Walton had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.5 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They had just enough and edged the Crestview Bulldogs out 6-5. That's more bragging rights for Walton, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.
The team relied heavily on Steele Marshall, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and a double. Another player making a difference was David Pickard, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
On Crestview's side, they got a good showing from Hayden Graham, who struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits. Graham has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Cooper Cantrell was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with an RBI.
Walton is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-9 record this season. As for Crestview, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 9-9.
Walton will look to defend their home field on Friday against Bay at 6:30 p.m. Crestview will take on Fort Walton Beach at 5:00 p.m. in Monday's first game. Crestview's pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so Fort Walton Beach's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
