PANAMA CITY, Fla. — North Bay Haven continued its strong start to the season Wednesday night, March 4, holding off a late rally from Wakulla for a 4-3 victory.
The Lady Buccaneers improved to 4-0 on the year and secured their second win over a team that reached the state semifinals last season.
North Bay Haven built an early lead and relied on sophomore pitcher Addison Mallon to close things out when Wakulla threatened late.
After a scoreless first inning, the Lady Buccaneers struck in the second. With the bases loaded, Nevaeh Tarr delivered a two-RBI single to give North Bay Haven a 2-0 lead.
The advantage grew in the third when McKenzie Goff drove in two more runs with a two-RBI hit to make it 4-0.
Wakulla chipped away in the fourth inning as Brianna Stephens lined an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-1.
The Lady War Eagles pulled within one in the sixth when Parker Stubbs launched a two-run home run, shifting momentum to Wakulla and making it a 4-3 game heading into the final inning.
North Bay Haven coach Butch Bernard said the message in the dugout was to stay composed despite the momentum swing.
“We knew they were going to get their runs because they’re a good team, a good hitting team, a good rallying team,” Bernard said. “But it’s just kind of trust the defense. Even if they tie it up, we still had two, three, four coming at the bottom. So we just kept the confidence.”
Mallon made sure the game never reached that point.
The sophomore pitcher retired the side in the seventh with three consecutive strikeouts to seal the win. She finished with a complete game, striking out 12 while allowing five hits and three runs.
Mallon said the team helped her stay locked in after Wakulla’s home run cut the lead to one.
“I had my team just come up there beside me,” Mallon said. “We made a joke out of it, because it helps us. You can’t go down. You have to get up. So we just made a joke out of it and then we were like, ‘OK, let’s get the next one.’”
Bernard said Mallon’s ability to regroup has been key for the Lady Buccaneers.
“She doesn’t get rattled,” Bernard said. “She gets bothered on a big hit like that one, but she learns to settle down and takes it in stride.”
North Bay Haven also credited a strong offseason mindset for the team’s early-season success against top competition.
“We took practice really seriously,” Mallon said. “We were like, everybody everywhere needs to be 10 out of 10 all the time. And I think it shows out in the games.”
With another win against a high-level opponent, the Lady Buccaneers believe they are capable of competing for more than just a strong start.
“We went all the way to state last year and came up short,” Mallon said. “We need to go to state again and win the whole thing. We saw that we can do it, and now it’s time to show everybody we can do it.”
Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: North Bay Haven softball holds off Wakulla to stay unbeaten
Reporting by Banji Bamidele, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
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