The Sonic Drive-In Player-of-the-Game for Friday, May 17, was Parker Seay of the Williston baseball team.
Seay, a senior, pitched four innings in relief, allowing only one hit with 8 strikeouts, as host Williston rallied past Madison County, 3-2, in the Region 3-1A final. With the win, the Red Devils advance to the Class 1A state semifinals for the first time since winning back-to-back 1A state titles in 2014-15.
Williston (19-9) rebounded from a rough start, as Madison County scored two runs in the first inning with two hits, two Red Devil errors, and two walks by Williston starting pitcher Gabe Foster. Dawson Rutherford and Dilan Lawson had back-to-back RBI singles and the Cowboys led 2-0 after the opening inning.
From there Foster settled down, retiring seven batters in a row, before Seay took over to start the fourth inning.
Meanwhile, Williston’s offense got going in the second inning as Mikey Ray led off the inning with a double, stole third, and came home on a scoring error by Madison County catcher Dawson Rutherford.
Williston took the lead for good with two runs in the fourth inning. After Ray walked with one out, Connor Neal followed with an RBI triple to tie the game at 2-2. Logan Head then followed with an RBI single and the Red Devils moved ahead for the first time at 3-2.
Seay mowed down the Madison County lineup from there, striking out two batters each in the 4th and 6th innings and striking out the side in the fifth. The College of Central Florida signee struck out Rutherford in the 7th for the final out with the tying and go ahead runners on base.
Williston next plays Sneads in the 1A state semifinals Wednesday morning at 10 AM from Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
Madison County finishes the season 20-7. The Cowboys just missed out on their third straight trip to the state semis, as they finished 1A state runner-up to Trenton in 2017 and Port St. Joe a year ago.
Every game The Prep Zone will recognize a Player-of-the-Game. The recipient receives a $10 gift certificate courtesy of Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville & Ocala.
