By: Dustin Kent - JCFloridan.com
The Chipola Indians had a bumpy start to Panhandle Conference play with a 10-3 loss to Gulf Coast State on Friday, but they bounced back in a big way Saturday by beating the Commodores 9-2 in Saturday's rematch in Panama City.
Chipola jumped out to the early lead thanks to a three-run first inning that featured a two-RBI double by Josh Merrigan and an RBI single by Bert Givens.
An RBI hit by Ryan Koziol got Gulf Coast on the board in the bottom of the third inning, but the Indians started to pull away in the seventh when Danny Mars connected a two-RBI triple to right field and Ian Rice followed with a two-run home run to make it 7-1.
Jacky Miles, Jr. added a solo home run in the eighth for Chipola, with Merrigan driving in his third run of the game on a single in the ninth.
With the win, the Indians moved to 22-6 and 1-1 in the league.
Chipola coach Jeff Johnson said that while Saturday's game was way too early to call a must-win, it was crucial for his team to bounce back with a solid performance after Friday's blowout loss.
"In this league when you start looking at a 20-game schedule, every game is critical," he said. "Your goal is to win every series and that put us in position to do that. It's not a must-win, but if you get to 0-2 you put yourself in a bad situation for the next game. I hope this got us some confidence that we can win these conference games and learn how to play in a conference environment."
Brendan Leach went five innings to take the loss for the Commodores, who fell to 22-7 overall and 1-1 in the Panhandle Conference.
Taylor Lewis started on the mound and got the win for the Indians, going seven innings and allowing one earned run on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.
"I didn't think Taylor had his best stuff, but he didn't give in," Johnson said of his sophomore starter. "He pitched without his best stuff, but he threw strikes, commanded the ball better, threw off-speed stuff for strikes, and he was able to get through without his best stuff and allow us to get our feet under us and get going."
Chipola isscheduled to host the series finale Tuesday night at 5 p.m.
Freshman right-hander Matt Foster will be on the mound for Gulf Coast, while Johnson said that either Palmer Betts or Tom Watson would start for Chipola.