Tigers Advance To Regional Finals

By Clint Cox The Malone Tigers baseball squad has earned the right to play in the Class A Regional 1 Finals this weekend after downing the Paxton Bobcats 4-0 last Friday night. Paxton had advance to the Semi-Finals with a 15-0 win over Graceville in the Quarter Finals to improve to 17-3 on the season. Malone countered with a 4-3 win over Laurel Hill to make it to the Semi-Finals. Left handed hurler Derek Orshall took the mound for Malone and grabbed the reins from the start to pitch a shutout. Orshall allowed just three hits on the evening and struck out nine Bobcats along the way. Offensively Malone got a run in the third inning when Blake Henson scored on a RBI double by Jeffrey Pittman. Orshall then helped his own cause with an RBI double to score Pittman. The fourth inning brought the final two runs as Kevin Warren’s RBI single scored Derek Welch and Dayvon Larry scored on a sacrifice fly by Henson. In the Region 1 Finals the Tigers will attempt to knock off Eagles View in Jacksonville. The task will not be easy as Eagles View has claimed three out of the four last State Championships (2005, 2007 and 2008). The two squads will hook up in a new format started last year. They’ll play a best two out of three series starting with a double header on Friday. A third game, if necessary, would take place on Saturday. Malone enters the Regional Finals with a record of 17-4. Malone Head Coach Max Harkrider knows his squad is facing an uphill battle against the mighty Warriors. "We’re going to go over there and try to shock the world. Noboby’s giving us much of a chance to win but we are going to give it 100% and get after them," said Harkrider. Malone will travel to Jacksonville on Thursday and Harkrider likes how his squad has been playing as of late. "We have gelled at the right time of the year so we’re playing well right now. It’s been fun to watch the team come together and we’re going to give it our best shot," Hardrider commented. The Warriors have several Division One college prospects, including catcher Austin Maddox. They also play in a hot bed of high school baseball, as Jacksonville is the home to last year’s FHSAA State Champions in Class 1A, 2A and 4A.