By PATRICK CASEY
The South Walton Seahawks recorded wins in both softball and baseball on April 5 as both squads claimed district victories in a pair of home games.
The South Walton baseball team recorded a 6-3 decision as Johnny Harrison cleared the bases with a double in the bottom of the first inning to rally the squad from an early 2-0 deficit to take the lead. The Seahawks scored five runs in the first inning as Harrison later scored on a teammate’s single to give the home team all the runs they would need for pitchers Jordan Henke and Alex Astin.
Astin relieved Henke early in the game and was able to keep Bozeman off the scoreboard for most of the rest of the game. Astin allowed six hits while striking out six batters in picking up the win while getting out of jams against a good-hitting Bucks squad.
Matt Hall took the loss for Bozeman despite 11 strikeouts against the Seahawks.
Sneads handed the Seahawks a loss on Friday night as the Pirates came to Walton County and delivered a 6-1 loss to the Seahawks.
The South Walton baseball team is 13-7 overall and 8-4 in district play with a non-district contest at home against Walton this week as well as their final district game on the road at Graceville on Friday night.
The softball game saw Bozeman take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning only to see South Walton rally as Megan MacLeod doubled in two teammates after the Seahawks had loaded the bases with three infield singles. Mackenzie Watson was able to steal home to give the Seahawks a 3-2 lead and Sam Snider scored on an RBI single by Allison Stroop to increase the margin to 4-2.
Caitlin Holliday singled in a teammate in the bottom of the second inning as the Seahawks offense pushed the lead to 5-2.
Bozeman’s Nicole Migliori doubled in two runs with two outs in the top of the fifth inning to cut the lead to 5-4. Migliori drove in all fours runs on the night for the Bucks and showed considerable power to all fields in the contest.
Meagan Ellison made the lead hold up as her defense helped her out by recording two outs at home plate the rest of the way. The Bucks loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning only to have freshman Amber Wade strikeout on a 2-2 pitch to end the game.
Brittany Bennefield pitched for the Bucks and had three walks and three strikeouts in the loss.
South Walton avenged an 8-6 loss to the Bucks on March 1 as the two teams split the regular season series.
The Seahawks softball team picked up a win over Graceville 11-1 on Friday night as they swept the season series with the Tigers. South Walton is 11-7 overall and 10-4 in district play. The Seahawks will face off with Freeport in the Walton County Softball Tournament at Walton High on Thursday at 4 p.m.