By JOSH FRYE
News Sportswriter
Escambia County High’s winless drought came to an end after the Blue Devils gained 4 victories this past week, catapulting into second place with the AHSAA Class 4A, Region 1 standings. ECHS’s first 2 victories came against Williamson on March 11 during double-header action and 2 more against Vigor during a March 12 double-header.
ECHS defeated the Lions 4-2 during the first meetup of the series. ECHS’s Anthony McCants led the Blue Devils at the plate during game 1, going 2-for-2, driving in 1 run and scoring once. Hasten Dean supplemented McCants’s performance and went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in another runner.
During the second matchup of the series, ECHS defeated the Lions, 6-3 after breaking a fifth-inning tie. The Blue Devils tallied 6 hits during the game and 19 stolen bases. Jacarion King and Jovon Brown led ECHS in the batter’s box with 2 hits each and Brandon Dean gained 6 stolen bases.
The Blue Devils kept the win streak going against Vigor, defeating the Wolves, 17-5 during the first meeting of the 2-game series, despite allowing 4 runs within the fifth inning. McCants led ECHS on the mound, striking out 10 and surrendering 5 runs on 10 hits over 7 innings. Jamarion Robinson and Dean managed multiple hits for the Blue Devils. Robinson went 4-for-2, scoring twice and driving in 1 run. Dean went 2-for-2, scoring 3 times and driving in 1 run. Michael Merchant led ECHS with 13 plays defensively. In total the Blue Devils managed to steal 30 bases during the matchup.
During the second matchup of the series, ECHS defeated the Lions, 15-5, stealing 31 bases. Merchant and Lebaron Willis led the Blue Devils at the plate with 2 hits each. In addition, Willis collected 5 stolen bases. According to ECHS head coach Roland Hall, the big change for the Blue Devils has been the addition of coaches Raymond Robinson and Devon Robinson who have aided in turning the program around in a short amount of time.
During last week’s recap, ECHS was still winless. This week, the Blue Devils find themselves in position to make a run for the AHSAA Class 4A, Region 1 with a region record of 4-2 and overall season record of 4-7.
ECHS will next host Straughn High School on Friday, March 19 at 4 p.m.