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Local Sports

Local sports in the Panhandle are not just a game, they are a lifestyle. Our community eats, sleeps and breathes cheering on our local athletes.
News13 is On Your “Sidelines” bringing you more than the score.
News13’s Stephen Gunter is committed to giving you stories of the Panhandle’s top athletes, intriguing match-ups and unusual sports you may not even know exist.
sgunter@wmbb.com

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Altha Looks to Make a Deep Run

ALTHA- It’s uncharted territory for the Altha Wildcats, making it to the 2A Regional Semifinals.  No other Cat team has been this far into the postseason.

Going deeper in the playoffs means dealing with greater amounts of pressure.

“It’s really a big thing knowing that this is going to be our last time playing for the Altha Wildcats,” said senior Keith Kirkpatrick.

“We’re pretty excited because since about 8th grade, most of us have been on varsity, starting,” said senior Noah Byler.

This Altha Wildcat team is one of the more experienced groups in Class 2A.

With 11 varsity players this season, nine of which are seniors, it’s hard to argue that the Wildcats success has come from anything other than experience.

Now that the Wildcats have advanced past the Regional quarterfinals, the question is how this upper class team handles the pressure.

“It is a little bit of added pressure because you know if you lose, it’s your last game, and we’re all seniors and that’s our last high school game, but if we win, we get to move on,” said senior Tad Scott.

“It’s either play your last game or move on to another round. It’s pretty serious pressure, but we can handle it,” said senior Josh McIntosh.

For a team that has grown up playing ball together, sticking together is one way of handling the extra pressure.

“We’re all good friends and we all know everyone’s weaknesses and strengths, so we’re a very sound team,” Scott said.

“We’ve had our squalls here and there, but we love each other and we’ve been playing together since about the 6th grade,” said Kirkpatrick.

Putting the experience factor aside, I was wondering what the secret weapon of this years Altha team is.

I’m going to have to say the arm of Tad Scott. That’s the secret weapon. It’s able to throw balls at high speeds that no one has ever seen before,” said McIntosh.

“The secret weapon of the Altha Wildcats this year is the golden arm of Tad Scott. He throws about 91 with a hard cut fastball and a breaking slider that will make your head spin,” Byler stated.

I put on a helmet with an ‘A’ on it, grabbed the bat the players recommended, and stepped in the batters box.

I had about as much success against Scott as the Wildcats’ opposing players had this season.

At one point I switched to my Adam LaRoche swing, but just watched a perfect strike go right down the pipe.

Finally on my ninth swing, I made contact.

After visiting practice today, I learned that the Wildcats are successful because I’m not on their team.

Regional Semifinal Schedule

2A

Altha (21-6) at Jay (18-4)

North Florida Christian (21-7) at Port St. Joe (17-11)

3A

Marianna (19-7) at Pensacola Catholic (25-2)

PREP NEWS

Mosley Dolphins Head Baseball Coach Mike Williams, resigned Wednesday.

Williams has been the leader of the Dolphins for the past two seasons putting together a 28-23 record during that time

He said his decision is for personal reasons, and he will stay at Mosley as an instructor.

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