FORT WALTON BEACH — Carter and Jack Marracco have yet to face each other in live batting practice this year.
Jack, just a sophomore, is the ace of Choctawhatchee’s pitching staff with a 2.70 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and .179 opponent’s batting average against to show for it. Older brother Carter, a junior and familiar name after Choctaw football’s Final 4 run, is the Big Green’s leadoff hitter whose 12 runs, 11 RBIs, five stolen bases and .512/.706/1.218 slash line have set the table for a Choctaw lineup averaging 8.1 runs per game.
So how would they fare against each other?
“We’ve talked about this a few times and I want to face him live,” Carter Marracco said. “Me personally, I think’d take him yard. He thinks he’d strike me out.”
At Choctaw, family runs deeper than most teams. Brotherhood isn’t figurative, but literal with a program that houses four sets of brothers.
There’s the Harrell brothers, Brody a junior left-handed pitcher and Jack a freshman infielder who also takes the mound.
There’s the Powell brothers, two-way players Parker, a senior, and sophomore brother Carter.
Then there’s the skipper himself, David Weber, who has his brother, Choctaw alumnus Dustin Berrong, on staff.
“Having four sets of brothers on the team creates a really cool family dynamic for the group, which already felt like a family,” Weber said. “It’s given us a boost. It’s pretty awesome.”
The boost is apparent amid Choctaw’s 9-4 start, which includes Okaloosa County wins over rural Baker and 5A Crestview and a pair of losses to 5A Niceville, which is 10-5 after last year’s Elite 8 run.
As they say, iron sharpens iron.
“Okaloosa County baseball as a whole is coming back,” said Weber, who praised Baker’s 9-5 start under Preston Nixon. “We beat Crestview the other night, Crestview beats Niceville and Niceville beats us, so there’s a good mix of results. There’s some really good players at several area schools.”
“Both the wins and losses have helped,” added Carter Marracco. “Losing to Niceville helped us get better, but also beating Crestview was big for us. Those games are important in our growth.”‘
Speaking of growth, Weber was hired in 2023 and inherited a program that went 8-17, was outscored 168-110 and didn’t make it out of districts. In two short years, Choctaw transformed into last year’s 18-15 program that swept St. Augustine in the Region 1-4A quarterfinals before pushing Arnold to three games in the Sweet 16. Now the Big Green are on the short list of contenders for a Region 1-4A title.
“I think a lot of credit goes to the kids,” Weber said. “They’re tough, man. They’re really, really tough kids and I think once they get a taste of success, anybody, you know, once anybody gets a taste of success, it obviously makes you a little bit hungry and you start to believe in yourself and realize you can do it. The attitude they bring every day, it makes a huge difference for our group.”
Asked how he would describe his coaching style, Weber said his players would say he’s “chill” most days.
“But I definitely have days where I’m not chill, as well,” laughed Weber, who admits he leans heavily on his assistant coaches, which includes the aforementioned Berrong, Jody Neely, Todd Harrell and coach Ski.
“They’re definitely players’ coaches, but they hold kids accountable,” Weber added. “We talk about just being ourselves and we’ll live with the results. There’s no faking it with this group. They’re all invested. The kids love (our assistants) and they bring out the best in our kids. They can get through to them.”
The proof is in the numbers, the Big Green possessing a lineup that passes the baton to the tune of a .447 collective on-base percentage and a pitching staff with a collective 3.82 ERA.
Leading off is Carter Marracco, the straw that stirs the drink.
“He’s definitely the leader on our team,” Weber said. “He’s the toughest kid you could ever want on your team, and he does things the right way. He’s a great role model for the younger guys to look up to.”
“I like to step up and be a positive force,” Carter Marracco said. “I like to talk to my teammates and make sure they know that when they get down on themselves, it isn’t just affecting them, it’s affecting the whole team. So my job is to make sure we’re not pouting over an error or a mistake, but instead learning from it and moving on.”
“It’s hard to explain it, but he knows what’s coming and he can knock stuff out before it turns into a problem,” added Weber.
Jack Marracco has excelled in the 2-hole, hitting .395 with 10 runs and nine RBIs, followed by Seth Young and his team-leading .417 batting average, 13 RBIs and two home runs. Trevor Camden is hitting .343 with 10 runs and seven RBIs in the cleanup spot ahead of Jordan Figueroa, who after leading the team last year with a .414 batting average is 6-for-13 in his last four games to pad his .306 batting average, 10 runs and seven RBIs. Meanwhile Isaiah Rohn has excelled in the clutch, batting. 500 with runners in scoring position for nine RBIs to go along with seven runs. Paired with John Brown’s 10 runs and eight RBIs and the movement on the base paths from Jack Harrell, Blake Peters and Jacob Mickey (combined 28 runs), the Big Green seem to have a green light running nonstop through the third-base turn.
“I think we’re hitting the ball better than we ever have,” Carter Marracco said. “Our lineup right now is one of the strongest it’s been at Choctaw. We’re all getting on base, we’re all hitting the ball hard. We’re not really a home-run team, but we get on base, we get a rhythm going and we back each other up. Like when one of us draws a walk, the energy and the dugout will go crazy and then it’ll help the next few batters do the same or move the runner over.”
On the mound, Jack Marracco has kept hitters off-balance with a changeup and curveball to offset a fastball that’s steadily risen to the mid-to-high 80s.
“He likes to mix it up and fill up the strike zone,” Weber said. “Most of the time he’s going to make you beat him, so he’s not the type that up there trying to throw 95 and throw it everywhere. He’s more the type that’s trying to locate, spin it, change velocities … and it’s working.”
Maddox Gentry, who ate up 38 innings last year with a 4.42 ERA and 35 Ks, will return soon to the lineup after an offseason hand injury to help fortify a rotation that’s seen closer Rohn post a 2.39 ERA and toss a shutout, and Garrett Meggs (2.47 ERA), Camden (3 ERA) and Brown (4 ERA) eat up useful innings.
“Our pitching staff has been really solid so far, and that’ll be a great boost to get Maddox back soon,” Weber said.
Currently 2-0 on spring break, the Big Green face Mandarin and Bay to conclude the “break” before a home-and-home series with district rival Escambia (11-5) and a home game with 12-3 Freeport.
While everyone would love to see a district championship rematch with Escambia, which beat the Big Green 7-1 last year, for now the live batting practice between the Marracco bros would earn top billing.
“No comment,” Weber said when asked to predict the outcome of that matchup. “They would both find a way to do something elite.”
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Choctawhatchee baseball embracing brotherhood amid 9-4 start
Reporting by Seth Stringer, Northwest Florida Daily News / Northwest Florida Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
