The Escambia Gators will venture away from home to take on the West Florida Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
While Gators fans will have to keep waiting for their team to come home, they shouldn't be too worried about the road trip considering the result of Wednesday's season opener. They skirted past Fort Walton Beach 13-11. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Gators have posted since March 20, 2024.
Christian Stone and Colin Hanks were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Stone tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Hanks pitched 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. At the plate, Stone scored two runs while going 2-for-4, while Hanks scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Clayton Sanders was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4. What's more, he also racked up four hits, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. Marcus Days was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Escambia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .471. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Fort Walton Beach only posted a batting average of .281.
Meanwhile, West Florida gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Booker T. Washington as West Florida made off with a 10-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Jaguars in their matchups with the Wildcats: they've now won six in a row.
Hayden Huntsinger made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Huntsinger was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double.
In other pitching news, Grayson Phillips looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in hits (zero).
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on John Hatch, who scored three runs while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Keelan Boyd, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Escambia couldn't quite finish off West Florida in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 3-1. Can Escambia avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
