Region 1-4A: Spikes stymies Indians, Rams roll

FORT WALTON BEACH — The way Rutherford starting pitcher Dakota Spikes was throwing on Tuesday night against Choctawhatchee in the Region 1-4A quarterfinals, he didn’t need a whole lot of help from his offense. He got it anyway.

Spikes used a dazzling three-pitch arsenal to baffle the Indians all night at Campbell Field, striking out eight over seven innings to lead Rutherford to an 8-1 win and a spot in the regional semifinals against Wakulla. The Rams (22-5) touched up three Choctaw pitchers for 10 hits to put the game out of reach.

Right fielder Jesse Pace led the Rams offensively, going 2 for 4 with a run scored and five RBIs, including a three-run home run. Dondrell Harris was the only other Ram to record two hits, while Tyler Bailey finished with a pair of RBIs.

“We’ve got Wakulla one more time,” Rutherford coach Jon Hudson said. “We played a pretty complete game today. Dakota was in control on the mound, we had 10 hits, made no errors.”

Miguel Paulino and Cody Brannen each went 2 for 3 to lead Choctaw (17-10).

After the Indians got a run in the first when Tanner Black tripled and Paulino drove him in with a single, the Indians threatened several times but eventually stranded eight baserunners. A lot of that had to do with Spikes, who commanded a strong fastball, along with a pair of devastating off-speed pitches—a changeup and a curveball.

As Spikes settled into his groove, the Rams’ bats got cooking. Pace took advantage of a misplaced 2-0 offering from Choctaw starter Ben Hambleton in the third, belting it deep over the tall fence in left-center field for a three-run homer and a 3-1 Rutherford lead.

In the fourth, a pair of singles and two talks scored another run and chased Hambleton in favor of Brannen, and Bailey greeted Brannen with a two-run single to make it 6-1.

Pace added to his big night with a missile off the glove of Choctaw third baseman Robert Hartranft in the sixth for a two-run single to close the scoring for Rutherford.