Navarre softball advances to Class 4A regional final

By ADAM PRUIETT

adamp@nwfdailynews.com

NAVARRE - A strange Class 4A regional softball semifinal actually contained a normal Navarre performance.

The Raiders rode a customary strong outing by pitcher Jessica Stapleton and, in standard fashion, their offense heated up late in a 6-1 victory Friday over Wakulla.

Stapleton shrugged off a shaky first inning to fire a complete-game four-hitter for Navarre (19-5), which will host Baker County on Tuesday in the regional finals.

"It feels pretty good," said Stapleton, who struck out eight. "We were struggling in the first part of the game, but we pulled through. I think we just really wanted it."

Wakulla pitcher Mandy McClendon mixed speeds superbly in shutting out Navarre over the first four innings, but the Raiders tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth on Amanda Gustafson's RBI double and the War Eagles (21-7) unraveled in the sixth when they allowed five mostly self-inflicted runs.

The decisive inning saw as many umpires conferences - two - as hits for Navarre. The first came when Brianna Risner reached on a throwing error and bumped into Wakulla first baseman Megan Rollins while shifting toward second base. After Navarre argued, the umpires conferred and called obstruction to advance Risner.

Risner scored the go-ahead run after racing to third on a wild pitch and sliding home ahead of shortstop Hannah Lovestrand's throw on Haley Curle's grounder. Two batters later, Briana Fordham relieved McClendon with runners on second and third and was called for a rare balk, pushing another run across.

More controversy followed after Emily Pettigrew was seemingly tagged out by Rollins on a grounder. Again, Navarre argued, charging that Rollins had the ball in her bare hand and tagged Pettigrew with her glove. Much to the dismay of Wakulla, the Raiders again got the call after the umpires huddled.

"I don't think I've seen that many odd calls and odd happenings in one inning, but luckily a few went our way and we got a few breaks there," Navarre coach Lauris Joyner said.

After the last break, Navarre poured it on. Gustafson followed Stevie Decker's sacrifice fly by socking her second double, a shot down the left-field line that boosted the Raiders' lead to 6-1.

"We always say the fourth, fifth inning is ours and they made that adjustment again," Joyner said.

Wakulla scored in the opening inning after Lacey Crum was hit and scored on Ashley Spears' RBI double, but the offense was stagnant after that. Stapleton retired 10 of the last 11 War Eagles, striking out the side in the seventh inning.

"I was really pumped up," Stapleton said of the last inning. "I was thinking three up, three down."

Wakulla          100 000 0 - 1 4 2

Navarre          000 015 x - 6 5 0

W: Jessica Stapleton L: Mandy McClendon