Walton Advances Past Rutherford In 3A-1 Quarterfinal

The Walton Braves celebrate after winning their District 3A-1 quarterfinal game against the Rutherford Rams. *Photo from @WaltonHighSchool.

The message this time of year is simple and basic, win and advance. That is exactly what the Walton Braves did on Monday night, as they earned an 8-1 victory over the Rutherford Rams to continue on in the District 3A-1 playoff tournament at Marianna High. Walton (12-12) advances to the semifinals against the North Bay Haven Buccaneers, after they pulled off a 6-4 upset win over Marianna in their quarterfinal.

The Braves rode the strength of two big scoring innings to earn the win, grabbing three runs in the third and then adding a five-run burst in the sixth. Landon Rhodes got it started in the third with an RBI triple that drove in Grady Campbell, before an RBI single from Mason Clark also sent him home with the deciding run. Steele Marshall then jumped on the first pitch he saw for an RBI double to left and a 3-0 advantage.

The offense went right back to work to add on more runs in the sixth. Marshall singled to lead off, but was erased on a fielder’s choice off a sacrifice bunt from Casen Sullivan. Garrison Head was next with a base hit, and then Jackson Clemmons walked to load up the bases. A passed ball allowed Sullivan to cross the plate, and David Pickard was hit by a pitch that reloaded the bags. Campbell delivered an RBI the hard way by getting hit by a pitch, and Rhodes kept it going with an RBI single. Clark then capped it off by plating two more with a bloop single to left.

The Rams (10-15) avoided the shutout with a run in the fourth that made it a 3-1 ball game. A.J. Jones reached on an error and later scored on an RBI groundout from Conner Ward.

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