Arkansas 1A-5A baseball semifinals roundup
The second Saturday in May is known as “Semi-Final Saturday” across the Natural State as four teams in each classification look to punch their ticket to next week’s Weekend of Champions. We already know there will be new champions in Class 6A and Class 1A.
Class 5A
Van Buren 12 Batesville 3
The Pointers (26-5) flexed their muscle early scoring in the first three innings and never looked back. Batesville was able to tie it up at 2 going into the second inning but that was short lived as Van Buren tacked on a couple of runs in the bottom of the frame. Devin Gattis continued his MVP-caliber play by going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Malachi Henry chipped in with two runs batted in while Presley Nichols and Josh Nowotny each had three RBI a piece. Van Buren proved they can hit and score top to bottom in their three wins in Hot Springs. Eastern Oklahoma signee Connor Brady hurled another complete game for the Pointers. The 6-foot-3 righty struck out twelve while scattering four hits with three walks. Batesville starter Freshman Mark Brissey never could get comfortable and struggled with command and Van Buren took advantage. Gage Wood led the Pioneers (21-8) with two hits.
Marion 7 Sheridan 0
Arkansas State signee Chase Armstrong decided to have one of his best games on a big stage. The senior tossed a complete game shutout, the Patriots third in as many games this weekend in Hot Springs. Marion (28-5) outscored opponents 22-0 en route to the title game where they will take on defending champion Van Buren. Gage Watson was 2-3 with a double on the day to lead the Patriot offense that kept finding a way to produce runs in big situations.
Class 4A
Valley View 9 Shiloh Christian 1
Valley View asserted their will over Shiloh Christian on their way to an easy 9-1 victory to make it back to the 4A title game.
Valley View (29-6) opened scoring in the first inning. Cooper Lutz drew a walk, scoring one run.
Valley View scored three runs in the seventh inning. Slade Caldwell, Grayson Becker, and Tyler Hoskins all drove in runs in the frame.
Preston Watlington led Valley View to victory on the mound. Watlington went six and a third innings, allowing one run on six hits and striking out six. Lawson Ward threw two-thirds of an inning in relief out of the bullpen. Ward also had a towering homerun in the fourth inning.
Jonas Nantze took the loss for Shiloh Christian. Nantze allowed six hits and five runs over four innings, striking out one.
Valley View totaled 11 hits. Caldwell and Hoskins each collected three hits to lead Valley View. Most importantly the Blazers played error free baseball.
Lawson Ward, Grayson Becker and Carter Saulsbury have paced the offense this weekend.
Harrison 17 Huntsville 11
In a rematch of last week’s 4A North Regional Championship, the Goblins got the best of the Eagles in a game that can only be described as “crazy”. This matchup featured multiple delays so umpires could confer with each other on plays to make sure they got the correct call. The delays seem to take away any momentum Huntsville had at points during the game. Beck Jones had a two run homerun in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to six runs. The Eagles would get within a run at 12-11 in the sixth inning, but Logan Plumlee would push the lead back to two runs with an RBI single. Luke Eaton and Sawyer Owens each had an RBI triple in the fourth inning for the Eagles.
Class 3A
Harding Academy 9 Paris 2
In a one-game setting, the Paris Eagles would have probably given Harding Academy all they wanted but that wasn’t the case in Saturday's semifinal in Harrison as Kade Smith, a University of Arkansas signee, shut the Eagles down early and e helped his cause with a solo homerun in the sixth inning. Duke Walker got Paris on the board in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 6-1 but that was as close as the Eagles would get. The Wildcats have now won 25 straight games and improved to 30-3 on the season. Their last lost was to defending 4A champion Valley View 5-4 in an early season non-conference game.
Ashdown 7 Haskell Harmony Grove 4
Ashdown (26-6) dropped their regular-season finale 15-5 to the Cardinals after wrapping up the 7-4A conference title earlier that week. Saturday was a different story as the Panthers punched their ticket to Benton and set up the only No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup in the state finals after upsets in other classifications. This game was delayed over an hour due to lightning. At the time of the delay, the Panthers led 5-3. They tacked on a couple of runs and hang on in the season rubber match. Alex Keilbach, Jaxon Jester and the Jones brothers, Walt and Wyatt have been big for Ashdown this weekend.
Class 2A
Bigelow 10 McCrory 4
Bigelow (15-8) overcame a 3-1 deficit scoring five runs in the fifth inning and never looked back in defeating the Jaguars 10-4. Carter and Hunter Alexander have had big weekends along with Beau Billick, who picked up the win in the quarterfinals. Hunter Alexander was moved to catcher for the first time since his freshman season, and Pathers head coach Craig Neumeier credited Alexander for his “team first” effort. He was also 3-4 with two doubles on the day. Carter Alexander pitched 6 1/3 innings and competed every pitch. Billick had four runs batted in on the day including a three-run homerun. Evan Regan got the last two outs. Coach Neumeier said, “This group has been like this all year…even with getting things on and off the bus, everybody accepting their roles.” The Panthers have only had to use four pitchers to advance to finals which is rare for Class 2A teams.
Woodlawn 6 Buffalo Island Central 3
The Bears are back in a familiar place – the 2A State Championship. Bears head coach Tommy Richardson will go for his ninth state title next week in Benton, and this may be his best coaching job yet. After losing staff ace Cale Edmonds early in the season, the Bears re-grouped and grew up fast. Edmonds returned for the state tournament and went 5-7 his first two games and made two relief appearances. Like every other year, this has been a team effort and one Coach Richardson will never forget.
Class 1A
Taylor 11 Mount Ida 1
Taylor (18-5-2) is headed back to the state-title game after defeating Mount Ida for the second time in two weeks. The Tigers defeated the Lions 5-4 last week in the 4-1A Regional Semi-finals but didn’t have to sweat this one out due to an early offensive onslaught. Taylor has been ranked in the SBLive Super 7 rankings all year and most of the year in the top 5. They will take on Nemo Vista next week after outscoring opponents 36-14 in the first three rounds. Taylor lost the 2019 title game 6-5 to Viola.
Nemo Vista 6 Ouachita 1
Nemo Vista proved that the third time is the charm against Ouachita. The Red Hawks lost both games of a doubleheader by a combined 30-4 to the Warriors on April 15th. This time the Red Hawks had their ace ready to go and he was the difference. He kept the Warriors off balance the entire game forcing them to chase pitches they don’t usually go after. Christian Rodelo, Ben Desalvo and Cordell Sims have been big for Nemo in the postseason. Ouachita threatened in the sixth inning with a couple of runners in scoring position, but Hunter Rook hit a blistering line drive right at the shortstop to end the inning.
