Biting back

The way the 2021 season ended didn’t sit well with Ashdown, and the Panthers are looking to make amends.

“To lose on a passed ball in the semifinals to Harding Academy was tough,” Ashdown Coach Charles Cross said, referencing his team’s 6-5 to the Wildcats in last year’s Class 3A state semifinals. “We were at home, too. Those same kids sat around in the dugout for two hours after that game, and I had to run them out and tell them to go home. That loss hurt.

“But when you get those guys to come back the following year. … just their passion, grit, work ethic and love for the game. They don’t want to have that feeling again.”

Ashdown (21-4, 11-2 3A7) has experienced good vibes most of the season and will go into next week’s 3A Region 4 tournament as the top seed from its conference, thanks to a 6-0 win over Bismarck on Wednesday. Senior Alex Keilbach struck out 11 in six innings for the Panthers, who’ve used a collective approach to rack up victory after victory.

Keilbach, Jaxon Jester, Landon Rowe and Spencer Patterson have provided plenty of senior leadership, Cross said. His younger crop has also had noteworthy moments.

“I knew that the young guys were good, but I didn’t know they were going to be seasoned so early,” he said.

“We start two freshmen and three sophomores, and I didn’t know they’d be just as valuable as the seniors this soon.”

That value was evident against Bismarck, a team that handed Ashdown one of its losses earlier this month. Freshman Walt Jones and sophomores Wyatt Jones and Caleb Blankenship all drove in runs to help the Panthers secure the 3A-7 title.

But a league crown isn’t the only thing Ashdown wants.

“Those seniors started last year and had their hearts broken at home in front of a packed crowd,” Cross said. “They’ve come back with pure determination, like ‘Let’s not let that happen again.’ We’ve got to continue to have that want to, though.

“We’ve got to get up every morning and grind. Practice like it’s our last time and carry that over.