BAKER — Thursday was typical for Baker senior softball pitcher Macie Wilde as the Gators hosted Holmes County in the District 2-1A opener.
Wilde went the distance in the circle for the Gators, striking out 13 Blue Devil batters while giving up three walks and five hits as Baker won 8-2.
Only one hit — a sixth-inning double by Courtney English — made it to the outfield.
“Macie was on,” Baker coach John Carlisle said. “Macie did a great job in the circle. The walks were spaced out and didn’t really hurt us any, and those are the things you really can’t defend against.
“She hit her stride in the middle of the game where she started getting stronger as the game went on. And then, as we got toward the end of the game, she was able to put the nail in and close the door on it, which was good.”
The Gators (2-2, 1-0) wasted no time in jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. A one-out base hit by Tori Foster started things.
Holly Stanley was next up for the Gators. She was safe at first on a Blue Devil error with Foster advancing to third base on the play. Foster scored on an Alexis Mitchem single and Stanley went home on a passed ball.
Mitchem later came in to score on a Kaitlan Godwin single. The inning's final Gator run came as courtesy runner Kaitlyn Smith scored on an error off Godwin’s infield single. Smith was running for Baker catcher Jenna Stevenson, who had walked.
The four runs would have been more than enough for Baker, with Wilde twirling a gem in the circle — but the Gators weren’t done yet.
Wilde helped her cause with a leadoff single in the Baker fourth. Wilde scored on a Foster double as the Gators pushed the lead to 5-0.
Holmes County finally touched Wilde for a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning to make it 5-2. But Baker answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, pushing the lead to the final score of 8-2.
Courtney Ellis was hit by a pitch to lead off the sixth for Baker. Back-to-back walks to Wilde and Foster loaded the bases for the Gators.
Ellis scored on a sacrifice fly by Stanley. Wilde and Foster came home on wild pitches.
Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Wilde leads Baker to softball win