Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Pirates roll in regional opener
GREENLAND — When Greenland came up to bat in the bottom of the first, it already trailed Perryville by two runs.
The Pirates never flinched, scoring eight runs in the home half of the first and cruising to a 12-2 run-rule win in the opening round of the 3A Region 1 Baseball Tournament.
“That first inning, we had a little adversity. We talk all the time with our kids that this game is gonna give you adversity, and you’ve just gotta learn to respond,” said Greenland coach Will McGinnis. “Our kids did a great job responding. They didn’t panic, and they just stuck with the game plan.”
The win earned Greenland a trip to next week’s Class 3A state tournament and puts the Pirates back on the road for what they hope is a return trip to Baum Stadium to play for a state title for the second straight year.
The Pirates opened things up with seven consecutive hits which resulted in seven runs before the Mustangs were finally able to get an out. After three more runs were added in the second inning, the game was all but over.
“I’ve seen some crazy things happen in this game,” McGinnis said, noting that he never allowed his team to coast once they got the big lead. “This is the one sport that you’re gonna play at least five innings no matter what. There ain’t no timer. When you get to that fifth inning, you’re starting to feel halfway decent, but there’s a lot of game left even when it’s 8-2 in the first inning.”
Four Greenland players had multi-hit games: senior pitcher Austin Anderson, sophomore third baseman Luke Osburn, senior catcher Hunter Cartwright and senior first baseman Will Overton. Anderson’s three hits were as many as he gave up on the mound.
“[He was a] really big key, and with the way we swung the bats, we kept him under
the 30-pitch count, and we didn’t burn any pitcher going into tomorrow,” McGinnis said. “We’ve got a full staff going into it again tomorrow, and that’s a good thing.”
Heavy rain across Northwest Arkansas on Thursday forced the tournament to start a day later, but it will end today as semifinals will start at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. with the championship game scheduled for 5 p.m.
Greenland is set to take on Elkins in the second semifinal today.
“Any time you can win and advance this first day is huge,” McGinnis said. “Tomorrow is a new day. Anything could happen. We talk all the time about staying humble and staying hungry. We can’t live off today [going] into tomorrow.”
Perryville 200 00 — 2 3 2 Greenland 831 00 — 12 11 0
Thessing and Johnson; Anderson and Cartwright. W – Anderson. L – Thessing. Sv – None. HRs – None.
JESSIEVILLE 4, MANSFIELD 3
Jessieville got all it could handle from Mansfield, but timely hitting proved to be the difference.
Junior Chase Pederson had two hits, including a double. Senior Logan Perkins had two steals and a hit to help his team. The Lions earned five strikeouts on the day. CHARLESTON 2, LAMAR 0
It was a low-scoring contest, but Charleston got the runs it needed to blank Lamar.
The Tigers held Lamar to only three hits on the day. The pitching was superb, as the Warriors were struck out nine times. Sophomore Brayden Ross scored the first run for the Tigers, and junior Hayden Smart scored the second and final run. Despite the low score, the Tigers only struck out three times at the plate.
ELKINS 6, ATKINS 5
Despite a late two-run Atkins push in the seventh inning, the Elks’ fifth-inning scoring fest gave them just enough to secure a onerun victory and punch their ticket to next week’s state tournament.
In the fifth inning, the game was tied at 3-3 before Elkins delivered three straight hits to open the inning and three runners crossed home plate.
The Red Devils managed to get a spark in the bottom of the seventh, but a grounder to first sealed the deal.
SOFTBALL
PARIS 9, GREENLAND 0
In the first game of the 3A-1 Regional softball tournament, Paris senior Morgan Johnson walked on five pitches in her team’s first at-bat. She went on to score later in the inning, and the Lady Eagles hung eight more runs on the board to advance to today’s semifinals.
Junior Sydney Ward and Briana Pierce had two hits apiece for Paris. Ward added two runs for her team in the win.
ATKINS 10, CEDARVILLE 6
In what was a close game throughout, the Lady Red Devils relied on a three-run performance by junior Mary Kate Brown to hold off Cedarville.
Brown added a steal in the victory, and junior Ally Darter had two hits and a steal to push the Lady Red Devils’ offense to the double-digit clip it registered.
LAMAR 11, CHARLESTON 0
Lamar scored early and often, and Charleston couldn’t get any offensive production in a run-rule win.
Lamar’s pitching got the job done, as the Lady Tigers were held to two hits on the day. Five Lamar players had two runs in the game. ELKINS 14, PERRYVILLE 0
The Elkins Lady Elks’ bats continued to heat up throughout their game against Perryville and earned them a berth in next week’s state tournament.
Senior Sarah Parrish had three hits and scored two runs for Elkins.