Four Raider players, Emma Thomas, Nathalie Holbrook, Britney Silver and Morgan Marquis competed for the East in the Subway All-Star Softball Game Thursday night at the University of West Florida Softball Complex in Pensacola.

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.

Going into the district playoffs, the Raiders will be fighting to end a three-game losing streak. They are getting great pitching and timely hitting. However, the defense, one of the team’s strong points, has recently lacked consistency. The Raiders lost three games this past week, all by one run. Errors have been the difference between a win and a loss.

Freshman sensation Rachel Hester pitched a beauty at home Thursday, shutting out Pace 2-0. Hester pitched seven innings, giving up eight hits while striking out five. She also led the Raiders offensively with a triple, single and scored the first Raider run.

The Navarre Raiders’ bats were blazing last Tuesday night as they rolled to a 16-2 win over Washington in a non-district softball game.

After being no-hit by Niceville in their opener, the Navarre Raiders took their frustrations out on the Indians of Choctaw last Tuesday, winning 10-1 in the softball showdown.

Niceville 8, Raiders 2