Florala gains baseball victory behind no-hitter at Red Level
Published 11:00 am Friday, March 1, 2024
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Florala fired on all cylinders and used timely hitting coupled with a strong pitching performance for a 9-0 win at Red Level in varsity baseball action on Thursday, Feb. 29.
The Wildcats moved to 2-0 on the season, while the Tigers fell to 1-2 for the year.
Following a double play, Cody Walsh doubled with two outs in the opening inning and scored on an RBI triple by Dalton Jackson. Easton Walsh then picked up two strikeouts in the bottom half and left the score 1-0 after one.
Red Level turned another double play in the top of the second. Kaden Cantrell then walked and stole second. Rayshon Coleman followed with an RBI single up the middle and doubled the lead. E. Walsh struck out the side in the home half and left the score 2-0 after two innings.
C. Walsh doubled to left and advanced to third but was stranded there when Connor Blackwell earned a strikeout. E. Walsh continued to bring the heat and recorded three more strikeouts as the score stayed 2-0 with three innings completed.
Blackwell picked up two quick outs in the top of the fourth before a single by Cantrell. The Wildcats were held scoreless again when Blackwell tallied another strikeout. Buddy Griffin walked with two outs in the bottom of the fourth and became the first base runner for the Tigers. Griffin was thrown out by C. Walsh attempting to steal second and ended the fourth at 2-0.
Florala gained some breathing room with a four-spot in its half of the fifth. E. Walsh led off with a triple and scored on an RBI single from Noah Bryan. After Bryan moved up to second on a passed ball, C. Walsh slashed an RBI single into left for a 4-0 lead. Jackson followed with an RBI double and scored C. Walsh. Griffin then took over on the mound and earned back-to-back strikeouts. A pitch hit Cantrell with the bases loaded and sent Jackson to the plate for a 6-0 lead. E. Walsh struck out two more Red Level batters and preserved the 6-0 margin at the end of five innings.
The bats continued to stay hot for the Wildcats in their half of the sixth. E. Walsh and Bryan opened with back-to-back singles. Following a flyout, Jackson brought home E. Walsh with the seventh run. Jacob Laura cashed in a two-run single and took the score to 9-0 when Bryan and Jackson scored. The Tigers were unable to solve E. Walsh and struck out three more times in the bottom of the frame.
Griffin tallied consecutive strikeouts in the top of the seventh. E. Walsh and Preston Truman began a two-out rally with singles, but Griffin recorded a groundout and ended the rally. E. Walsh finished with a flourish and struck out the side again for the final margin.
Florala recorded a total of 16 hits in the game. E. Walsh was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while C. Walsh also went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and had an RBI. Jackson finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Bryan and Laura were each 2-for-4. E. Walsh earned the complete game no-hitter win and tallied 18 strikeouts with just one walk.
Griffin was the lone base runner for Red Level and threw the final three innings. Blackwell pitched the first four innings.
Both teams are back in action next week. The Wildcats travel to Brantley on Monday, March 4. The Tigers host Pleasant Home on Thursday, March 7.