Monday night’s high school baseball game between visiting Oak Hall and Newberry featured a total of just four seniors combined.
Two of them, Newberry’s Nathan Arnold and Tristan Woodrome, were recognized on senior night before the game and celebrated with a 9-2 win against the Eagles.
“They’ve been a big part of the program,” said Newberry coach Mike Spina. “Arnold is usually our closer and got the start tonight and was a little shaky, but overall, he settled in and did a good job, and Tristan, he’s been playing left field for us for a couple of years and the kid can really swing it. Both kids are unbelievable kids, so it was a good win for them.”
Arnold walked the first two batters of the game, but he settled down and got Oak Hall senior Gavin Jones to ground out, followed by strikeouts of junior Graham Rosenstone and senior catcher Brody Beaupre to end the inning.
“He’s had a really good season thus far, he really has,” Spina said. “He’s been our guy that we can go to late in the game and close games and we’re excited for him for the rest of the year and see what happens.”
In the bottom of the first inning, leadoff hitter Bryson Ochs hit a ball to Kingston Mosley in right field that was dropped for a two-base error.
Two batters later, the sophomore scored on a wild pitch by Jones to give Newberry a 1-0 lead.
Aiden Mathis (2 innings pitched, 0 hits, 1 ER, 3 walks) relieved Arnold to start the top of the second inning and retired the side in order with two strikeouts.
After Jones retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the bottom of the second inning, Mathis walked three batters to start the top of the third.
Rosenstone hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score freshman Brayden Farmer with the Eagles’ first run to tie the game at 1-1.
However, the Panthers (9-6) answered in the bottom of the inning and took a lead they would never relinquish.
Newberry sent nine batters to the plate and scored three runs on three hits and three errors.
Junior Desmond Taylor (1-for-1, with two runs scored) led off with an infield single to third base, followed by a bunt single by Ochs (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs).
A throwing error by Beaupre, a ground out by sophomore Tavis Honeycutt, plus junior Trey Priester being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, gave the Panthers the lead again at 4-1.
Oak Hall (5-6) made a total of seven errors in the game, while Newberry played error-free ball.
“I felt like we could have played way better,” said Honeycutt, who finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored. “I feel like we played down to our competition, and I feel like we’re a better team than we played today.”
Newberry threw four pitchers who combined on a two-hitter, including sophomore Justin Moore (2IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 strikeout) and Taylor (2 IP, 1 run, 2 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout), who allowed Oak Hall’s other run in the sixth inning.
“Today was kind of our bullpen day but we’re trying to get ready for the playoffs,” Spina said. “We’re trying to save arms and we’re trying to save pitch count. Des (Taylor) was hurt half the year so we’re just trying to get him back in the groove of being able to be a starter in the playoffs and see how far we can run.”
Oak Hall hosts rival St. Francis Catholic Academy at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday in a key 1A-District 5 game, while Newberry, which moved up to Class 2A this season, will host Oakleaf (Orange Park) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
“We’ve played some really good teams,” Spina said. “We’ve played Suwannee (Live Oak), who if you look up and down their lineup, they’re a really, really good team. Forest (Ocala), I mean we played them twice and they’re a really good team, and Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), those guys are deep, it would be tough to beat them, but we want to play them again. We want to play them in the regionals.”
