LAKE CITY, Fla. — It always feels good to beat your rival. It was even sweeter for Suwannee on Thursday after battling back to force extra innings and coming away with a win at Columbia.  

Bo Bonds pitched a masterful game in relief, Dalton Croft had three hits and scored the game-winning run, and the Bulldogs topped the neighboring Tigers 4-3 in an action-packed contest that went 10 innings.   

“Every kid on both sides is fighting for every inch. There’s a lot of ups and downs throughout the game. Columbia-Suwannee, that’s what it’s all about,” said Bulldogs coach Justin Bruce. “This is one of my favorite ones.

“Anytime you have a rivalry that’s a clean, fun, action game that gets pretty intense without any of the other stuff coming in, it’s an awesome game.”

Bonds struck out 14 in seven innings and overpowered Tiger hitters at key moments. CHS put runners on second and third with no outs in the eighth inning, but the Tigers failed on a suicide squeeze attempt and then Bonds struck out the next two hitters to get out of trouble. 

In the bottom of the 10th inning, Bonds worked around a leadoff single — the only hit he gave up the entire night — by striking out the side. The Tigers had a runner on third base when Bonds struck out Tate Worrell to end the game. 

Suwannee’s hard-throwing right-hander worked quickly and effectively. Bonds threw 92 pitches in his seven innings of work and kept a brisk, confident pace.  

“Bo stepped in and did really well. I’m glad these seniors put us in this situation,” Bruce said. “There’s some young guys that have never been a part of this rivalry and it’s good for them to be thrown in positions and have to fight through adversity because it builds the team top to bottom.

“These type games help you all through the season.”

Croft, the Bulldogs’ senior center fielder, hit two clutch doubles. His first double came in the top of the seventh inning with two outs. That hit drove in Marquis Jones and tied the score at 3 to force extra innings. 

Croft then doubled in the 10th inning. He moved over to third base on a Josh Wharton single. Suwannee’s next hitter, Wyatt Morrill, hit a shallow fly ball to left field, but Croft used his speed to tag up from third and put Suwannee ahead 4-3. 

The Bulldogs, who have now won four straight games against the Tigers, had to fight for every run. CHS starting pitcher Coyle Giebeig worked 6 1-3 innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs. 

Bonds had two hits for Suwannee. Ronnie Layton and Trett Wadford had one hit and one RBI apiece while Jones scored two runs.

Columbia (6-8) took an early lead with a two-run homer from Lance Minson in the first inning. Morrill pitched the first three innings for SHS.   

Suwannee improved to 12-3 on the season. The Bulldogs have won six straight games and will host district foe Bolles on Thursday.

Bruce spoke about the benefits of getting a hard-fought win against Columbia before some important games.  

“That’s a really good Lake City team,” he said. “You carry the momentum into Bolles. You’ve got a little fire behind you, it makes practices a little easier to go through. You get into the games and you’ve proven you can do it time and time again.”