Phillips, DeVall lead Eagles over Vikings (PHOTO GALLERY)
NICEVILLE — Hunter Phillips and Alex Mara locked up in a pitcher’s duel as the Niceville and Fort Walton Beach baseball teams squared off in their District 2-5A opener on Wednesday.
The Vikings drew first blood against Phillips and the Eagles, but a five-run fifth inning proved to be the difference as Niceville won 5-2.
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“Alex and Hunter both threw really well the whole game long,” Niceville coach Brad Phillips said. “It was a battle and (the Vikings) are a scary bunch.
“We knew they had good arms and we were going to be in for a battle. We had some timely hitting and executed some small ball type stuff there in the fifth inning. Timely hitting and great pitching will win a bunch of ball games and that’s what we had tonight.”
Phillips allowed just one Viking hit in five innings of work — a single to Brock Herrington in the second that scored J.D. Little from third. Little reached on a walk, and then showed some smart base running, taking second on a wild pitch and third as Blake Bechnel was retired on a pop foul down the right field line.
By the time the Vikings (2-1, 0-1) scored their other run in the sixth, the Eagles (4-0, 1-0) had produced their big fifth after Mara had dominated the first four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out eight Niceville batters..
Chris Krenek led off the Eagle fifth with a double to the gap in right center. Parker Willingham reached on a bunt single. Krenek and Willingham scored on a base hit by Michael Coelho.
A walk to Kyle Kennedy was followed by a Ben DeVall double that cleared the bases and scored what turned out to be the winning runs. DeVall wrapped up the Eagle scoring as A.J. Gomez was safe on an error.
The Vikings pushed across the final run of the game in the sixth against Colt Tarpley when Brandon Horn, who drew a walk from Tarpley, scored on a Blake Bechnel double.
Phillips fanned five Vikings while allowing the one hit in five innings of work.
“It was a nip-and-tuck game,” Viking coach David Garner said. “It was a pretty well-played game, for the most part.
“But they hit the ball on the barrel, outran the baseball a couple of times and got some big hits and that was it.”
