Fort Walton-area softball, baseball schedules, players to watch and more

This past week, we saw how hard it is to forge a postseason path on the diamond.

The softball programs at Fort Walton Beach and Niceville emerged as district champs, while South Walton baseball's No. 1-ranked strength of schedule paid dividends with a District 1-4A title.

Out of the lot of area teams, only four advanced on to region quarterfinals. Here is their postseason path, players to watch and how they got here.

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Fort Walton Beach softball

Record: 17-10

Region 1 rank/5A State rank: 2nd/2nd

Players to Watch: Ava Smith, Alyx Hall, Hannah Isham, Aubree Davis

Up Next: FWB hosts 7th-seeded Fleming Island at 6 p.m. Wednesday

Who owned the No. 1 strength of schedule in all of 5A? You guessed it: Fort Walton Beach. That likely led to a 3-5 start, but the Vikings' lineup awoke and Ava Smith has been dialed in to lead Fort Walton to eight wins in their last 10 games. That includes an 11-1 district semifinal victory to end Choctaw's season and a 1-0 district championship over Gulf Breeze after Smith's complete-game gem.

Smith is 11-8 with a 2.97 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 129 2/3 innings, and she's had help with a lineup hitting a collective .294 and averaging six runs per game. At the core of that success is Alyx Hall and Hannah Isham. Hall is batting a team-leading .430 with five homers, 33 RBIs, 19 runs and 13 walks compared to just nine strikeouts, while Isham is hitting .429 with 26 runs and 14 stolen bases. Smith has helped out her own cause with a .367 average, 20 RBIs and 14 extra-base hits, while Aubree Davis is tearing the cover off the ball with a team-leading 18 extra-base hits and six homers to go along with a .342 average and team-best 23 walks and 1.237 OPS.

The Vikings made a run to the Sweet 16 last year, but that won't suffice this year. Taryn Gray's crew is built for the postseason.

Niceville softball

Record: 17-8

Region 1 rank/6A State rank: 4th/11th

Players to Watch: Chloe Bailey, Briana Noles, Anabelle Shackelford, Emma Sites, Carnley Summerlin

Up Next: NHS will host No. 5 Winter Springs (15-13) at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Eagles are the rare team with two aces, and it reflects in their staff ERA of 2.21. Freshman Chloe Bailey is missing barrels and letting the defense relax with a team-best 134 K's in 85 1/3 innings. Only twice has one of her pitches left the ballpark and she's holding hitters to a .183 batting average to aid a 1.72 ERA and 9-2 record. On more of the finesse side is junior Emma Sites, whose gone 8-6 through 82 1/3 innings with 59 Ks and a 2.72 ERA.

The Eagles enter the postseason on an eight-game win streak in which they've outscored foes 46-21, including wins over Choctaw (twice), Fort Walton Beach, Navarre, Chiles, Crestview and West Florida. Briana Noles leads the team in every major hitting category, batting .402 with 24 RBIs, 14 runs scored, 10 extra-base hits, seven stolen bases and a .999 OPS. Shackelford is hitting .303 with 14 RBIs, 17 runs and eight extra-base hits, while Kam Neely has driven in 15 runs followed by 11 RBIs from Carnley Summerlin and 10 each from Sites and Natalie Miller.

South Walton softball

Record: 9-10

Region 1 rank/4A State rank: 6th/15th

Players to Watch: Ella Troutt, Anita Palmer, Kayden Eckman, Zoey Kreinus

Up Next: SWHS at No. 3 Arnold (23-3), 7 p.m. Wednesday.

While the win streaks have been few and far between, South Walton is no easy out. Splitting the regular season with Arnold reflects that, the Seahawks losing 1-0 on the road and winning 4-3 at home in nine innings. The Seahawks, though, are 1-5 on the road.

At the team's core is Ella Troutt, team ace and prolific slugger. In the circle, the senior has a 0.68 ERA and 110 Ks in 61 1/3 innings. She's walked just four and allowed only one homer, foes hitting .155 against her. At the dish, Troutt is hitting .400 with 23 RBIs, 18 runs, 13 extra-base hits, seven homers and a 1.313 OPS. Zoey Kreinus is the only teammate with double-digit RBIs (15) while Anita Palmer is the only teammates hitting above .300 (.309).

South Walton baseball

Record: 17-10

Region 1 rank/4A State rank: 3/6

Players to Watch: Coleman Borthwick, Frank Wells, Nathan Whitney, Jackson Perkins, Charlie Willcox

Up Next: SWHS vs. No. 6 West Florida, 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Again, another team on the Emerald Coast leading its class in strength of schedule. The Seahawks are No. 1 at 11.12; for reference, top-ranked McKeel Academy (21-5) is 8.62. Adding to their resume, the Seahawks are 2-1 against the region's top seed, Arnold.

So what's been working? Everything, really.

Coleman Borthwick leads the bats with a .425 batting average, 18 RBIs, 16 runs, five stolen bases and two homers. Frank Wells follows with a .373 average, 18 runs, 17 RBI and six extra-base hits. Nathan Whitney has come on strong with a .346 average, and Jackson Perkins has driven in 17 runs and Willcox has 15 RBIs and two long balls.

On the mound, the Seahawks have a bevy of aces and a collective 2.27 ERA. Borthwick has a 4-2 record with a 2.42 ERA and 70 K's in 46 1/3 innings, while Willcox is 5-2 with a 1.59 ERA and 46 K's in 39 2/3 innings. Carter Ward has a 2.26 ERA and 35 K's in 34 innings, while Hunter Barber is 5-0 with a .98 ERA and 30 K's in 21 1/3 innings.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Fort Walton-area softball, baseball schedules, players to watch and more