, struck out all three batters she faced on 13 pitches.
Pace (4-0) has a double-header on Saturday, with games against South Walton (11 a.m.) and Wicksburg (Alabama) (3 p.m.).
Liberty County 6, Northview 1: The Chiefs scored first, but couldn't hold on defensively as the Bulldogs came out on top.
Northview went up 1-0 in the first inning before Liberty County tied the game in the bottom of the third. Then the Bulldogs had a five-run fifth inning, and claimed victory.
Individual stats for Northview were not provided.
The Chiefs (1-4) go against Altha at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Arnold 16, Escambia 1: The Marlins won by way of mercy rule in just four innings.
Arnold scored early and fast with six runs in both the first and second innings. While the Gators erased the shutout with a run in the top of the fourth, Arnold added another four runs in the bottom of the inning for the run-rule win.
Escambia stats were not available.
The Gators (2-1) play against Mary G. Montgomery (Alabama) at 9 a.m. and Marianna at 3 p.m., both on Saturday.
South Walton 11, Jay 7: The Royals fell to South Walton at the Florida-USA Softball Challenge.
Inning-by-inning scores were not provided. No individual stats were available.
Jay (1-3) plays against Altha at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Vanguard 11, West Florida 7: A late explosion of offense put the Knights on top over the Jaguars.
Vanguard struck first in the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead, before West Florida tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. Vanguard again took the lead with a three-run fifth inning.
The Jaguars responded with a run, but couldn't quite match the seven-run seventh inning from the Knights. West Florida attempted a rally, but could only get three runs and Vanguard held on.
Individual stats for West Florida were not provided.
The Jaguars (3-4) have a double-header on Saturday with games against Daphne (Alabama) at 11 a.m., and Lincoln at 3 p.m.
Boys lacrosse
Gulf Breeze 9, Episcopal (Jacksonville) 6: The Dolphins are now winners of back-to-back games.
Quarter-by-quarter scores were not provided. Individual stats were not available.
Gulf Breeze (6-1) travels to St. Augustine on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start.
West Florida 18, Booker T. Washington 5: The Jaguars continue to ride the wave of success, returning to a winning record and now on a four-game win streak.
Quarter-by-quarter scores were not posted.
For Booker T., Luke Turner and Hunter Knowles led the team with two goals apiece. Brayton Mager added a goal.
In net, Camden Miller made 10 saves.
Stats for West Florida were not reported.
The Wildcats (2-2) travel to Pensacola for a 6 p.m. game on Tuesday. West Florida (4-3) goes to UMS-Wright Prep (Alabama) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Girls lacrosse
Niceville 16, Tate 0: The Aggies were shut out on the road at Niceville.
The Eagles went up 10-0 going into halftime, before coasting to a 16-0 final score.
Individual stats were not reported.
Tate (2-4) travels to Fort Walton Beach for a 6 p.m. game on Tuesday.
Wrestling
Individual State Tournament (boys): Four of the five Santa Rosa County boys wrestlers remain alive, still with a chance to podium in their weight class.
Garrett Ferguson (Gulf Breeze), at 106 pounds, initially fell on Friday in a 6-0 decision against Matthew Schuler. In his first wrestle-back matchup, Ferguson won a 6-1 decision against Connor Barnes, before another decision win (3-0) over Gary Mendez. Starting on Saturday, Ferguson will go against Gavin Fisher in a win-or-go-home scenario.
At 113 pounds, Gavon Samons (Gulf Breeze), is also in the wrestle-backs. Samons won his first bout of the day on Friday with an 8-7 decision over Erick Vargas. However, in the semifinals, he fell to Malachi Ortiz in a major decision (10-2). Samons will enter the wrestle-backs on Saturday against Pedro Sifuentes for a chance at the third-place bout.
In the 126-pound weight class, Coby Shields (Gulf Breeze) also won his first match on Friday with a pin over Yaisel O'farrill at 4 minutes, 15 seconds. However, in the semifinals, Shields lost an 11-4 decision to Rylan Herrera. With a trip to the third-place fight on the line, Shields go go against Reid Yakes to start Saturday.
At 190 pounds, Pace's Isaac Waters was already in the wrestle-backs entering Friday. He started his day with a win by fall just 31 seconds into the fight against Landon Daugherty. He stayed alive with another pin at 2:18 against Brody Switzer. Waters will go against Dastan Chiketaev – the same wrestler that sent Waters to the wrestle-backs on Friday – for a chance at the third-place match to start Saturday.
Gulf Breeze's Michael Mancuso, wrestling in the 144-pound weight class, saw his tournament end on Friday. In his lone bout in the wrestle-backs, Mancuso lost a 5-1 decision to Mason Basile.
Individual State Tournament (girls): Two area girls wrestlers will be fighting for a state crown on Saturday.
Camdyn Elliot (Gulf Breeze), in the 100-pound weight class and undefeated in on the season, won both of her Friday matchups to advance to the championship round. She started friday with a 13-2 major decision win over Sophie Booe, before pinning Mia Parker at 1:36 in the semifinals. Elliot will battle against Joslyn Johnson of Flagler Palm Coast for the 100-pound title.
Pace's Lahela Turnquist, in the 125-pound weight class, will also be in the championship bout on Saturday. She pinned Blanca Cespedes at 1:08 on Friday, before picking up a major decision win (13-2) against Kaitelynn Oliver in the semifinals. Turnquist will also face a Flagler Palm Coast wrestler, going against Christina Borgmann in the title matchup.
Kiiaana Gavere (Pace), in the 140-pound weight class, also remains alive and is in the wrestle-backs. Starting Friday, Gavere lost by fall to Kristy More at 1:05, but immediately started fighting back. Gavere won a 4-3 tiebreaker against Delaney Graves before taking a 9-2 decision over Genesis Turrubiartez. Now, Gavere will go against Oluwafikay Aroyewun for a chance to advance to the third-place match on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace softball beats Ashford, surrendering just one hit in victory
