High School Baseball: Catholic controls South Walton early, takes down top-ranked Seahawks

Facing a fierce opponent hungry to rebound from its first loss of the season, the Pensacola Catholic baseball team was swift in its attack.

It took just two pitches into the bottom of first inning for the Crusaders to own a lead against South Walton, the top-ranked team in Class 4A who fell the night before to Tate.

From there, Catholic never looked back, taking an 8-5 victory on Friday night from Richard R. LaBounty Field.

The Seahawks made it interesting late, putting up three runs in the seventh before junior pitcher Jackson Kohr shut the door on the comeback attempt to finish off a complete-game performance.

"We knew (South Walton) was going to compete until the last out. Fortunately, Jackson had enough stuff to get them out," Pensacola Catholic head coach Richard LaBounty said.

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The road team's rally was sparked by a collision at the plate during the previous inning.

With one out in the bottom of the sixth and Catholic up, Michael Smith tried to increase the advantage when he raced to the plate from third on a groundball to second. The throw reached home in time, but the senior outfielder, aiming to make a play, attempted to get underneath a tag with a hard slide. Smith was tagged out by catcher Bryce Wallace, who was left writhing in pain as a result of the crashing impact.

The South Walton coaching staff stormed out of the dugout in an uproar over the play, leading to a long and intense dispute in which the two teams needed to be separated.

However, once the final out was recorded, cooler heads and sportsmanship prevailed as players and coaches had their customary postgame handshakes.

LaBounty and Seahawks head coach Nick Borthwick had an extended talk afterwards.

"It was a very friendly conversation," LaBounty said. "We're both competing for our teams and there were some harsh words said, but we both at the end of the game apologized and are ready to move on."

Smith reached to lead off the game after he hit by a pitch from starter Coleman Borthwick. On the freshman's next offering, sophomore infielder Chris Rembert drove in Smith when he blasted a double to the center-field fence.

"That let everybody know that we're here all game long," LaBounty said. "(Rembert) is a great player. He's been our best hitter all year long, he always finds a way to help us."

Following a passed ball, Rembert scored on a sacrifice fly from Will Barter.

Later, Will Krehely kickstarted a three-run fourth for Catholic. The senior cranked a 1-1 pitch into over the fence in left-center for a solo home run. That bomb marked the beginning of the end for Borthwick. Piling up 71 pitches, the Auburn commit allowed six runs (four earned) on three hits and two walks through 3 1/3 innings.

The home team tacked critical insurance runs in the sixth when freshman infielder Jalen Moton drove in a pair with double.

Ranked sixth in Class 3A according to MaxPreps, the Crusaders improved their record to 10-3 after capturing their fourth victory in five games. South Walton dropped to 10-2.

Here are three takeaways from Friday's game.

'Hit the first good pitch that you see'

Krehely's first at-bat lasted two pitches: he saw an off-speed pitch before grounding out on a fastball.

The next time the senior stepped to the plate, Borthwick started off with a changeup before a ball evened the count. Needless to say, given where he deposited it, Krehely knew the fastball was coming.

His homerun was part of pattern that repeated during the night. Every single run that came to the plate was driven in during at-bats that lasted no more than four pitches.

At the same time, the Crusaders forced Borthwick to execute. And when he couldn't, his pitch count rose, finishing with 71 pitches before his night was complete.

Krehely says his hitting approach depends on the situation.

"If have people on base and a chance to drive them in, go ahead and take it. If it's early in the count and you get a fastball, go after it," he said. "I think our approaches worked tonight. We took pitches when we needed to."

The coaches encourage being aggressive.

"We always tell the players to 'hit the first good pitch that you see and the first good pitch may be the first pitch," LaBounty said.

'A really smart player'

As oppose to his counterpart, Kohr was efficient for most of the night. The junior needed just 52 pitches to get through the first five frames, including a three-pitch third.

His best friend was the ground ball as Kohr induced three double plays.

"When I got (the pitches) off the plate on 0-1 or 0-2 counts, the hitters were rolling them over and we got easy outs, which helped us out a lot," he said.

LaBounty added: "He is just a really smart player and it carries over to his success on the mound. He's able to move the ball, in and out, up and down. He's got a sinker that he throws in certain counts that gets a lot of ground balls, which he got today."

Highlighted by a 12-pitch battle with Braxton Varnes, Kohr's numbers did climb at the end of the night as he finished with 85 pitches thrown. The southpaw allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out three.

Kohr is unbeaten at 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA this season. From a confidence standpoint, the win against South Walton might be the biggest one of the year thus far.

"It makes me feel like I'll be able to keep going this season and doing well, Kohr said. "It should be a good season.

'Memories that will last a lifetime'

Pensacola Catholic celebrated champions from its past as coaches and a dozen players from the program's 2003 and 2013 teams were honored on the field prior to the game.

The Crusaders captured their first state championship in 2003 when it won the Class 2A crown. Ten years later, the program completed a back-to-back state-title run in Class 4A with a 30-0 season. That year, the team was named national champions by USA Today and MaxPreps.

The man who led Catholic to that glory as head coach reflected on the pregame ceremony.

"It was great to see all the former players and coaches that have been with us come out tonight. Those are memories that will last a lifetime," LaBounty said. "Those were two championships that I will cherish forever."

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Baseball: Kohr, Krehely carry Pensacola Catholic to home win over South Walton