An injury-plagued Navarre Lady Raiders softball team lost three games during the week. Kassidy Griffin will be lost for the season with a broken hand. Kolette Jones injured her knee in the Tate game and will have a follow-up visit with the doctor this week. Pitcher Allison ‘Cat’ Pettigrew left the team.
Navarre High School fielded their first baseball team in 1999. Since then, the Raiders faced the Pace Patriots on the baseball diamond about 30 times. Countless players, coaches and fans never experienced the thrill of victory over the rivals from the north end of the county. That all changed Monday, March 31 in Pace.
Navarre 2, Glenwood 1
The Lady Raiders had to play extra innings for a 2 -1 win over Glenwood High School. Glenwood traveled from Phenix City, Ala., March 25 to play in a series of games during their spring break.
The Navarre Lady Raiders track team finished 12th out of 21 teams at the FAC & Justin Gatlin Panhandle Championships March 29 at Washington High School. Pine Forest tallied 100.5 points beating second place Niceville by 9.5 points. Bay High School was a distant third with 65 points. Navarre finished the meet with 20.50 points.
The Navarre Raiders track team finished ninth out of 21 teams at the FCA & Justin Gatlin Panhandle Championships March 29 at Washington High School. Fort Walton Beach won the meet with 92.5 points, nipping West Florida by 2.5 points. Pine Forest finished a close third with 87.5 points. Navarre finished the meet with 26.50 points.
The Raider lifters won the district championship March 26 defeating Pace, Milton and Tate. The final score was Navarre 52, Pace 46, Milton 30 and Tate 20. Teddy Harrell, Colton Mapoles and Brent Short each won their individual weight divisions, leading to a Raider win. The top three lifters in each weight division qualified to compete in the sectional meet April 11.
The Raiders returned to the diamond March 27 one week after capturing the title in the Aggie Classic. They hosted the Wildcats from North Little Rock, Ark., who were in the area for games against Pace, Milton, Navarre and Fort Walton Beach.
The Cincinnati Reds will be in Pensacola Friday for an exhibition game with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the team’s Double-A affiliate. According to the Wahoo’s website, this will be the first time a Major League baseball team has played in Pensacola since 1958 when the Chicago White Sox played the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Navarre Raiders baseball team had a dismal start to the 2014 season. They lost their first three games by a combined score of 26-4. After picking up a victory in a 3-1 win over Gulf Breeze, they dropped their next four.
While the Lady Raider varsity softball teamed worked at a car wash March 22, the JV team members were hard at work playing in the Raider JV tournament. The four-team tourney included Escambia, Gulf Breeze, West Florida and Navarre. Each team played three games and at the end of a long day of softball, the Lady Raiders were named tournament champions.
