Disappointing tournament for Blackhawks
LINCOLN — Huntsville held off a late Pea Ridge rally to win the District 4A-1 baseball consolation game at Lincoln Saturday.
Pea Ridge roared back from a 7-0 deficit entering the bottom of the sixth inning, but came up one run short, losing 8-7. The Blackhawks played without third baseman Jakota Sainsbury, who was ejected for arguing in the semifinal loss to Prairie Grove.
“That’s a Triple A rule,” said Blackhawk coach John King. “If the umpire deems it bad enough to kick you, then you’ve got to go ahead and sit out a game. It definitely puts a kink in things. There’s somebody you’ve got to add to the middle of your lineup.”
The Eagles led 7-0 when Pea Ridge came to bat in the bottom of the sixth. Tyler Odell singled into left field and Tate Busey drove him in with a double to get the Blackhawks on the scoreboard. Bradley Wright smacked a double down the right field line to score a second run. Carson Rhine walked and Peyton Galbraith hit a line drive for a single to load the bases. Landon Allison drove in a run with a single and a throwing error allowed a second run to score drawing Pea Ridge within, 7-4.
Clint Eaton’s two-out triple in the top of the seventh proved to be the winning run for Huntsville. Although the Eagles led 8-4 at that moment, the significance wasn’t lost on coach Greg Harris.
“Them jokers, they can swing it,” Harris said. “(Starting pitcher) Tanner Harris just did a good job. He just got tired. That big run we scored in the top of the seventh to give us a cushion, it was just enough.”
Pea Ridge scored three runs in its last at-bat to pull within a single run, 8-7. Hayden Holtgrewe singled followed by Brayden Ralph’s walk. Huntsville switched pitchers bringing in Nick Garrett. Odell tripled down the first baseline scoring two runs. Garrett then induced a pair of ground-outs, the second of which by Wright drove in a run. Garrett ended the game with a strike-out preserving the 8-7 win for Huntsville.
Both teams return to Lincoln for regional play Thursday. Pea Ridge will play the No. 1 seed from the 4A-4 at 10 a.m. while Huntsville takes on the No. 2 seed at 5:30 p.m.
Prairie Grove 11, Pea Ridge 6
An 11-6 loss to Prairie Grove in the semifinal caused Pea Ridge to drop into the district consolation game against Huntsville which lost to Shiloh Christian 11-1 in the other semifinal.
Prairie Grove scored two runs in the top of the third and Pea Ridge answered with three in the bottom half of the inning to take a one-run lead. Silas Myane began the fourth with a leadoff walk for the Tigers. The next batter grounded out, but with Drew Cates batting the plate umpire sustained an injury causing a 10 minute delay before he gamely returned to his post. Cates drilled a single RBI to tie the game at 3-3.
The Blackhawks again responded by pushing a pair of runs across in their half of the inning. Will Feemster started the rally with a leadoff double. Prairie Grove intentionally walked Jakota Sainsbury, then got Ralph to fly out. With runners at the corners, Odell doubled into left field to bring home the go-ahead run. Holtgrewe’s sacrifice fly brought home another run and the Blackhawks led 5-3.
Busey got into trouble in the top of the sixth. After recording a strike out, he issued a walk, then induced a ground-out, but the Blackhawks could not seem to get the third out. Jackson Sorters was hit by a pitch. Jadin Higgins bunted his way on to load the bases. Myane was hit by a pitch and a run scored. D.J. Pearson singled to drive in another run and Cates did likewise putting Prairie Grove ahead, 6-5.
The Tigers weren’t done yet. Couper Allen drew a walk which scored another run. At that juncture, King pulled Busey and inserted Landon Allison, but he didn’t last long. Kyle Fidler singled and Chase Wade walked increasing the Tiger advantage to 9-5.
Ralph then came on in relief surrendering a two-run single to Cole Vertz, which a second run awarded when Sainsbury was penalized for blocking a runner turning the corner at third. Sainsbury argued and was ejected.
Prairie Grove coach Chris Mileham celebrated a number of quality at-bats during the 8-run inning.
“We didn’t help them, we didn’t chase pitches out of the zone,” Mileham said. “In that stretch we strung together eight or nine really good at-bats. That’s fun to watch.”
Allison tripled with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. He was replaced by courtesy runner Hunter Anderson, who scored on Feemster’s single, but the Blackhawks could produce no more runs and lost 11-6.
Mileham said a loss to Pea Ridge during conference play when the Tigers walked 13 batters left a sour taste in their mouth and they were eager to make up for it.
“I think we’ve just got a chip on our shoulder,” Mileham said. “Hey, we’re somebody to talk about, too.”
Pea Ridge 4, Gentry 0
Pea Ridge junior Odell threw only 82 pitches in a dominating performance as Pea Ridge defeated Gentry, 4-0. Sainsbury left the game after suffering an injury sliding into third with the Blackhawks leading 2-0 in the third. Josh Rugger came in as a pinch-runner to replace him and scored on Holtgrewe’s sacrifice fly. Odell recorded two strike outs in the top of the fourth inning as he retired the Pioneers in order. Pea Ridge would add another run later while holding Gentry scoreless.