By Clint Cox
Three Jackson County teams participated in this past week’s Dixie Youth Ozone State Tournament at the MERE Complex. Marianna, Malone and Grand Ridge all took the field on opening day to represent our county.
The Marianna All Stars served as the host team found the going tough in their two outings. In their first game they squared off against the West Seminole National All Stars. It was a close ball game for 2 ½ innings as West Seminole took an early 1-0 lead. But in the bottom of the third inning the Nationals got hot and plated 6 runs to make it a 7-0 ball game. Marianna countered with a run in the third inning as Austin Nelson drew a walk and then advanced to second on a bunt by Jared Hendrix. After making it to third base Nelson scored when Austin Torbett grounded out to third base. West Seminole came right back though with 3 runs in the fourth and 1 run in the fifth to make it 11-1. Hunter Eddins of Marianna supplied some firepower in the fifth inning as he stroked a home run to make it an 11-2 game. West Seminole added two more runs in the sixth to make the final 13-2.
Malone opened the tournament with a contest against Wewahitchka and gave up two costly home runs in an 11-6 loss. Those two home runs accounted for 7 of the 11 runs by Wewahitchka. Malone held an early 2-1 lead but fell behind 8-2 in the third inning. Harrison Floyd stroked an RBI single and Antwain, better known as TaTa, Johnson hit a 3 run homer to make it an 8-6 game. But Wewahitchka responded with another home run to seal the victory.
Grand Ridge took on Sebring on the opening day and saw the Sebring Streaks get hot in a 12-4 win. Sebring took an early 5-1 lead but Grand Ridge battled back to make it a 6-4 game. Cade Hall’s 3 run home run sparked the Grand Ridge rally. But Sebring pulled away with 6 more runs to take the win.
Day two of the tournament pitted Marianna against Malone in an all Jackson County tilt. Malone sent Jackson Reddish to the mound and he was nearly perfect, throwing a shutout and striking out 9 Marianna batters. Marianna only managed four hits on the day as Reddish faced just two batters above the minimum through five innings. Malone plated two runs in the first innings as Johnson and Zane Whitaker scored. Floyd had an RBI single to score Whitaker. It remained a 2-0 game until the fourth inning when Floyd and Dakota Shaw singled. Floyd scored on a grounder to first and then Johnson smashed a 3 run home run to make it 6-0. Malone got one more run in the sixth inning when Tyler Henry scored on another RBI single by Floyd. Marianna’s four hits came from Eddins, B.T. Johnson, Jeremiah Emanual, and Trent Charles. With the loss Marianna was eliminated from the tournament.
Grand Ridge bounced back on Sunday with a 5-4 win over West Volusia American. Dustin Sneads was the winning pitcher as he went the distance, striking out 5 batters and allowing 7 hits. Hall had another big day as he stroked two 2 run homers to account for four of the runs. Ryan Danford stole home to account for the other run for Grand Ridge.
That set up another Jackson County matchup on day three (Monday) as Grand Ridge and Malone hooked up one more time. They had played each other three times in the district tournament and Malone had taken two of the three games. The fourth contest however was all Grand Ridge as their Chris Green kept Malone in check for most of the game. Meanwhile the Grand Ridge offense brought their war clubs and pounded out 11 runs to post an 11-1 victory in four innings. Grand Ridge took an early 3-0 on a big 3 run home run by AJ Johnson. Malone countered with a run in the first when Antwain Johnson singled and then scored on a RBI single by Henry. Grand Ridge racked up three more runs in the second inning with singles by Sneads and Rudy Campbell. They added four more runs in the third inning, three of which came on a 3 run homer by Green. Their final run of game came on a solo home run by Hall, his fourth home run of the tournament, to make it 11-1. With the loss Malone was eliminated from the tournament. Grand Ridge found themselves as one of six remaining teams on day four of the tournament. But they also found the going rough in their outing on Tuesday against Liberty County as they fell 10-0 to conclude their tournament play.
