Story by Near Post Sports
Things went cold Monday night. Weather. Fielding. But not the scoreboard.
The Booker T. Washington Wildcats needed eight innings to knock off the Navarre Raiders, 12-8.
Washington’s Christian Pollard picked up the win in relief. Joe Vanselow, Navarre’s third relief pitcher on the night, took the loss on a four-run eighth inning.
The biggest stat was the Raiders’ unseasonably cold fielding. They posted eight errors, many fueling BTW’s run count.
“It seemed like one of those nights we couldn’t do much right,” said Navarre head coach Chris Williams. “It’s unusual. Through six games, we haven’t had a game like this. “It was a hard night to catch it and throw it.”
Navarre scored first, but ended up looking up at a 7-3 deficit after the top of the fourth inning. The Raiders fought back and finished the inning just one back, and then they rallied again in the seventh to force extra innings.
The Raiders’ record stands at 3-4. Washington is now 8-1 on the season, with just an 8-0 loss to Milton.
“Both teams, let’s be honest, kept fighting. We took advantage of some of the mistakes later in the game.,” Wildcat head coach Jason Lavaway said. “It was a survival game, for sure. Those guys that came at us from Navarre’s bullpen are pretty talented guys. We feel very fortunate to walk out of here with a win tonight.”
Despite hanging 12 runs, Washington only collected nine hits. Three of those belonged to Wildcat junior Wes Wise, who broke a six-game batting slump, including the game-winning RBI. “It was pretty bad,” he said, shedding the monkey on his first at-bat with a liner up the middle. “I felt relieved, like normal again. It (batting average) is still pretty low, but … I feel way more confident and relaxed at the plate.”
Korey Betts and John Mahoney lead the Raiders with two hits apiece, but Betts ended up scoring four times because of his two walks as well. The senior lefty is on a tear – batting .857 with six hits and four RBI in seven games. Betts has just a 2.25 ERA with 9-1/3 innings the mound – one save, but no decisions yet.
The Raiders are idle until Thursday when the Escambia Gators (4-3) visit. First pitch is at 7 p.m.
All photos by Stu Camp
