Clayton pitches Wildcats to final
EL DORADO 4, RUSSELLVILLE 2
MOUNTAIN HOME — El Dorado’s Blake Clayton limited Russellville to two runs on four hits and reliever Trevor Massanelli left the tying run at first base in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Wildcats a 4-2 victory Saturday in the semifinals of the Class 6A state baseball tournament at Cooper Park.
El Dorado (23-6) will play Sheridan in the championship game next Saturday at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.
Three of El Dorado’s runs scored were unearned as the Wildcats cashed in on two Russellville errors.
El Dorado took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. An error after Ethan Russell’s single allowed courtesy runner Gage Scott to score from first base. After a wild pitch moved Russell to third, Jamie Nesbitt’s two-out single gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
Coming off his six-inning shutout of Van Buren in Thursday’s first round, Clayton was solid for El Dorado. The lefthander gave up a home run to Russellville’s Eric Turner in the second inning, but the Wildcats answered with a run in the fourth. Dillon Smith and Clay Hendricks each singled, Russell was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Matt Hammock hit into a double play to score Smith.
Russellville cut the margin to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth when Hayden Hipps walked, Frank Chiolino doubled and Mike Cowles delivered an RBI groundout.
El Dorado used an error and an RBI single by Russell to increase the lead to 4-2. Clayton worked around a leadoff error in the sixth with a double play and was replaced on the mound in the seventh after reaching the tournament’s innings pitched limit of 12 in three days.
Russellville’s Cody Jones legged out a two-out infield single to keep the Cyclones’ hopes alive. Chiolino reached on an error to put runners at first and third, but Massanelli got Derek Birginske to ground out to end the game.
Clayton struck out five and walked two.
Jones (6-1) suffered the loss. The left-hander allowed 1 earned run on 7 hits with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk in 7 innings.
Chiolino went 2 for 3 to lead Russellville, while Russell was 2 for 2 with an RBI for El Dorado. SHERIDAN 3, BENTON 2
Chase Davis scored from first on a pair of throwing errors in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift the Yellowjackets over the Panthers.
Sheridan (26-6) advanced to the title game for the first time since 1997.
The Yellowjackets scored in the first and third innings. Nick Ware doubled and scored on a groundout by Jake Smith in the first and then walked, stole second and scored on a single by Smith for a 2-0 lead in the fifth.
Benton scored in the fifth when Justin Vincent scored on Matthew Krikorian’s sacrifice fly. The Panthers tied the game in the sixth when Jack James walked and pinch-runner Boone Cox scored when Grayson Chilton reached on a two-out error.
Smith singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth and Davis entered as the courtesy runner. Benton starter Carson Holloway tried to pick Davis off first and threw wildly into foul territory down the right-field line. Davis advanced to third and Benton first baseman Ryne Besancon made a wild throw to third that allowed Davis to score the goahead run.
Sheridan’s Josh Miller — who relieved Huggins in the sixth and picked up the victory — gave up a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh before nailing down the victory with back-to-back groundouts.
Benton outhit Sheridan 6-5. Smith was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI to lead the Yellowjackets, while Justin Vincent was 2 for 3 for Benton.
Holloway worked all six innings for Benton and suffered the loss. He allowed 3 runs — 2 earned — on 5 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.