A rematch of softball giants delivered drama again.

Ryleigh Stone knocked in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth inning and Columbia overcame Baker County 6-2 in the Florida High School Athletic Association Region 1-4A softball semifinals on May 14, punching a Tiger ticket for the final four.

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A two-run fifth with RBI singles from Stone and Addy Sherman for the Tigers (27-3) made the difference in a contest of Florida's two highest-ranked schools in Class 4A. Stone also added two insurance runs with a two-RBI triple in the sixth, moments after an apparent Baker County catch for a third out was nullified when umpires ruled the catch to be inside a photography box and thus out of play.

Stone (4 for 4 with four RBI) excelled in the circle as well, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth by forcing Baker County senior Baleigh Shields to ground out to shortstop Alannah Lord.

Chloe Johnson went 2 for 3 for Baker County (24-3), which moved in front after an error in the third inning before the Tigers rebounded on RBI singles from Lord and Stone. Columbia had previously defeated Baker County 7-4 in districts on April 30.

The Tigers advance to the May 21 state semifinal at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood, north of Orlando. Columbia is seeking a second FHSAA title after winning it all in 2013 on a team powered by future University of Florida slugger Kayli Kvistad.

REGION 1-3A

The home run parade continued for Wakulla junior Parker Stubbs, who belted the 14th and 15th home runs of her season to defeat Paxon 13-2 in Crawfordville.

Paxon (17-8) seized an early lead when Kassidy Edwards' groundout scored Makiyah Lester, but six errors derailed the evening for the Golden Eagles.

Stubbs homered in her first at-bat to set the tone in a five-run bottom of the first, and Hunter also drove in three RBI as the War Eagles (25-4) advanced to a May 21 semifinal game. Jayci Mapes and Aislin Hunter combined on a five-inning two-hitter.

USC Upstate commit Stubbs now has seven home runs in her last six games, all of the long balls coming against Northeast Florida opposition.

REGION 1-2A

McKenzie Goff homered, doubled and knocked in the go-ahead run in a six-run third inning as North Bay Haven ended Baldwin's season, 8-3.

St. John's University signee Jazmine Ramos-Merced, in the final game of her distinguished seven-year varsity career, blasted a two-run home run to push Baldwin (21-7) in front before the Buccaneers unleashed a game-changing third.

North Bay Haven (21-5) rode a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts from sophomore pitcher Addison Mallon to stifle Baldwin the rest of the way. The Buccaneers advance to play May 20 in the final four in Longwood.

REGION 1-1A

Carlee Conners raced home with the game's only run on a fifth-inning throwing error and University Christian raced back to the final four, 1-0 over Tallahassee St. John Paul II.

Senior Dixie Tessier and Naomi Winburn combined to hurl a one-hit shutout for Class 1A No. 1 UC (19-4), striking out five and continuing their run for a second FHSAA title to join their triumph from 2023.

Sanaa Roberts got the only hit in the fifth inning for the Panthers (18-9), and Harvard-committed pitcher Amanda Thompson struck out 12 in a three-hitter of her own.

UC next advances to the Class 1A state semifinal on May 19 in Longwood.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Northeast Florida high school softball regional final scores

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Australia’s share market is again heading lower after a brief reprieve on Thursday, as a rally in major miners runs out of steam.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 15.9 points by midday on Friday, down 0.18 per cent to 8,624.8, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 16.6 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 8,864.7.

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Dip buyers stepped in after a post-earnings-season sell-down of the big four banks, which peaked on Wednesday when Commonwealth Bank shares had their worst day on record, falling 10 per cent. 

The drop wiped away almost $30 billion of the bank’s market value.

Commonwealth Bank shares had their worst day on record on Wednesday, falling 10 per cent. (Michael Currie/AAP PHOTOS)

CBA was 2.4 per cent higher at $160.25, while Westpac edged up 0.3 per cent to $35.83, NAB gained 0.3 per cent to $36.52 and ANZ lifted 0.3 per cent to $35.12.

Energy stocks advanced on the back of rising oil prices, as RBC Capital Markets warned against optimism for a timely resolution to the Persian Gulf energy crisis.

“We are very sceptical of a June grand reopening or even that maritime traffic will return to February 27 levels for the foreseeable future,” RBC head of global commodity strategy Helima Croft said.

“The optimistic scenario seems predicated on the tenuous assumption that there is a relatively easy policy lever that can be pulled to get ships moving again through the strait once the economic pain becomes unbearable.”

Woodside, Santos, Ampol and Viva Energy all advanced as Brent oil futures crept above $US107 a barrel, while coal miners also improved and uranium stocks lost ground.

Viva Energy will host its annual general meeting of shareholders next week. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

Miners weighed heavily on the bourse, the basic materials sector shedding 2.9 per cent as BHP and Rio Tinto cooled off from their record-breaking runs, tracking with a reversal in copper prices.

Gold miners were a sea of red, as the precious metal tumbled to $US4,612 ($A6,418) an ounce, dragging the All Ordinaries gold sub-sector 2.6 per cent lower.

The retreat followed stronger-than-expected US economic data, which supported the greenback and bond yields, and heightened the likelihood of US interest rate hikes, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

Utilities also dragged on the bourse, falling more than two per cent after similar slides in AGL and Origin.

ASX-listed IT stocks bounced more than four per cent after falling for most of the month, helped by an almost nine per cent rebound in Xero after Thursday’s earnings miss sparked a sell-off.

Consumer-facing stocks staged modest rebounds of about 0.7 per cent, but both staples and discretionaries remained under pressure as fuel costs, inflation and rising interest rates weigh on confidence.

Many economists expect the Reserve Bank to raise rates again in 2026. (Susie Dodds/AAP PHOTOS)

In company news, retail property group Vicinity Centres edged 0.6 per cent higher after exchanging contracts to buy Western Sydney’s Eastern Creek Quarter precinct for $400 million.

Mineral Resources shares slumped more than seven per cent after managing director Chris Ellison unloaded $112.5 million in stock in an on-market sale.

Penfolds Owner Treasury Wine Estates inched higher after French billionaire Olivier Goudet spent $31 million to up his stake in the winemaker to more than nine per cent.

The Australian dollar is buying 71.87 US cents, down from 72.03 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.

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