Leopards claim 4A-South title, first-round state bye

MALVERN — Ashdown could not withstand a pair of breakout innings by Malvern as the Leopards went on to claim the top seed and the 4A-South Regional title Saturday night at Malvern National Bank Field at Morrison Park.

The Panthers (25-9) got on the board first, but Malvern (24-6) managed to respond with big innings to take a 12-5 win in the 4A-South Regional final.

After 3 1/2 scoreless innings, Ashdown’s Alex Day led off with a single before Logan Henry sent him home for the first run of the game.

“Alex is just resilient,” said Ashdown head coach Charles Cross, noting the catcher made several plays at the plate for the Panthers. “He’s our catcher. He’s been our catcher four years. He’s started every game for four years. He had a big game. It just comes down to errors. When you make four errors, you shouldn’t win the game. They just played a lot better. They deserve it; they played a lot better.”

Malvern head coach Matthew Weigand said he was impressed with the way his team overcame a controversial call against Whit Jones in the top of the fourth inning.

“They called him out because they said he stepped in front of the plate,” Weigand said. “I don’t know. I don’t know how you can see that when you’re calling balls and strikes. The positive note on that is that our kids were tough enough to overcome a call that, in my opinion, shouldn’t be made. There’s no reason for that. Our kids were tough enough to overcome that, and I’m proud of them for that.”

The Leopards broke the game open in the top of the fifth inning, scoring four runs to take a lead they never relinquished.

A walk by Jordan Hart and a single by Parker Freer set up a two-RBI triple by Demias Jimerson with two outs. Jace Turner singled Jimerson home before eventually scoring on a throwing error by the catcher. Turner attempted to steal third, but the throw from catcher Day went wild, allowing the senior to head for home to give Malvern a 4-1 lead.

“We didn’t make a play in the fifth,” said Cross. “We make a play in the fifth, it’s a ball game. And then you make a play in the sixth, it’s a ball game.

“It’s playoff season now. You’ve got to learn to stop it where it is. You can allow two or three; you get the big innings, you miss four, it’s hard to win. You have a big inning, three or more runs, it’s hard to win.”

The Panthers got just one runner on base in the bottom of the inning before Malvern again took control of the game offensively.

With two outs, Jacobe Hart, Darion Weaver and Jordan Hart received free trips on a pair of walks and a hit batsman before Freer hit a two-RBI single. A balk pushed Jordan Hart across the plate from third before Jimerson reached on an error by the shortstop that sent Freer home.

Turner’s RBI double plated Jimerson followed by an RBI double by Jones to send Turner home. Garrett Mayhan was walked before a right-fielder’s error resulted in Turner and Mayhan scoring to give the Leopards a 12-1 lead.

“We put eight up in the sixth,” Weigand said. “I don’t even remember all that happened. It just starts with how we run the bags. They are fearless.

“Going back to the fifth, we score because we’re hustling around; they bobble a ball, and we move up and we score. We steal second, center field bobbles it, and we score on that. That just started the momentum, and that pumps up your whole team. To me, of course, we put some balls up, but the best thing was the hustling, the momentum, that got us going right there.”

Ashdown found its offensive rhythm in the bottom of the inning, scoring four to pull within 12-5. Jacob Hart did make a diving play for the first out.

“Our right-fielder, that’s a freshman, Jacobe Hart, makes a diving catch at the wall,” Weigand said. “That was huge. He had a couple of slow-rollers by Jace Turner that were huge. Demias at third made a couple huge plays.

“It was an all-around great team effort. Garrett Mayhan, that goes overlooked. He made those (catches) look easy. Those balls he ran down in the gap were not easy. That was awesome.”

A single by LSU commit Jaden Hill followed by a double by Braylon Bishop put two Panther runners in scoring position. With two outs, Brett Bond hit a two-RBI single with a pair of singles by Cody Flowers and Blake Ritter eventually sent him home. Will Burnett then hit an RBI single to put Flowers across the plate for the final run of the inning.

Junior pitcher Micah Holyfield collected the complete-game win for the Leopards, giving up five runs off eight hits, two walks and two hit batsmen while doling out five strikeouts.

Bond earned the loss for the Panthers with 5 2/3 innings on the mound, giving up five earned and one unearned run off five hits and four walks while giving out four strikeouts. Flowers finished the game in 1 1/3 innings in relief, with just one earned and five unearned runs off four hits, three walks and a hit batsman while striking out two.

Hill led the Panthers at the plate with a pair of singles in two at-bats while scoring one run.

“He had a great game at the plate,” Cross said. “We’ve just got to help him out. It just can’t come down to just him and Alex. It’s got to be everybody.”

The Leopards received a bye in the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs with the win, advancing directly to the quarterfinals in Nashville.