By PATRICK CASEY
Walton assistant softball coach Larry Antonacci told the Lady Braves that were huddled together after a 3-0 win over Panama City Rutherford for the District 1, Class 5A title that ‘Defense wins championships’ and he could not have been more right in a game that saw Walton get only two hits but take advantage of two critical errors by the Rams to post the victory.
The title game took only 75 minutes from start to finish to play as the game was scoreless through the first four innings. Walton’s offense struggled with pop-outs and long fly balls that came to rest in the clutches of Rutherford outfielders while the Rams went down due to strikeouts from Walton sophomore pitcher Hannah Poole and deft glove work from freshman third baseman Macy Danley and junior shortstop Jamie Lamb.
Walton broke through with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as the top-seeded team in the three-team district got a one-out walk from Kelee Mosley to earn just their second base-runner of the night. Sydni Earley then put a ball in play down the third base line that forced Rams third baseman Taylor Stalnaker to rush a throw to first base, the ball shooting into foul territory down the first base line as Mosley scored with Earley making her way to third base. Senior Kiki Bogart then grounded out to pitcher Alexis Connaster with Earley racing home for the second run of the inning just in front of the tag attempt by Rams catcher Micah Pledger.
The Braves added a run in the sixth inning as Jamie Lamb doubled to start the inning, swiped third base on a steal and scored when Rutherford threw the ball wide of third base, allowing Lamb to scamper home for a 3-0 lead.
Poole got out of trouble in the seventh inning as Pledger led off with a double that was followed by another double from Taylor Todd. Pledger was only able to advance to third base on Todd’s hit and remained there two batters later as Poole struck out Emily Ernst and Connaster. Gabby Novak put the ball in play moments later but Kiki Bogart scooped up the grounder and stepped on the first base bag for the final out as the Lady Braves earned their second district championship in as many seasons.
Poole pitched all seven innings and struck out eight batters while allowing four hits with one walk. The Braves only two hits in the contest were a double by Poole in the fourth and Lamb’s double in the seventh.
The Rams got a pair of singles in the sixth and two doubles in the seventh but stranded five base-runners in the contest as they were shutout for the fourth time in the 2016 season.
Rutherford(10-15) will travel to face District 2 champion Tallahassee Godby(18-8) on Wednesday while Walton(17-2) will host Marianna(20-7).at 6 p.m. in the opening round of the Class 5A state playoffs.
Team Notes: After recording 260 strikeouts in 26 games as a freshman, Poole has posted 228 strikeouts in 19 games as a sophomore. Walton has outscored the last six opponents they have faced 50-9. Walton is making their fifth fast-pitch softball playoff appearance. The Braves are 2-4 in the playoffs with both victories coming last season with wins over Tallahassee Godby and West Florida before losing to West Nassau. West Nassau did not make the playoffs this season. Walton is 0-2 against Marianna in the playoffs. The Braves lost to the Bulldogs 10-2 in 2006 and 6-1 in 2007 with both games played in Marianna. A Walton victory over the Bulldogs coupled with a win by Godby over Rutherford would send the Braves to Tallahassee for a second round contest on Tuesday, April 26.