Jon Boddy paced back and forth a few times in the dugout, the head coach of Navarre crossing his arms as he did so. The players leaned on the railing of the fence in front of the dugout, shouting words of encouragement to their teammates on the field, hoping their season wouldn’t run out of breath.
Just another inch or two and the ball is fair and probably good for an extra-base hit. Instead it goes foul, and University of West Florida (UWF) softball player Callan Taylor steps back up to the plate to take another swing at a pitch during a game against Valdosta State two weeks ago.
Eighteen games. That’s all Taylor Sparks played in last season with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. A rash of injuries, including a broken wrist, derailed his opportunity to showcase his talent in his second season with the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.
It’s a perfect spring morning on the track, complete with sunshine and blue skies, and here on this final day of the month there is a feeling of finality.
The Raiders were eliminated from the district softball playoffs by Milton last Tuesday, falling 1-0. The Raiders entered the first round of the district playoff at Niceville as an underdog. They were riding a three-game losing streak and had lost twice during the season to Milton. However, those losses were by two runs and one run and the Raiders were a confident bunch before the first pitch.
This up-and-down regular season came to a difficult close Thursday night for Navarre’s varsity baseball team, and it ended with another trip down the hill, the Raiders unable to come up with an answer for rival Gulf Breeze in a 12-3 road loss.
