By PATRICK CASEY
Paxton freshman Connor Varnum hit a grand slam to finish off the Central Jaguars on Friday night as the Bobcats baseball team posted a convincing 13-0 shutout of the Santa Rosa County team in just five innings of play to capture the District 1, Class A championship for the 11th consecutive season.
Head Coach Nate Moore saw junior starter Gabe Nelson pitch all five innings while recording six strikeouts. Nelson got out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the first inning then saw his offense put up two runs on the scoreboard. Paxton increased the lead to 6-0 after four innings and plated seven runs in the fifth to end the game.
Andrew Currid and Hunter Allen drove in two runs apiece as the Bobcats won for the second time on Central’s home field after losing in Paxton 13-11 on March 10.
Paxton(13-10) will host Blountstown(23-5) on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in an opening round Class A state playoff contest.
Team Notes: Paxton is 10-14 overall in the state baseball playoffs with a trip to the Final Four in 2014. Paxton is 8-8 at home in the state playoffs and 7-6 in opening round contests. The winner of the Blountstown-Paxton game will face the winner of the Central-Sneads game in the Region 1 Final on Tuesday, May 16.
Copyright 2017 Woodham Family Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.