Three Jackson County teams participated in this past week’s Dixie Youth Ozone State Tournament at the MERE Complex. Marianna, Malone and Grand Ridge all took the field on opening day to represent our county.
The Marianna All Stars served as the host team found the going tough in their two outings. In their first game they squared off against the West Seminole National All Stars. It was a close ball game for 2 ½ innings as West Seminole took an early 1-0 lead. But in the bottom of the third inning the Nationals got hot and plated 6 runs to make it a 7-0 ball game. Marianna countered with a run in the third inning as Austin Nelson drew a walk and then advanced to second on a bunt by Jared Hendrix. After making it to third base Nelson scored when Austin Torbett grounded out to third base. West Seminole came right back though with 3 runs in the fourth and 1 run in the fifth to make it 11-1. Hunter Eddins of Marianna supplied some firepower in the fifth inning as he stroked a home run to make it an 11-2 game. West Seminole added two more runs in the sixth to make the final 13-2.
Malone opened the tournament with a contest against Wewahitchka and gave up two costly home runs in an 11-6 loss. Those two home runs accounted for 7 of the 11 runs by Wewahitchka. Malone held an early 2-1 lead but fell behind 8-2 in the third inning. Harrison Floyd stroked an RBI single and Antwain, better known as TaTa, Johnson hit a 3 run homer to make it an 8-6 game. But Wewahitchka responded with another home run to seal the victory.
Grand Ridge took on Sebring on the opening day and saw the Sebring Streaks get hot in a 12-4 win. Sebring took an early 5-1 lead but Grand Ridge battled back to make it a 6-4 game. Cade Hall’s 3 run home run sparked the Grand Ridge rally. But Sebring pulled away with 6 more runs to take the win.
Day two of the tournament pitted Marianna against Malone in an all Jackson County tilt. Malone sent Jackson Reddish to the mound and he was nearly perfect, throwing a shutout and striking out 9 Marianna batters. Marianna only managed four hits on the day as Reddish faced just two batters above the minimum through five innings. Malone plated two runs in the first innings as Johnson and Zane Whitaker scored. Floyd had an RBI single to score Whitaker. It remained a 2-0 game until the fourth inning when Floyd and Dakota Shaw singled. Floyd scored on a grounder to first and then Johnson smashed a 3 run home run to make it 6-0. Malone got one more run in the sixth inning when Tyler Henry scored on another RBI single by Floyd. Marianna’s four hits came from Eddins, B.T. Johnson, Jeremiah Emanual, and Trent Charles. With the loss Marianna was eliminated from the tournament.
Grand Ridge bounced back on Sunday with a 5-4 win over West Volusia American. Dustin Sneads was the winning pitcher as he went the distance, striking out 5 batters and allowing 7 hits. Hall had another big day as he stroked two 2 run homers to account for four of the runs. Ryan Danford stole home to account for the other run for Grand Ridge.
That set up another Jackson County matchup on day three (Monday) as Grand Ridge and Malone hooked up one more time. They had played each other three times in the district tournament and Malone had taken two of the three games. The fourth contest however was all Grand Ridge as their Chris Green kept Malone in check for most of the game. Meanwhile the Grand Ridge offense brought their war clubs and pounded out 11 runs to post an 11-1 victory in four innings. Grand Ridge took an early 3-0 on a big 3 run home run by AJ Johnson. Malone countered with a run in the first when Antwain Johnson singled and then scored on a RBI single by Henry. Grand Ridge racked up three more runs in the second inning with singles by Sneads and Rudy Campbell. They added four more runs in the third inning, three of which came on a 3 run homer by Green. Their final run of game came on a solo home run by Hall, his fourth home run of the tournament, to make it 11-1. With the loss Malone was eliminated from the tournament. Grand Ridge found themselves as one of six remaining teams on day four of the tournament. But they also found the going rough in their outing on Tuesday against Liberty County as they fell 10-0 to conclude their tournament play.
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