Spring Hill gets hot at right time

HOPE, Ark.—Spring Hill has found its groove late in the season.

The Bears (24-9) face Saint Joseph (17-9-1) in the 2A championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Baum Stadium on the campus of the University of Arkansas.

Spring Hill has gotten hot in the playoffs and has pulled out two 1-run games in its three games at the state tournament.

The Bears defeated Pangburn in the first round, 7-6; defeated Buffalo Island Central, 6-1; and edged Palestine-Wheatley, 10-9, in the semifinals.

Rusty Winfield is in his fifth year at Spring Hill and this is his first state championship appearance with the Bears.

“I tell the players that it's just another baseball game played on a different field,” Winfield said. “We still play with the same amount of players. They have put in a lot of work to get here, and we just need to keep

playing the way we have been playing. We have had several opportunities to be successful and have lost many games by just one run. This team just refuses to lose. If we make a mistake, we just pick up the other teammate and continue to play.”

During the season, five of Spring Hill's nine losses resulted from 1-run games. The Bears were in the state tournament last in 2015 and were shut out by runner-up Magnet Cove, 3-0.

This year is a different story, with Spring Hill looking to use a veteran, hard-working group of talented young men to clinch the championship.The Bears start three seniors and five juniors.

“The kids have been working since the end of football season,” Winfield said. “A lot of the kids will hit more after practice, and they want to get better each and every day. We always have a tough region to get out of so the competition in the regional tournament helps prepare us for the state tournament.”

Saint Joseph High School, based in Conway, Ark., defeated Parker's Chapel, 7-3, in the first round, Sloan-Hendrix, 4-3, in the quarterfinals, and Harmony Grove, 7-3, in the state semifinals.