Jack Marracco stepped to the plate with one out, a full count and the bases loaded. Just minutes earlier, it appeared Escambia was on the road to a stunning upset.
- But to understand how it got there, we have to go back to the beginning.
Things couldn’t have started worse for Choctaw. Trevor Camden opened the game by giving up singles to Clayton Sanders and Gavin Wansley before Caleb Bates launched a three-run home run to put the Gators up 3-0.
The score held until the fifth, when Choctaw’s offense came alive. After Isaiah Rohn and John Brown were retired, Maddox Gentry doubled and Blake Peters drew a walk. Carter Marracco followed with a single that scored Gentry and Peters. Jack Marracco then doubled, and Seth Young singled to bring both Marracco brothers home, giving the Indians their first lead of the night at 4-3.
Escambia tied it in the sixth when JR Riley scored on a wild pitch from Camden to knot the game at 4.
Choctaw responded immediately. Jordan Figueroa doubled, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly from Rohn to put the Indians back in front.
- Gentry relieved Camden in the seventh. Escambia answered when Sanders doubled, Wansley singled and Tyler Wilson hit a fielder’s choice that scored Sanders. The Indians couldn’t respond in regulation, sending the game to extra innings.
The Gators struck first in the ninth.
Rohn, who relieved Gentry, hit Sanders with a pitch, walked Wansley and gave up a single to Bates that scored Sanders to put Escambia back in front 6-5. Parker Powell came on in relief and recorded two outs to stop the bleeding.
Choctaw responded once again. Carter Marracco doubled, advanced to third on a sacrifice groundout from Jack Marracco, and scored on a fielder’s choice from Figueroa after Young and Camden both walked. The game remained tied at 6 heading into the 10th.
Brown was brought in to relieve Powell but was pulled in favor of Garrett Meggs after three straight walks. Meggs gave up a single to Chase Burson that scored Riley, and another run scored on a Figueroa error to put Escambia up 8-6.
It seemed the Gators had a shocking district championship win locked up.
They hadn’t.
The Indians’ offense had a little more gas in the tank. Brown and Gentry singled, Peters reached on an error, and Carter Marracco lined out. Jack Marracco worked a full count, and then came the play of the game.
Marracco laced a double that scored Brown, Gentry and Peters to walk it off, handing Choctaw a 9-8 win and its third victory over Escambia this season.
- “We had multiple chances we could’ve laid down, but we didn’t,” Choctaw head coach David Weber said. “That shows their toughness. They could’ve laid down, but they didn’t.”
With the district title and the No. 1 seed secured, the road to Fort Myers now runs through the Andy Snaith Baseball Complex. The Indians will have to wait until Monday when the brackets are released to learn their first-round opponent.
“Home field advantage is a testament to the guys. They earned it,” Weber said. “Now, we’ve got to rest this weekend. We’ve got some guys banged up. We’ve got to wait to see who we play. We’ve got to enjoy the weekend and enjoy the championship.”
Despite the loss, Escambia played their hearts out and was commended by Weber in a postgame speech to both teams. Choctaw fans still in attendance applauded the Gators as they walked off the field.
