With one swing of the bat Michael Sandle absolutely crushes the pitch fired at him. He sends the ball screaming over the wall in left and then rounds the bases at Greater Nevada Field in Reno as if it was no big deal.
Sandle has hit home runs before in his career. In high school. In college. Even in the pros. But this one is different for the Navarre alum.
The University of West Florida baseball team saw two of its own recognized this week.
Mike Jeffcoat has been named the coach of the year in the Gulf South Conference and Dalton Neuschwander has been tabbed the Pitcher of the Year for the conference.
Jessi Farrer swung fast and swung hard, the ball zipping into the outfield. Cailyn Cooke scored off the clutch hit. So did Natalia Taylor.
In that joyous moment, a moment buzzing with energy and excitement, Cooke jumped up and down and got pumped up near home plate as the Raiders breathed new life into their hopes for an upset of the No. 1 team in the state Wednesday night in a District 1-6A final.
One final out closed the door on a season, that, while not championship worthy, it wasn’t sunflower seeds on the dugout floor either.
Once left for dead after a seven-game losing streak a few weeks into the year, Navarre found new life as the season progressed. But the road ended here in Pace late last Tuesday night, the Raiders walking off the field after a 13-0 loss to the host Patriots.
On a wind-swept Monday in May, the dust on the practice field kicked up often as offensive and defensive linemen battle in the trenches and running backs and receivers make plays, Navarre’s football team is back at it with the start of spring football.
Navarre and Milton played like two baseball teams not wanting their seasons to end Monday night.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, three hours after the first pitch, Jayden Smith ended the game with a clutch home run and kept Navarre alive in the District 1-6A tournament for at least one more day.
In the warm-up line before her first collegiate game last November, Rachel Leggett couldn’t shake the nerves the way she shook off defenders so often during her prep career at Navarre.
“Oh man, I was so nervous,” Leggett said.
At least based on how things have gone since the 2022 season came to a close for the Navarre Raider football team, head coach Jay Walls has reason for optimism heading into the spring.
David Durden is headed to the NFL.
The University of West Florida wide receiver signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys on April 29.
