It was a statement week for Niceville baseball.
The Eagles rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Gulf Breeze 12-6, completing an in-season sweep of the Dolphins and staying unbeaten against district opponents. Then, they traveled to Crestview on Friday night and took care of business with an 8-1 win over the Bulldogs, avenging their first loss of the season.
- “I have a lot of respect for Coach Gillis, his staff, his team,” Niceville Head Coach Justin Bruce said after the Crestview win. “It’s always a good rivalry. It’s always good to come over here and get a win. They got us early in the season. I’m proud of our guys for being able to bounce back.”
Gulf Breeze 6, Niceville 12
The win over Gulf Breeze didn’t come easy. The Dolphins jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Eagles found their footing.
Starting pitcher Aahron Geleta walked Parker Boyd to open the game, and Presley Mosley followed with an RBI double to score Boyd. Rowen Groeneweg doubled home Mosley to make it 2-0, and after the Dolphins loaded the bases, Geleta walked Nate Adams to push the lead to 3-0.
Niceville answered immediately. CJ Bolden singled, Deacon Avery drew a walk, and Remington Crum ripped an RBI double to score both. Michael Bradley then came home on a sacrifice fly from Ryder Hodgkinson to tie the game at 3-3.
The Eagles took the lead for good in the third. Avery singled and scored on an RBI single from Crum to make it 4-3. Hodgkinson followed with an RBI double that scored Bradley, and then Lincoln Broussard launched a two-run home run to blow the game open at 7-3.
- “That’s a senior coming through,” Bruce said of Broussard. “He hadn’t had a lot of chances in the lineup. It was a big hit that freed him up and he got more comfortable at the plate. It’s a senior coming through for the team, and I’m proud of him.”
Gulf Breeze made a push in the fifth. Geleta surrendered two singles and a walk before Massimo Pischetola lined an RBI single to cut the deficit to three. Javier Mercado then singled home Mosley and Pischetola to pull the Dolphins within one at 7-6.
Reliever Sean Britton entered and shut the door, and Niceville’s bats responded. Crum and Thomas Radliff each singled, and Bradley scored on a groundout from Broussard. Ethan Thomas added an RBI single to score Radliff, and Colton Cook drilled an RBI double that brought Thomas home to push the lead to 10-6.
The Eagles tacked on two more in the sixth. Bolden and Avery singled, Hodgkinson drove in Bolden, and Radliff brought Avery home to make it 12-6. Britton then retired the side in order to close out the win.
- “We’ve still got a lot of baseball left,” Bruce said. “There’s still seven games left, a lot can happen. We’ve got a tough schedule the rest of the way out, got a lot of good teams, so we’re going to have to take this day by day.”
Crestview 1, Niceville 8
Two days later, the Eagles made the trip across the Mid-Bay Bridge with revenge on their minds. Crestview had handed Niceville its first loss of the season, a 3-2 Bulldogs win back on Feb. 24, and the Friday night matchup carried playoff implications for both sides. Niceville entered as the No. 3 seed in 5A Region 1, needing wins to keep pace with Chiles and Mosley in the race for the top seed. Crestview came in as the No. 5 seed in 6A Region 1, looking to snap a four-game skid..
The Bulldogs struck first when Nauver Macayo reached on a fielder’s choice and an error on Niceville first baseman Colton Cook allowed Kallen Billings to come around and score to make it 1-0.
The Eagles came alive in the third. Jake Buis singled for Niceville’s first hit of the game, Bolden drew a walk, and Avery delivered an RBI single to tie it at 1-1. Crum was hit by Bulldogs pitcher Zander Keith to load the bases, and Keith then walked Hodgkinson to score Bolden and give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. Broussard was also hit by a pitch, which allowed Avery to score to make it 3-1. Bradley then came home on a wild pitch to push the lead to 4-1.
Avery put the game out of reach in the fourth with a two-run home run that also scored Buis to make it 6-1.
- “Deacon’s the type of kid that if he starts getting hot, our team will be able to start rolling behind him,” Bruce said.
Keith was pulled in the fifth in favor of Tucker Raef, who gave up a single to Hodgkinson. Radliff followed with a single and advanced to third on a series of errors as Hodgkinson scored to make it 7-1. Broussard then singled home Radliff to cap the scoring at 8-1, and the Eagles remained in control the rest of the way.
Up next
Niceville (14-5) hosts South Walton on Tuesday.
Crestview (8-9) hosts Houston Academy (Ala.) in a doubleheader on Monday.
