Title winners: 7 Tallahassee area baseball, softball programs win district titles

It's time to raise some hardware.

District champions for both baseball and softball were decided Thursday night, with seven Big Bend area programs lifting district titles.

Here is the breakdown of all the games!

1A District 5 baseball: Madison County 3, Liberty County 1

Hardware is coming back to Boot Hill as Madison County wins the Class 1A District 5 title.

Beating Liberty County 3-1 on the road, the Cowboys have won six of the last eight games heading into the regional tournament. A two-RBI night for Jake Murphy helped the Cowboys get run support for pitcher Mason Plain, who went six innings on the mound striking out five and allowing one earned run.

Sitting at 15-9, Madison County could receive a high seed in the regional tournament, and Boot Hill will be the venue for the opening round of play.

1A District 5 softball: Aucilla Christian 6, Madison County 5

Aucilla Christian won a thriller in the Class 1A District 5 title game, beating Madison County 6-5 to win a second straight district championship.

Leading the Cowgirls 6-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh, Aucilla Christian pitcher Emma Vickers got the game-ending strikeout as Madison County had the tying run at third base. Vickers struck out 15 batters, allowing six hits and three walks in the district title game.

Aucilla Christian automatically qualifies for the 1A Region 1 tournament, and Madison County will await its fate this weekend, with the Cowgirls likely having a good chance at an at-large bid.

2A District 1 baseball: North Florida Christian 15, St. John Paul II 0

Three in a row for the Eagles.

North Florida Christian baseball run-ruled St. John Paul II to claim its third straight Class 2A District 1 championship. The bats were hot for the Eagles, with Ashton Gainer, Stone Russo and Noah Miller all hitting home runs.

Gainer added three RBI and Russo led the team with four RBI. Pitcher Garret Workman threw three innings, striking out four and allowing two hits.

NFC awaits its seeding and opponent in the 2A regional tournament, but it will host its opening round game on Wednesday, May 8.

2A District 1 softball: St. John Paul II 4, North Florida Christian 3

History.

That’s what St. John Paul II’s softball team made on Thursday by winning the 2A District 1 championship.

The Panthers (16-5) defeated the North Florida Christian Eagles (8-14) 4-3 to earn the program’s first district trophy. To head coach Terrence Brown’s knowledge, it was also JPII’s first-ever appearance in the game.

A stalemate for most of the matchup, JPII took a 4-2 lead on an RBI by Amanda Thompson at the bottom of the sixth inning and never relinquished it.

JPII outhit NFC 6-5 in Thursday’s contest.

“I am super excited,” a proud Brown said after the game. “To come here for the first time and win this thing says a lot for the group. Very excited for the team, very excited for the girls.”

JPII has enjoyed a groundbreaking season, earning its most single-season wins in program history.

Shortly after being crowned champions, Brown, who got JPII’s head softball coach job last fall, told his team that it exceeded expectations in his first year.

“We had a lot of work to do,” Brown said. “Didn’t know the team. Didn’t know many of the girls. To see where we’ve come from since that time until now, we’ve made tremendous strides.”

Part of JPII’s success can be credited to Thompson, a hybrid pitcher on the mound and slugger at the plate.

The sophomore’s ability was on full display Thursday as she made critical pitches and hits to help her team capture a historic district title for JPII’s softball program.

“It feels really good just to know that I can be a testimony to the Lord’s grace because I wouldn’t be here without him, and he’s writing my name in the books,” Thompson said. “It’s amazing knowing I have coaches who can support and help me through the game. We’re on the field, fighting. And it’s good to know you’re not fighting by yourself.”

The JPII Panthers will look to add to their trophy case.

The 2A Regional Quarterfinals’ first pitch will be on May 8.

“God willing, we’ll win regionals and state to make true history at JPII,” Thompson said.

For now, though, the first-time district champions will enjoy this one.

“We talked about this early in the season,” Brown said.

“Goal one was to have a successful regular season, and goal two was to come to districts and play well. Fortunately, we were able to pull this game out.

“We’re not looking ahead, but glad we get the opportunity to advance and move forward in the state playoff.”

