Arnold keeping historic season alive in playoffs

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. ( WMBB ) — The Arnold baseball team has been making history all season long and they’ve continued that streak into the playoffs.

The Marlins had the best start of 16-0 in the program and Bay County history. For head coach, Chris Jones his goal all season has been to have the best finish in school history.

Arnold hit some turbulence towards the end of the season. In their last ten games before regional play, the Marlins fell in five. After winning the region quarterfinal 4-3 over Santa Fe and the region semi-final 5-0 over Wakulla, they look to be back on track.

“Definitely showed some true colors with our team and where we were with a lot of the players,” Arnold junior right-handed pitcher Cooper Moss said. But we figured it out and we got the bad mojo out. Hopefully, we can piece it together throughout the postseason.”

Moss had been a postseason leader for Arnold. He secured the come-from-behind victory with a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning against eight-seed Santa Fe in the region quarterfinal.

In the region semi-final, Moss went 3-4 with a solo home run to beat Wakulla 5-0. In both games, Moss closed and allowed zero runs.

After a slow start in the season at the plate, Moss has heated up. He’s near the top in all offensive stats and leads with a .58 ERA.

“I go out there and just compete with what I have,” Moss said. “A lot of confidence. I go to the plate acting like I’m the best person on the field, but work like I’m the least.”

The Marlins will host South Walton in the Class 4A Region 1 Final on Tuesday, May 14. The Seahawks lead the series 2-1 after beating Arnold 7-1 in the district title game.

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