FORT WALTON BEACH — David Weber and his crew had ample time to stew over Friday night’s 3-2 loss to St. Augustine.
But the Big Green wouldn’t let an error or controversial call by the home-plate ump define their season.
Bouncing back from a 3-2 loss Friday, just their second defeat in the last 18 games, Choctaw left little doubt who the No. 1 seed in the Region 1-4A bracket was with a 9-4, 4-1 doubleheader sweep over the Yellow Jackets to take the best-of-three series and advance to the region finals.
“Honestly, we came in here with the mindset of we’re not going home,” said Choctaw ace Trevor Camden, who fought through soreness to win Saturday’s opener and then proceeded to go 3-for-3 in the nightcap.” I mean, there’s a reason why we got the No. 1 seed. And it’s mainly because of digging down deep, not giving up. I mean, that’s all it is. All we can do is fight and do our best.
“After the loss yesterday, we knew we were the better team. We just didn’t play to our potential and all of us agreed we were gonna come out here and give it all we got. Win, lose or draw, we were gonna give it all we have.”
“Just bounce back, that’s what we do,” echoed Gentry, who delivered the game of his life on the mound in the nightcap. “That’s what our coaches push. Just play our game, don’t let outsiders affect us.”
Injuries, deficits, adversity … psh, just another day for a Big Green team unfazed by every obstacle thrown their way.
“Dude, the pitching was elite. I mean, it really was elite,” Weber said. “And they were ready to play today, they were motivated and they showed up. I told them, if we show up ready to go, we’re gonna have a great chance.”
Following an undeserved, Game-1 loss by Jack Marracco, who allowed just one earned run on a night where a routine grounder turned into two unearned runs and the home plate incorrectly ruled Blake Peters left early from third to erased Seth Young’s sac fly, Camden and Parker Powell held St. Augustine’s bats in check Game 2. Camden struck out six over 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball and Powell stranded the bases loaded in the sixth and got four outs for the save.
“I was a little sore and my arm was hurting a little bit, so I was trusting my catcher and my coach, coach Dustin, and the pitching calls,” Camden said. “It just all worked out for me.”
“I don’t even think Trevor had his best stuff, but he was able to last for us,” Weber said. “And then Powell, Powell was able to get out of the bases-loaded situation. It was huge out for us, and he had several huge outs for us. That pitch he made where he struck the three-hole figure out with the bases juiced was an awesome moment for him.”
In the nightcap, it was Gentry’s name that was called after initial Game 3 starter Isaiah Rohn was pulled with a wrist injury. The same Genry who entered with only two prior pitching appearances this season following a broken hand, the most recent a a high-leverage situation in the district-title win over Escambia.
“We told him, ‘Hey, Maddox, you got this. He’s like, ‘I got us,’ ” Weber said. “Last year, he pitched a ton. We’ve been trying to work him back slowly, you know 30, 40 pitches and build him up. But tonight we needed him and he said, ‘I got y’all.’ ”
Gentry proceeded to strike out seven over a complete-game, three-hit gem where his only run allowed was unearned. His last pitch, his 95th of the night, was popped harmlessly into left field and set off a celebration that validated both his coaches’ trust in him and the team’s depth.
“It was sad what happened to Isaiah and my prayers are with him, but you always have to be ready in situations like that,” Gentry said. “That’s what a good pitcher does.”
Gentry also benefited from some great defense, including an unorthodox 5-6-3 putout to start the seventh inning where Camden didn’t give up on the play. For every defensive web gem, there’s been five hustle plays. Saturday was no different, Choctaw small-balling St. Augustine for the first two runs.
John Brown led off the second inning by beating out a grounder to second, advanced to third on a bunt single up the first base line by Athlete of the Week Blake Peters and scored after catcher left home plate trying to convince his teammates to tag out Peters, who he believed had turned toward second base after beating the throw. Peters had not, and Brown raced home without a play as Peters advanced to second. Jack Harrell then drove Peters home on a single to right field.
“We’re just aggressive and always on our toes,” Gentry said. “That just when we’re taught in practice, and that’s what we do in the playoffs.”
With a little help from the “bench mob,” of course.
“It’s a testament to our team because, I’ll be honest, I didn’t see the catcher leave home plate,” Weber said. “Our guys in the dugout are so locked in. They’re like, ‘Coach, he’s gone, coach, he’s gone, go, go, go, go, go. So Johnny takes off and scores. I mean, the dugout literally helps us win games.”
An inning later, Jordan Figueroa pimped a two-run homer to left to drive in Camden and give Choctaw two insurance runs. From down 1-0 to region finals bound, Choctaw is two wins away from the Final 4.
“We just put in the work, and without our coaches, we would never be here,” Gentry said. “They do great. They came to this program when it was not very good, and they built it up.”
“This is my first year of period at Choctaw, and everyone’s told me that no one’s got this far, no one’s ever had this record in a long time,” Gentry added. “We’re here because this team is special. We all just work together. We’re all brothers.”
Speaking of brothers … “Yeah, man, this is amazing. I mean, it’s special,” Weber said. “It’s a special group. It’s special for me and my family because this is, you know, my brother played here. I played here. It’s an awesome feeling. It’s a goosebumps moment and the awesome thing is, we’re not done yet. We get to keep being together and we get to keep representing the brotherhood of Choctaw.”
Choctaw will host the winner of Clay-Escambia May 9th and 10th for a shot at the Final 4.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Choctaw baseball bounces back, advances to region finals
Reporting by Seth Stringer, Northwest Florida Daily News / Northwest Florida Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
