Graceville JV Squad Takes Double Header From Marianna

On Monday afternoon Graceville’s Junior Varsity baseball squad came to Marianna on a mission. Their mission was to sweep a double header from the Marianna Bulldogs and go back to Graceville with a prouder pace while enjoying the sweet taste of victory. They accomplished their mission.
The first game began with Marianna taking a two run lead in the bottom of the first inning, with starter Laramie Dryden on the mound. Graceville came back with one run in the top of the second inning to make the score 2-1 until the fifth. Things remained in good shape for Marianna until the top of the fifth inning when Graceville came to life and began to trounce Shane Blanton who had been sent in to pitch by Marianna Coach Andy Shelton. When the dust had settled in the fifth, five more runs had crossed the plate, and Graceville was enjoying a 6-2 lead. That is the way the contest ended with Justin Miles the winning pitcher for Graceville and Shane Blanton the losing pitcher for Marianna.
With a sudden breeze beginning to cool the sweltering crowd as thunderstorms roved nearby, the second game began. The first inning started off as a slugfest and scoring merry-go-round as both teams scored seven runs in the first. Ryan Riley was the starting pitcher for Marianna, but the Graceville bats came to life and boomed five hits resulting in seven runs before the Marianna squad could muster three outs. However, the fears of an impending rout was soon resolved as the starting pitcher for Graceville also encountered first inning woes. A series of walks, errors, and hit batsmen resulted in Marianna also scoring seven runs before three outs were accumulated. The first inning ended 7-7.
The next three innings were scoreless as both teams settled down and began to play at a respectful level. Then came the fifth inning…..
Coach Andy Shelton of Marianna decided to put Kadd Golden in as the "closer" for Marianna. After striking out the first batter and getting the second batter to hit a ground ball to the third baseman for an out…a wheel fell off. The next batter singled, then a walk followed by an error on a throw to first by the Marianna shortstop resulted in two runs being scored by Graceville. This was followed by a three up-three down at bat by Marianna, and Graceville had won the second game 9-7. Chris Willis was the winning pitcher for Graceville and Kadd Golden was the losing pitcher for Marianna.