Prep Roundup 2/24: Watson K's 17 in win over Baker

Staff reports

One by one Baker batters were turned away and sent back to the dugout in disgust on Monday, as South Walton pitcher Shelby Watson struck out 17 in a 4-1 win over the Gators.

"Shelby did a great job of locating her pitches and changing her speeds," South Walton coach Phil Tisa said. "She really kept their hitters off balance."

Watson allowed just one unearned run as the Seahawks' four-run second inning proved to be more than enough offense for the junior pitcher.

MacKenzie Watson went 2-for-4 at the plate with one run scored for South Walton (3-1), which returns to action today at Chipley.

Baker  000 001 135

SW      040 000 451

WP: Shelby Watson

LP: Lauren Griffith

Softball

l Rutherford 8, Walton 7; 8 innings: A back and forth battle ended with Rutherford scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 8-7 win over Walton.

Devin Richardson took the loss for Walton (2-1), who grabbed a 7-5 lead entering the bottom half of the eighth.

Layla Roberts, Chelsea Hurley and Emily Coutcher each finished the night with two hits apiece for the Braves. Walton hosts Laurel Hill Friday.

Walton           110 001 22  796

Rutherford    103 010  03  872

WP: Mathes

LP: Devin Richardson

l Bethlehem 6, Laurel Hill 3: Six errors proved to be too much for the Hoboes to overcome as Bethlehem handed Laurel Hill an opening night loss.

Katie Free allowed 10 hits and struck out five over seven innings pitched. Sabrina Dickinson went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Brittany Baggett collected a pair of hits and two RBIs.

Bethlehem     200 211 0   6 10 1

Laurel Hill      001 000 2   3   9 6

WP: Whitley Albury

LP: Katie Free

Baseball

l Central 6, Baker 5: A four-run first wasn't enough as Baker (1-2) saw an early lead dissipate in a loss to Central. Preston Nixon went 2-for-3 at the plate while Ryan Wickery finished the night 2-for-4 in the loss.

Central    040 002 0 674

Baker      401 000 0 572

WP: Ham

LP: Will Locke

l South Walton 6, Rocky Bayou Christian 3: Jared Bump struck out eight and yielded just two runs as South Walton (1-1) evened its record with a win over Rocky Bayou Christian (0-2). Jake Hawkins led the Seahawks with two hits and a pair of RBIs while both Justin Moore and Bennie Spencer finished the night with two hits apiece.

Brian Redmon finished with a double and three RBIs for the Knights.

South Walton next travels to Bozeman on Wednesday while Rocky Bayou visits Laurel Hill tonight.

SW        010 140 0 681

RBCS    000 201 0 342

WP: Jared Bump

LP: Brian Redmon

l Navarre 5, Shaw 1: Matt Brewer's 3-for-4 day at the plate featured a pair of doubles and four RBI as the Raiders picked up a win over Shaw.

B.G. Shaw registered the win, tossing six innings of six-hit ball and striking out five. Shaw allowed just one earned run.

Adam Hamilton went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI.

Shaw     001 000 0  1  6  0

Navarre 300 101 x  5 10  0

WP-BG Hill

LP-Castille