Raiders Fall in Back-and-Forth Battle with Rock Valley

NICEVILLE, Fla. — Northwest Florida State came up just short Sunday afternoon, falling to Rock Valley 10-9 in a back-and-forth contest despite building an early four-run lead.

The Raiders jumped out quickly in the first inning behind the long ball. Bre Hughes opened the scoring with a solo home run to center field, and Karson McGowan followed later in the inning with a two-run homer to give Northwest Florida an early 3-0 advantage.

Northwest Florida added another run in the second inning when Haley Hughes delivered an RBI single to right field, bringing home Isaballe Warrick to extend the lead to 4-0.

Rock Valley began its comeback in the third with a solo home run from Culvey before taking control of the game in the fourth inning. The Golden Eagles capitalized on a pair of Raider errors and several extra-base hits to plate six runs in the frame, turning a four-run deficit into a 7-4 lead. Rock Valley added another run in the fifth to stretch the margin to 8-4.

The Raiders responded in the bottom of the fifth. Julie Stevens drove in a run with a double to left field, and Anna Grace Griggs followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 8-6.

Rock Valley added two insurance runs in the seventh on a two-run home run from Dannhorn, pushing the lead to 10-6.

Northwest Florida mounted one final rally in the bottom half of the inning. Jaci Gary delivered a two-run double to bring the Raiders within two runs, and another run crossed on a passed ball to make it 10-9. However, the comeback fell just short as the final out ended the game with the tying run on base.

Savannah Carter took the loss for Northwest Florida after pitching 3.1 innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out one and walking one.

The Raiders finished with 12 hits in the game. Karson McGowan led the offense with three hits, while Jaci Gary, Bre Hughes, and McGowan each drove in two runs. Falyn Beebe added two hits in four at-bats.

Rock Valley recorded 11 hits in the contest, with Dannhorn and Culvey each collecting three hits and driving in three runs. The Golden Eagles were also clean defensively, committing no errors in the game.