Liberty County paces Region 1-2A softball survivors

A Liberty County softball team that had to take life one day at a time when one of its players died two weeks ago in a car accident is hoping to take the remainder of the Region 1-2A tournament one game at a time.

The Bulldogs, 24-3, host Port St. Joe at 6 p.m. CDT, the winner advancing to meet Friday’s winner of Holmes County-Sneads for the region title on Tuesday.

That seemed far away recently when freshman outfielder Alexis Patty died in a one-vehicle accident. The Bulldogs, however, have kept things in perspective. In that regard, meeting Port St. Joe for the fourth time this season might not be as big a hurdle as it sounds.

“Last year we faced North Florida Christian in the quarterfinals and we’d beaten them twice,” Coach Jennifer Sewell said. “They beat us, so we’ve kind of learned our lesson.

“I knew we were going to have a pretty good year, we were 20 and 4 last year. But we’re not looking ahead and worrying about how everybody has predicted us.”

Liberty County’s losses were to 6A Sandalwood, 5A Niceville and 3A Florida High, the latter two still alive in their classifications. Though the Bulldogs are young with only three senior starters, they are prolific.

A pair of sophomore pitchers have distinguished themselves. Ashley Sikes is 14-1 with 111 strikeouts and a 1.00 ERA. Kayla Johnson is 10-2 with 79 strikeouts and a 1.01 ERA.

The Bulldogs are just as imposing on offense with nine players batting above .300 and three of them over .500. Sikes leads at .576 with a team-high 30 runs batted in. Carly Sapp hits .543 with 26 RBIs and nine triples and Johnson is at .531. Montana Manley leads the team with four home runs and five players have between 10-15 stolen bases.

Holmes County takes a 21-7 record against a Sneads ballclub it beat 6-5 last week for the district title. The Blue Devils are led by pitcher Sarah Pippin, 15-3, who also hits .405 with 26 RBIs.

Jenna Belser paces the offense with a .523 batting average, four homers and an area-leading 44 RBIs. Ciara Jones is another .500 hitter.

In Region 1-3A, Marianna (21-7) is at Florida High in another game that begins at 6 CDT. The Bulldogs are led by pitcher Hali Stout, 12-3 with 85 strikeouts, and a lineup that is potent top to bottom.

Coach Scott Wiggins said his team likes to stay aggressive on offense, and boasts the weapons to put pressure on opposing defenses. Connor Ward hits .444, Stout .417, Haden Searcy .409, Maya Boykin .408, freshman Regan Oliver .406 and Jennifer Kramer .400.

Sophomore Whitney Lipford is at .393 with 29 RBIs, tied with Casey Griffin for the team lead. Griffin also has three home runs and Lindsey Basford hits .381.

“We don’t straight steal that much, but we hit and run and we can put it in play,” Wiggins said.

Region softball

Semifinal games, by classification, involving Panhandle regions. All games played 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. local time Friday:

• Class 1A — Laurel Hill at Aucilla Christian Academy, Eagle’s View Academy at Oak Hall.
• Class 2A — Sneads at Holmes County, Port St. Joe at Liberty County.
• Class 3A — Marianna at Florida High, Jacksonville Bolles at Baker County.
• Class 4A — Gulf Breeze at Wakulla, Paxon School for Advanced Studies at Bartram Trail
• Class 5A — Navarre at Niceville, Ed White at Columbia.