By Curtis Michaud
Twitter – @goodvibescurt
On Friday Night at Buchholz High School, the Buchholz Bobcats baseball team edged the North Marion (Citra) Colts, 2-1, in an Alachua County vs. Marion County showdown.
The Bobcats, who defeated North Marion on the road 10-7 on Tuesday, swept the 2-game series against the Colts.
“Last year we went 1-1 against them so this a rivalry we created in the last couple of years, so it felt great to get this win today,” said Bobcats’ senior Jackson Peters.
Buchholz improved its record to 4-1-1 with its third straight win while the Colts fall to 3-2 on the season.
“The keys of the game was how well we pitched and played defense,” said Bobcats head coach Ron Brooks. “Finding different ways to win is big for us.”
Buchholz continued to feed on the momentum it acquired in their last meeting on Tuesday when both teams displayed their offensive firepower.
However, Friday night’s matchup was different.
Peters, who also scored the deciding run, pitched an exciting game that helped his team perform well on defense.
“The energy we played with defense was awesome and offensively we did just enough tonight,” Brooks said.
In the bottom of the second with two outs, the Bobcats demonstrated how quickly they can generate some offense with a big line drive towards first base by sophomore Donny Heibert. The Colts first baseman mishandled the ball and that led to two runs being scored by Peters and sophomore Kyle Brewer.
“We just need to do a better job in making routine plays,” said Colts’ head coach Dale Hall. “That was the difference in the ball game.”
Those two runs were just enough to give the Colts their second consecutive loss and extend the Bobcats’ winning streak.
The Colts did receive great play by their senior pitcher Wyatt Campbell, who also scored the team’s only run of the game.
“Campbell gave us the start that we needed, we just didn’t do enough defense behind him and we sure didn’t do enough in the box,” said Hall.
The Bobcats next matchup features another nonconference home game on Tuesday against the Forest (Ocala) Wildcats, while the Colts will travel to Keystone Heights to play the Indians, who are currently on a four-game winning streak.