3A District 2 softball: Suwannee 4, Florida High 1

Florida High falls to Suwannee on the road, losing the Class 3A District 2 title game 4-1.

The Bulldogs were led by a strong outing from pitcher Gracie Watley, who struck out 10 batters only allowing two hits.

Junior Emmie Robertson got the Seminoles' only run, hitting a home run in the fifth inning.

4A District 2 baseball: Baker County 9, Wakulla 5

Wakulla falls in the Class 4A District 2 title game.

Losing to Baker County 9-5, the War Eagles couldn't overcome a big night from Wildcat junior Mason Smith, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI.

Wakulla will await its regional tournament fate with the FHSAA releasing the tournament brackets this weekend.

4A District 1 softball: Wakulla 8, West Florida 2

For the second straight season, Wakulla has beaten West Florida for a district title.

Hosting the visiting Jaguars, Wakulla softball won the Class 4A District 1 title 8-2, with Mackenzie Marlow's three-run home run helping boost the War Eagles to victory. Pitcher Charley Butler threw a complete game, striking out eight and allowing five hits in seven innings.

The War Eagles will host the opening round of the 4A Region 1 tournament on Wednesday, May 8.

5A District 2 baseball: Lincoln 2, Columbia 0

It was a game a year in the making for Lincoln baseball. After losing last season's Class 5A District 2 title game 9-0 to Columbia, the Trojans faced the Tigers once again, this time winning 2-0 to claim the district title.

Myles Bailey hit a solo home run to open the scoring for the Trojans, and he eventually scored again when Austen Sarvis brought him home in the fifth inning. Nate Dietz struck out four batters in a little over six innings work for Lincoln.

The Trojans will host the 5A Region 1 quarterfinal on Tuesday, May 7.

6A District 2 baseball: Chiles 5, Mosley 1

Corey Pye knew what his Chiles baseball team was capable of this season.

After going 14-12 in Pye's first season as head coach, losing in the district semifinals to Leon on a walk-off home run, the Timberwolves missed out on the regional tournament, but Pye knew the pieces where there. In year two, Chiles flipped the script, going 18-8 and winning the Class 6A District 2 title Thursday night, beating Mosley 5-1.

"Against Leon, we lost on a walk-off home run, so those are always tough ones to swallow right there," Pye said. "But they never let it get out of their head, they came in this year and they knew what it took. It all started for us in the fall."

Facing the toughest schedule in the 6A classification, Chiles has tested itself against some of the South region's best, going 18-8. Pye said when he was building the schedule in the fall he knew it would be a challenge, but he felt the experience would be valuable to the Timberwolves.

"It's always nice to make the schedule, but then when you look at it at the end you're like, 'Oh, this is gonna be kind of tough," Pye said. "Playing those types of teams and caliber of teams prepares us for later on. This year, we knew what we were capable of doing and we started going at it from the get-go."

One of the players who has stepped up for the Timberwolves is senior Will McDonald. After leading the team in batting average his junior year, Mcdonald's senior season got off to a slow start.

"I was trying to hard to hit a home run every at-bat. Mentally I was like 'I gotta hit a home run this year as a senior," McDonald said. "Mentally that's how you try to be, but then recently I thought 'Who cares."

"Let's just hit for the team. So I started trying to get base hits backside and it turns out that's actually been working for me a lot more."

McDonald was red-hot for the Timberwolves in the district tournament, hitting two home runs, one in the semifinals and one against Mosely, and also throwing a one-hit complete-game shutout against Crestview in the district semifinals.

McDonald, a Tallahassee Community College commit, fell just a triple short of the cycle against the Dolphins.

Heading into the regional quarterfinals, McDonald knows this is his last postseason with Chiles before heading to TCC, and he wants to end it with the ultimate prize.

"I'm expected to go to TCC next year, so it's not like a win and this is over. Mentally I'm like 'let's just have fun," McDonald said. "This is my last season and I'd like to end it with a state championship."

Chiles awaits its regional tournament seeding and opponent, it will host its quarterfinal game on Tuesday, May 7.

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 7 Tallahassee area high school baseball, softball teams claim district titles