Baker County wasn’t short on words.
Mothers were even insulted, according to Columbia pitcher Zoryana Hughes.
The Wildcats gathered tightly together in the opening of the visitors’ dugout each inning, yelling whatever they could at Hughes and the rest of her teammates to try and throw them off their game. They even taunted head coach Cindy Dansby. But after blowing a four-run lead that turned a comfortable night into a marathon, the Tigers hung tough and finally got the last word.
Hughes led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a single and then scored on two throwing errors following a Sakiya Merriex bunt to lift Columbia past Baker County 5-4 at home Monday night. It capped a wild night after Kalin Davis hit a grand slam off Hughes to tie the game in the sixth inning.
“It was really crazy. Definitely a lot of tension,” Hughes said. “They were being really rude, they were saying a lot of stuff, talking about people’s moms. I was like, I’m just here to play. So it was definitely crazy. I’m super glad that we could end it because it was definitely going a long way, but I’m glad it ended the way it did.
“We just ignored it. We just played our game We just kept playing our game. At the end of the day, talking crap about people isn’t going to win the game and we obviously proved that.”
The Tigers (12-4) celebrated by gathering in the outfield and stomping their feet in unison one by one. It was a little payback after the Wildcats (11-6) yelled “left, right! left right!” to each CHS batter who recorded an out throughout the night.
Dansby even joined her players as she walked to meet them after the win. She also heard the taunt at one point when she went out onto the field to argue a call with the umpires.
“It was almost on the verge of unsportsmanlike, honestly,” Dansby said of Baker County’s antics. “But I think our girls controlled themselves. We didn’t get ugly. That was a little out of character for me there at the end, but I’ve got to give it to my kids because they’re teenagers and that was a big game to stay in with it and come back.”
Baker County made not one but two fatal errors after Hughes led off Columbia’s half of the 11th with a single. Merriex laid down a bunt that was fielded by third baseman Baleigh Shields, but Shields threw the ball past first baseman Haley Marker.
As both runners advanced to second and third, Marker tried to throw the ball back to Shields to get Hughes, but the ball went bouncing behind Shields instead. Shields couldn’t field the ball fast enough before Hughes sped through home plate to deliver a win for the Tigers.
“Fast runners are going to put pressure on the defense, and pressure on the defense is going to make mistakes and we capitalized on those mistakes,” Hughes said.
It was a tough ending for Baker County pitcher Rylee Walker, who shook off a four-run fourth inning to keep her team in the game. Walker allowed all five runs — three earned — on 14 hits and four walks in 11 innings.
Columbia went up 4-0 in the fourth after 10 batters stepped to the plate. Kimber Long had an RBI infield single and Alex Collins followed with a 2-RBI single before Luisa Taylor scored on a passed ball to give Hughes a cushion midway through the contest.
But after right fielder Madelyn Jones dropped a fly ball, which ultimately allowed Baker County to load the bases with two outs, Hughes saw her lead gone with one swing of the bat when Davis rocketed a grand slam over the left field wall in the sixth. It never deterred Hughes though and she settled back in the rest of the night, pitching all 11 innings while allowing zero earned runs on six hits, two walks and a hit batter.
Hughes had confidence she could hold off the Wildcats much like she in Columbia’s 6-0 win over them in the teams’ first meeting on March 13. She had 13 strikeouts in another complete-game effort that night as well.
“It was definitely a little nerving, but I know what I can do,” Hughes said. “I’ve handled this team before, and I knew I could do it again.”
Hughes couldn’t have done it without a couple of key defensive plays from her teammates in extra innings. With Kara Davis sitting on second base in the eighth inning, Kalin Davis singled to left field. Merriex fired a throw to home plate as Kara Davis turned off of third base and Columbia catcher Emily Delgado quickly threw it back to third baseman Alexis Blair, who tagged Davis out before she slide back to the bag.
Then in the ninth, after Lynasia Green doubled with one out, Jones redeemed herself when she scooped a fly ball from Masyn Barlow just before it hit the turf for the second out. Green ran all the way to third base believing the ball hit the ground, and Jones easily threw her out at second base for the inning-ending double play.
“This a big morale booster,” Dansby said. “We haven’t been challenged like that with that many innings in overtime, so it’s something new to show them what they can do. I think that’s definitely a game to build on right there as far as morale booster.”
The Tigers needed the win as they try to make a playoff push. In the latest FHSAA ranking released this week, Columbia rose from ninth to eighth for the final playoff spot in Region 1-5A with an 8.656 rating, holding a decent lead over No. 9 Orange Park's 6.305.
Monday’s win should continue to help the Tigers’ rating as Baker County is currently first in Region 1-4A and seventh overall in Class 4A. Two more critical games are on tap for Columbia this week, with a road trip at district rival Gainesville set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. before Class 1A No. 1 Williston visits for a 7 p.m. tilt on Thursday.
“This is a big confidence booster,” Hughes said. “It shows what we can do and shows what we are a great team no matter what, so I’m just really excited for the rest of the week. This is just proving that we aren’t just going to lay down. We’re going to get up and fight back.”