Tourney Big Part Of Keith’s Tenure

COACH ORGANIZED SPRING BREAK COMPETITION

LINCOLN — J. Keith stayed just two seasons as head baseball coach at Lincoln and didn’t win any championships, yet much of his legacy centers around a baseball tournament he organized over spring break.

Lincoln hosted its first ever “No Place Like Home Wolfpack Classic” baseball tournament the weekend of March 24-26 over spring break with the Wolves placing fourth out of eight teams.

Keith delighted in the quality of baseball he was able to bring to Lincoln in seeing the fulfillment of a vision to showcase the Wolves’ athletic facilities and community pulling this off while using one field to play on for eight teams.

“Man, I was really excited to bring baseball to Lincoln, Arkansas at a high level,” Keith said. “It was a blast. We had Star City, Newport, Dardanlle and Palestine Wheately come up. We had teams coming from a ways, it was fun. Any time you get the Newport Greyhounds coming across the state, it’s funny we scheduled them, got them in this baseball tournament before we ever played them in the State 3A football playoffs so we definitely lined that one to play as the first game in the tournament for Lincoln.”

One local team, which benefited immensely picking up a win during the tournament was Westville, Okla.

Westville pulled out a dramatic comeback to win 12- 9 after falling behind, 9-0, against the NWA Home School Hornets on Saturday, March 26.

“In our other four losses there was one inning where we gave up six runs and that happened again today. There was a lot less errors. They hit the ball and stuff, but I’m just proud of the kids for coming back. Hitting’s contagious and winning is contagious,” Clark said.

Westville practiced two- and- a- half hours at home before going to Lincoln to compete in the last game on Saturday. Those repetitions eventually paid off. Clark saw a lot of improvement in the field.

“We’ve done that all year, that was just our fifth game, but there’s been one inning in every game we’ve played that we just fall apart,” said Westville coach Aaron Clark, who spent 27 years at Elkins.

The Yellowjackets banged out 7 runs in the bottom of the fourth with 4 straight doubles, one of which turned into a triple to close within 9-7. They took the lead on a 2-run homer, the only home run of the tournament, and went on to win 12-9.

The much needed win gave the Yellowjackets some momentum going into their conference schedule.

“Yeah, it does. They should have a little spring in their step,” Clark said.

Hayden Risley, a 5-feet-8 freshman reserve, perceived the benefit in playing a spring break baseball tournament at Lincoln, practically in the Yellowjackets back yard.

“It’s fun, it’s a good opportunity for us to get out here and play and have an opportunity to get better,” Risley said.

Risley heard some familiar voices in the crowd with some Lincoln people rooting for their kinfolks on the Yellowjacket roster. The teams didn’t not meet in the tournament, and Risley appreciated his extended family including an aunt and cousins expressing vocal support. He could hear them when cheering.

The Yellowjackets have a border rivalry going on with Lincoln, and Risley acknowledged competition can draw out the intensity.

“It’s crazy how we have to play [against] some of our family members and there’s going to be some hard feelings whether we win or lose but we always get over it sooner or later,” he said.

Risley values building camaraderie through the game of baseball.

“To play with our friends and family, to bond with every one, not just for this sport but for every other sport so you get to know each other better,” Risley said.

Although the Yellowjackets didn’t get off to a good start Risley was hoping the spring break tournament would sharpen them before league play.

“We’re getting better throughout our season. We kind of had tough luck against Adair our first game, but we should get better,” he said.

Gentry won the tournament with an 8-1 victory over Palestine-Wheatley using a pair of freshman pitchers on Saturday, March 26.

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Former Lincoln baseball coach J. Keith watches as sophomore Kellar Price successfully steals third base during a Thursday, March 24, 2022, win over Newport by a 9-3 score at a spring break tournament organized by Keith. He resigned last week to take the head coaching job at Siloam Springs.