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Columbia first baseman Kimber Long trots around the bases after hitting a two-run home run against P.K. Yonge on Tuesday night. (BRENT KUYKENDALL/Lake City Reporter)
With the district tournament a week away and an inferior opponent paying a visit, Columbia took the opportunity to work in a few players it may need for a playoff run.
A couple even stepped up to help deliver another win over P.K. Yonge.
Freshman Ava Christie started in the circle and impressed, while freshman hitter Lauryn Lee knocked an RBI single as part of an 11-1 mercy-rule victory over P.K. Yonge at home Tuesday night in five innings. They were just two of a few JV call-ups who saw the field, which also included Jazien Merriex and Amani Tunsil.
Several of the usual starters stepped up as well, notably first baseman Kimber Long who hit a 2-run homer. Anna Dansby and Sakiya Merriex also had two RBIs in the win as the Tigers (15-5) played without head coach Cindy Dansby, who was away from the team for a family emergency.
“I think we did really good, especially those that haven’t played varsity before,” Columbia assistant coach Hayes Fulford said. “I’m not going to say this was an easier team because it doesn’t matter who you play, you never know what’s going to come about. But once we got some runs on the board I really wanted to make a point to put those girls in because moving forward, especially going into districts, we may need that person to come in and do a job.”
Columbia opted to start Christie, who had never pitched in a varsity game before. Hayes said the news caught Christie by surprise but she pitched well in her two innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits and two walks while striking out three from the Blue Wave (10-8).
Getting Christie a couple of innings of work was important for Hayes, especially with ongoing injuries this season to pitchers Zoryana Hughes and McKenna O’Sullivan.
“We may need Ava going into districts and if we move on to regionals,” Hayes said. “She needed to see the varsity level. I remember when I asked her and said, ‘hey, would you be OK with starting?’ And she was like, ‘what?’ I said, ‘take a breath, It’s OK. I’m not going to let it get crazy. I want you to just have the experience. That way if you do get put in you’ll be OK and know what to do.’
“She did great. I think she did really good.”
Sydney Corona scored P.K. Yonge’s lone run via an error for an early 1-0 lead before Columbia answered right back in the bottom half of the first inning. Sakiya Merriex led off with a single and Long then rocketed a fast ball that was down the heart of the plate over the left field wall.
Long called it a confidence boost after recently struggling at the plate.
“When I went up to the plate I was kind of nervous because I haven’t been hitting to my fullest potential, so when I got up there I was a little nervous and kind of doubting myself,” Long said. “But I’ve been working a lot on hitting and focusing on what I need to do so when I got up there it kind of just came naturally, so it was a good hit.
“She was throwing meatballs.”
It was just the beginning of a tough outing for Blue Wave starting pitcher Mickinzi Anderson, who allowed nine runs — five earned — on 10 hits, three walks and a hit batter. Twelve batted in the first inning for the Tigers, who also scored runs via an RBI single from Luisa Taylor, an RBI ground out from Alex Collins and a two-RBI single from Merriex for a 6-1 early lead.
Columbia tacked on two more runs in the second inning thanks to Dansby’s 2-RBI single.
With a comfortable 8-1 lead, Hayes turned to O’Sullivan in the circle. It was O’Sullivan’s first appearance since leaving with a knee injury against Williston on April 13 and she was near prime form, pitching three perfect innings with three strikeouts.
O’Sullivan said her knee felt fine and she was glad to be back in the lineup.
“I was happy to be back on the mound,” O’Sullivan said. “I was trying not to let me hitting kind of put me down so I was just relaxed, threw strikes and let my defense work. I hadn’t pitched today before warmups so I was kind of nervous because as pitchers know, not throwing for over like three days is really bad so I was a little bit off timing, which is why I threw a little bit higher than I normally do. But I was able to push through it and able to just stay calm and stay focused.”
The Tigers extended their advantage to 9-1 in the third thanks to an RBI single from Alexis Blair. They triggered the mercy rule in the fifth when Long reached second base on a leadoff error and then scored on an RBI single from Lee, who then scored the final run on an RBI double by Emily Delgado.
It was Columbia’s second mercy-rule win over P.K. Yonge this season, also winning 15-0 in three innings on April 4.
“We played much better as a whole today,” Long said. “We were up in the dugout doing what we needed to do and we definitely put that into the field as well.”
UP NEXT
Columbia wraps up the regular season on Thursday at West Port at 6 p.m.
DISTRICT SEEDING
Columbia was awarded the No. 2 seed in next week’s District 2-5A tournament at Middleburg via the latest FHSAA rankings released Tuesday, which results in a bye to the semifinals. The Tigers will face the winner of No. 3 seed Middleburg-No. 6 seed Gainesville on Tuesday, while top-seeded Ridgeview will get the winner of No. 4 seed Orange Park-No. 5 seed Lincoln.