Northwest Florida closed out its 2026 home schedule the way Raiders Head Coach Doug Martin spent 18 years teaching his players to finish: with toughness, resilience, and a flair for the big moment.
On a night that doubled as both Sophomore Night and Doug Martin’s final regular-season home game, the Raiders erupted for a 15–7 run-rule win over Tallahassee in seven innings, celebrating not only a pivotal conference victory, but the career of the man who turned Northwest Florida into a national power.
Fittingly, the sendoff ended with a golf bag—one more nod to a head coach whose passion for the game of golf is almost as well known around Niceville as his passion for developing baseball players.
The game itself felt like a tribute to the type of aggressive, relentless baseball that has defined Martin’s tenure.
Northwest Florida led 7–1 early before Tallahassee answered with four runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to trim the margin to 7–6. But as they have so many times under Martin, the Raiders responded.
Quigley’s record-breaking homer jump-started a three-run fifth, with Bradley and Tarchalski following with RBI hits to stretch the lead back to four. After Tallahassee scratched across a run in the sixth, the Raiders put the game away for good.
In the bottom of the sixth, Brock Clayton delivered the knockout blow, launching a grand slam to finish off the Eagles.
Santiago added an RBI single in the seventh to invoke the run rule and close the Doug Martin era.
With the win, Northwest Florida improved to 28–18 on the season and stayed firmly in the race for a second-place conference finish and a potential home playoff berth, with a regular-season-ending doubleheader at Tallahassee still to come.
Thursday night was about more than one win.
When Doug Martin arrived in 2009 as just the third head coach in program history, Northwest Florida was a solid junior college program. Eighteen seasons later, it is a nationally recognized powerhouse, largely because of the standard he set.
Over his tenure, Martin has:
174 players have advanced to four-year schools, and 42 have signed professional contracts with Major League organizations after playing for Martin.
Before the first pitch, Martin took the microphone at home plate and delivered a heartfelt speech that captured why Thursday night meant so much.
He began with gratitude—for the crowd, for Tallahassee, and for the opportunity to coach in a community that embraced him and his program. He thanked:
He then turned to the people who opened the doors that led him to Niceville. He recalled being a high school coach at Escambia High School and Pensacola High School, still unsure if he could make the jump to college baseball, until Coach Bill Hamilton at Pensacola Junior College gave him his first college opportunity.
He thanked Hamilton for taking a chance on a young coach “who didn’t know anything about college baseball,” and credited him for teaching him how to carry himself and his team—right down to how they stand for the national anthem.
Martin also acknowledged the administrator who entrusted him with the Raider program in the first place, Coach Mickey Eaglet, who hired him for his first head coaching job, taking a chance on an unproven leader.
But the most emotional moment came when Martin spoke about his wife, Candice.
He paused to thank her for years of support, describing how she listened, advised, and steadied him through the ups and downs of coaching life:
He admitted there was “no way” he could be “anywhere close to being a decent coach whatsoever” without her, making sure she received the credit he felt she deserved.
For all his wins and accolades, Martin’s voice carried a different kind of pride when he spoke about wearing “Raiders” across his chest.
He reminded the crowd that Northwest Florida doesn’t just represent a mascot. The program honors the legacy of the Doolittle Raiders, who trained nearby at Eglin Air Force Base and whose patch and American flag the team wears on its uniforms.
“Being a Raider means something special,” he said, noting that while his players move on to schools with mascots like bears, tigers, and the Crimson Tide, they will always carry the experience of representing some of the bravest people in the country’s history.
He closed with a simple message of appreciation and identity:
“This place is special to me… We’re just so grateful to be able to try our best to represent what I think are some of the most special people that our country has ever seen… Thank you very much. And go Raiders.”
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
Register or login with Mid Bay News and never get another pop up on our site!
