Watlington sends Blazers back to title tilt

VALLEY VIEW 9, SHILOH CHRISTIAN 1

NASHVILLE — Valley View Coach Josh Allison didn’t ask pitcher Preston Watlington for a special outing against Shiloh Christian.

But with a championship berth on the line, the right-handed fireballer gave him one anyway.

Watlington threw six effective innings for the Blazers, who used a fast start to run past Shiloh Christian 9-1 in the semifinals of the Class 4A state baseball tournament Saturday at Wilson Park.

Valley View (29-6) scored two runs in the top of the first inning and never let up against a team that’d previously outscored its first two opponents — Fountain Lake and Lonoke — 19-5. But Watlington had a huge hand in helping the Blazers limit Shiloh Christian’s production.

“He threw 17 pitches in that hot heat yesterday, too,” Allison said of his starting hurler. “I mean, he just pitched his butt off out there. He mixed his pitches well and gave us a chance to win. In that type of situation, you couldn’t ask for any more than that.”

Watlington lasted 6 1/3 innings and struck out 6 batters on 111 pitches. Lawson Ward came on to get the final two outs and pick up the save.

Ward, Grayson Becker and Carter Saulsbury all had two hits for Valley View, which will defend its title at the Benton Athletic Complex against Harrison, which outlasted Huntsville 17-11 in the other semifinal.

Shiloh Christian (17-13) had six hits, five of which were singles, but the Saints weren’t able to build off any firepower to help themselves get out of trouble early.

Valley View benefitted from three walks to bust out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Blazers added a single run in the third when Tyler Hoskins scored on a Saulsbury sacrifice fly, then collected a pair of runs in the fourth when Ward turned on a pitch and sailed it high over the left-field wall for a tworun home run.

“Offensively, we did what we needed to do,” Allison said. “It wasn’t about anything big for us. It was just constant pressure. When you score in five of the seven innings, that’s tough on any team.

“But we did a good job of coming out and scoring, then limiting them to zeroes because that’s a really good team over there.”

Allison did have his concerns about the Saints, though. His Blazers pulled out an 11-4 win when the teams met in the semifinals in 2021, and he didn’t expect Shiloh Christian to go down quietly, especially with the way it played in the first two rounds.

“That’s a good program,” he said. “You don’t get to this point and not be good, not be a threat. They did a really good job early on of holding us at bay in our running game. And on short notice, they came in prepared, so you have to tip your hat to them.”

Watlington scored in the fifth, and the Blazers added three more in the top of the seventh. The Saints avoided the shutout with a run after getting a pair of singles in their final at-bat.

“This is big for us,” Allison said. “You win it last year, and you want to have a good showing to go back. Of course, just to get back to the title game is a big deal. I said last year when we got there that win or lose, we accomplished something.

“Then to turn around and get back there the year after you win it, to give yourself a chance to win it again, I couldn’t be any happier.”

HARRISON 17, HUNTSVILLE 11

Dylan Block had two hits and drove in six runs as Harrison (21-12) withstood rally after rally to win a nearly four-hour marathon.

Brodey Gilliam had three hits, while Logan Plumlee had two hits and two RBI for the Goblins, who faced a 9-6 deficit until using a six-run, fourth inning to move out front. Harrison, which loaded the bases in each of the first five innings, took advantage of six walks in that decisive fourth.

Timber Crenwelge had two hits, while Beck Jones had a two-run home run in the seventh for the Goblins. Plumlee also picked up the victory on the mound.

Tucker Bradley and Mason Davidson recorded three hits for Huntsville (23-8), which beat Harrison in last week’s 4A North Regional final. Braden Carter, who hit a three-run home run in the third, Amos Mayes and Kolton Reynolds collected two hits apiece for the Eagles.