Smackover baseball takes on Fouke in regional tournament.
SMACKOVER - Smackover’s hitters spent extra time this week working on hitting the ball to the right side of the field.
The extra work paid off handsomely. Beau Burson hit a grand slam, Brennan McKnight drilled a three-run shot and Clay Stringer belted a solo homer, as the Bucks crushed Fouke 14-1 in the opening round of the 4-3A Regional Tournament on Friday afternoon.
The win sends the Bucks (17-14) into next week’s state tournament, while the Panthers (16-11) have their season end in the opening round of the regional tournament for the third straight year.
The Bucks, the 8-3A’s No. 2 seed, will take on Horatio, the 7-3A’s No. 1 seed, in the semifinals at noon today.
The Lions advanced with a 6-3 win over McGehee in the first game of the day.
Since starting the season 5-11, the Bucks have now won 12 of their last 15 games.
“That’s the first and foremost thing. Our kids are going to the state tournament,” said Smackover coach B.J. Greene. “I can’t say enough about our coaching staff and our kids. We worked all week because we knew he (Fouke’s Austin Lawrence) was going to go the other way with offspeed and the curveball. I think we had two opposite-field home runs and one to left field. We hit a lot of line drives to the right side. The kids did what we asked them to do.”
The Bucks’ bombardment began in the first.
Stringer got ahead in the count 3-1 before belting Fouke starter Austin Lawrence’s next pitch over the fence in left to open the scoring.
It was just the beginning. Weston Smith, who went 2-for-2 and scored four runs, rifled a double to the fence in center.
Burson followed with a walk, setting the stage for McKnight, who like Stringer, crushed Lawrence’s 3-1 pitch over the fence in right-center for a three-run homer that gave the Bucks a 4-0 lead.
The Bucks tacked on a run in the second on an RBI groundout by McKnight before breaking the game open with a nine-run fourth.
Smith led off with a single and Burson followed with a double to put runners at second and third.
One out later, Nick Jennings reached on a safety squeeze bunt to score Smith, and a throwing error on the play allowed Burson to score to extend the lead to 7-0.
Cade Schibler kept the rally going by getting hit by a pitch and Cody Smith walked to load the bases.
Baylor Brumley then laced Lawrence’s first pitch into center field for an RBI single to make it 8-0.
Lawrence fanned Tucker Evans for the inning’s second out, but with Stringer batting, the right-hander uncorked a wild pitch that allowed courtesy runner Alex Burris to score.
However, a high throw to the plate eluded Lawrence, also allowing Smith to score.
Stringer later walked, prompting a pitching change.
Jonah Parker came on in relief, but after walking Weston Smith, Burson crushed the right-hander’s 3-1 pitch over the fence in right-center for a grand slam.
The run support was more than enough for Burson, who took a shutout into a fifth and finished with a five-hitter. The senior walked two and struck out two.
“Beau came out and threw a great game,” Greene said. “The one thing about Beau is he is the epitome of a competitor. He’s the guy you want out there. Whether he has his best stuff or doesn’t have his best stuff, he’s going to compete.
“Our scouting reports told us they were free swingers. We knew that we could get them out with offspeed stuff, and Beau did that. His fastball wasn’t there, and he missed with the curveball a couple of times. He hurt himself because he went into some long counts, but he competes.”
Lawrence took the loss, lasting just 3 2/3 innings.
Parker went 2-for-2 for the Panthers.
Eight Smackover starters had at least one hit in the win with Burson joining Smith with a 2-for-2 day.
The Bucks also struck out only two times in the game.
Last year, the Bucks and Lions staged an epic classic in the regional semifinals with Horatio prevailing in extra innings.
Now Greene is hoping the Bucks can return the favor.
“Now we just have to not have that letdown like we did last year against Horatio,” Greene said. “We’ll try to come back out and swing the bats like we did today.”
Horatio 6, McGehee 3
Wade Beasley showed why he is one of the top junior prospects in the state by striking out 13 with just one walk over six hitless innings for the Lions.
Beasley also helped himself at the plate with a three-run homer.
The junior added a double to finish 2-for-3 at the plate.
After scoring three runs in the first, the Lions added two in the fourth on an RBI single by Drew Griffin and a sacrifice fly by Reece Black.
Kaylon Handley took the loss on the mound for the Owls, who scored all three of their runs in the seventh after Beasley departed.
The right-hander allowed six runs (five earned) over 5 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out six.