The Timberwolves are no stranger to varsity baseball. 11 seniors make up the varsity roster followed by eight juniors and a coach who has been up in Bradfordville for over a decade. With all of that in mind, Chiles has set out to have a schedule fit that identity.
It’s been an early season that has had them go up against competition all across the state from Niceville to Venice. It’s been a challenging month, seeing Chiles sitting at 5-5 before coming into this week. However, as of late, the bats have come alive and the wins have started to flow in.
Two double-digit wins over Fleming Island (12-1) and Suwannee (14-4) brought the Timberwolves into a matchup against defending state champion Mosley. It was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams lacking that big play. However, it came at the most critical time for the Timberwolves.
Big Bend Thursday night scoreboard
Baseball: Chiles 4, Mosley 2; Lee County 8, Lincoln 3.
Softball: Munroe 17, St. John Paul II 0.
Lacrosse: Maclay 13, Santa Fe 4.
Flag football: Jefferson County 8, Madison County 0.
Down 3-2 in the final inning, a handful of walks and two huge connections were just what the Timberwolves needed, coming back to defeat Mosley, 4-3 on a walk-off single. It’s Chiles’s third straight win as they head into a competitive stretch against Gulf Breeze, Leon, and two Alabama squads.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for their program. They’ve got a great tradition over there,” Timberwolves head coach Dick Steed said. “We always know we’re going to have to play pretty well to get a win against those guys. We battled from behind the whole game and just couldn’t come up with a big hit to take the lead, and we got a lot on base. They showed resiliency.”
Thursday was the first game in over a week that the scoreboard wasn’t filling up as quick for Chiles, as they bested its last two opponents by a combined score of 26-5. Early on in the game, the Timberwolves responded to whatever the Dolphins were putting on the board.
Seniors Andy Thies and Will Merrix go two on the board in the early innings, which included Thies’s third home run of the season. From there it became a game of who was going to get that critical hit. Both Mosley and Chiles either filled up the bases or got a runner to third, but couldn’t bring them home.
Steed said one of the factors that allowed the Timberwolves to finally get shots to fall was the wind. Gusts up to 15 miles per hour were blowing into the stadium, seeing a lot of shots get some distance. The key became getting the ball in the air later on to get the needed runs.
“We score 10, 11 runs over the last couple of games because of the wind. They just carry the balls further,” Steed said. “They’re a real competitive group and have a lot of energy in the dugout.”
One of the biggest change-ups later on in the game was on the mound. Senior pitcher Tag Williams pitched the bulk of the game before stepping out for an inning and half for senior Baylor Dunbar to take over. Williams was not done though as he’d step back in the seventh inning to pick up the win
“Tag did a good job for us and we sent him back out there cause he wanted to go back out there,” Steed said. “His pitch count wasn’t too high, but then we decided we needed a change in that situation. He did a good job getting us out of that inning and pitching the seventh.”
The Mosley win was a big one of the year and the Timberwolves are hoping that this adds to the consistent winning trend it has had lately. It’s something that they’ve been striving for, especially playing the schedule that they do. According to the FHSAA, Chiles is playing the hardest schedule in 6A and the 11th hardest schedule overall.
“We’re trying to play a little more consistent. We haven’t really done that,” Steed said. “We have a very tough, challenging schedule. It’s one thing to have a challenging schedule and it’s another to win against it. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to compete and win against these kinds of teams. This week so far has been a good week.”
With 11 games left until districts, there are still a handful of big-time matchups left on Chiles’ regular-season slate. Big Bend powers Leon, Wakulla, and North Florida Christian are still scheduled, while out-of-state powers Northridge, Hoover, and Lowndes are still to come. However, Chiles doesn’t feel intimidated by its schedule because it believes its depth and expectations prove that it can be successful against anyone.
“We’ve got 11 seniors and four of them have been playing varsity since ninth grade,” Steed said. “We’re a veteran team and experience is critical in this sport. I expect them to believe in themselves and compete to get a win because they’re competitors and want to win. They’re not going to quit, because they aren’t young. They’re old. They’re old guys and I’m proud of them.”
Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com, on Twitter @jackgwilliams.