The Niceville Eagles will be taking part in a tournament against the Wakulla War Eagles at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Niceville is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last five games.
Niceville is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Choctawhatchee with a sharp 15-4 win on Wednesday. With that victory, the Eagles brought their scoring average up to 7.2 runs per game.
Natalie Miller made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (four). She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Quinn Graham, who went 3-for-5 with four runs, two stolen bases, and three RBI. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Krissa Troutman, who went 1-for-3 with three runs, two RBI, and one double.
Niceville kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Choctawhatchee only managed eight.
Meanwhile, Wakulla didn't have quite enough to beat North Bay Haven Academy on Wednesday and fell 4-3. The loss was the War Eagles' first of the season.
Parker Stubbs was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That home run marked the first that she has launched this season.
Having lost for the first time this season, Wakulla fell to 3-1. As for Niceville, their record is now 5-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Niceville has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Wakulla struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Niceville came up short against Wakulla when the teams last played back in March of 2022, falling 7-4. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
