Smackover, Fouke to meet in regional
Towards the end of March, Smackover was floundering with a 4-10 record that included an eight-game losing streak.
Since then, the Bucks have righted the ship, posting wins in 10 of their last 15 games.
Now Smackover is only one win away from having home-field advantage in next week's state tournament, but standing in their way is a team that would like nothing more than to avenge a loss that took place a year ago.
Today, Smackover and Fouke collide in the opening round of the 4-3A Regional Tournament.
Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. from Horatio.
The Bucks (14-15) are the 8-3A's No. 2 seed, while Fouke (11-12) is the 7-3A's No. 3 seed.
Last spring, the Bucks ended the Panthers' season with a 14-1 win, as Brennan McKnight drilled a three-run homer and Beau Burson belted a grand slam as part of a nine-run fourth inning that broke open a close game.
"I think they're a lot like they were last year," said Smackover coach B.J. Greene. "We played them last year and we run-ruled them, but we lost five seniors, and they didn't graduate anybody. They're coming back and looking for a spot in the state tournament. They haven't made it in a few years. They've been knocking on the door. We're going to have to go out there and give everything we have and play one of the best games we've played all year."
Although the Panthers have a losing record, they own victories over Horatio and Ashdown, and they have played well down the stretch having won four of their last six games.
"I think throughout the year, they've hit the ball really well," Greene said. "They're kind of tricky. It's been kind of hit or miss from the coaches that I've talked to. They may show up and wear us out, and they may show up and lay an egg. They haven't been to the state tournament in 14 years, and a lot of our kids have had that opportunity. I think that's helping us."
Senior Austin Lawrence took the loss in last year's contest, and Greene believes his team could see him again today, but junior Amzi East is also a candidate to start for the
Panthers.
"Pitching-wise, their best pitcher is the Lawrence kid, who returned from last year. He's their best velocity guy," Greene said.
"East is another young man that is a guy that people are thinking we may see.
"He's one of their pitchers that's thrown a lot. He doesn't throw as hard, but he throws a lot more strikes."
The two games Smackover played in the district tournament were a mixed variety.
In the semifinals against Fordyce, the Bucks struggled mightily before overcoming a 6-1 deficit to stun Fordyce and advance.
"Friday, I was very disappointed in our guys," Greene said. "I don't think our guys played very well. I think we were very fortunate to get away with a win. At this time of year, you just need to win and advance, and that's the mentality we took. Even though we weren't happy with our guys' performance, we got a win and we got to play in the finals.
"That's the big key. We knew we had to be a one or a two to have a legit chance at being in the state tournament. I'm not saying that we'll beat Fouke, but we know we didn't want to play Genoa (Central) or Horatio to have to get in."
In the finals against Junction City, the Bucks got a superb performance on the mound from Noah Wilson, who went the distance with a seven-hitter in a 4-1 loss.
A junior, Wilson struck out three while keeping the Dragons' powerful offense in check.
"We're sitting here looking at a couple of different options," Greene said of who could start today's game. "Honestly, and we told Noah this and the team, Noah's performance in the district finals was probably the best pitching performance we've had all year by any pitcher. What he did was outstanding. I think he only threw like 75 pitches, and kept Junction off balance.
"Brock McGoogan had one solid hit. Jack Smith and Charles Hoof had two infield singles. If that's all you're giving those three guys, you've done an outstanding job.
"The thing that Junction did against us was that they had timely hitting. When they got a guy on base, the followed it up with a hit to score a run, whereas when we got a guy on base, we couldn't follow it up with a hit."
If the Bucks are to get the opportunity to play in the state tournament on their field, Greene said his team must play solid defense.
"Obviously, we've got to play good defense," Greene said.
"There's nobody we're going to throw out there that they're not going to hit. We don't have a Beau Burson. We don't have a Logan Clark. We've definitely got to have that. We've got to field the ball.
"The thing we've got to do is if we can do the same things against Junction with the pitching and the defense, and we can put some timely hitting together, I think we can come out on top.
"We're looking at a great opportunity here to get to the state tournament with a team that's not overall the best we've had at Smackover in a while, but they fight like no other."