Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
All-NWADG honors
Baseball, softball players, coaches get accolades.
BLAKE ADAMS
SCHOOL Springdale Har-Ber
HEIGHT 6-2
WEIGHT 205
CLASS Senior
THE SCOOP Adams earned All-NWADG DI Baseball Player of the Year honors, leading the Wildcats to the state finals for the third consecutive year. … The Arkansas signee went 7-0 on the mound with a 1.69 ERA with 96 strikeouts in only 66.1 innings. … He also and also hit .318 with seven home runs and 22 RBIs but was pitched around often by opposing team — drawing a team-high 20 walks.
DID YOU KNOW Adams loves the outdoors and when he’s not doing something baseball related, he enjoys duck hunting. He and his father travel to eastern Oklahoma to duck hunt, which started around age 7 for Adams.
QUOTABLE “The season didn’t end the way we would like for it to, but it was a good season. A lot of people didn’t really believe in what we could accomplish. We had our bad days, but we had our good days. We got to the state championship game and playing for a state championship three years in a row is really good.
“Personally, I didn’t have the hitting numbers I expected. I was pressing early in the season. But the last two weeks I just relaxed and stopped thinking in the box. I said I was going to react and swing the bat, and it really did work. I had quality at-bats and did a lot of productive things for my team.”
MARIAH HAMILTON
SCHOOL Greenwood
CLASS Senior
POSITION Third baseman
NOTABLE A four-year starter and an all-state performer who hit .523 and 23 of her 45 hits were for extra bases (11 doubles, 3 triple, 10 home runs). … Drove in 55 runs and scored 42 more for the Class 5A state runner-up. … Had at least one hit and drove in at least one run in 28 of Greenwood’s 31 games. … Had a home run and drove in season-high six runs in a 21-1 rout of Russellville during the second game of a March 26 doubleheader. In the first game, she had three hits and drove in five runs. … Had a personal goal of hitting a home run out of Alma’s softball field because it’s one of the largest in the area, and she hit two during a doubleheader that day. … In the last game of her high school career, she had a pair of doubles in the Class 5A state championship game against Sheridan. … Has signed a national letter of intent with Arkansas Tech.
DID YOU KNOW Hamilton decided to join Greenwood’s bowling team as a fun sport and a stressreliever this year. She said it started getting serious enough about the sport to the point she bought a bowling ball and shoes, and she earned all-conference status.
QUOTABLE “I felt like I had a pretty strong season, especially on the offensive side, because of the countless hours I put in before and during the season. I felt I had to carry more leadership because not only was it my final year of high school ball, but I wanted to leave a legacy for the other players to look up to and follow.
“I followed a new workout program this season because I felt like I needed to lift weights more, especially with college coming up soon. I think it made me a little stronger, and I continued to do the same drills that I did when I was growing up. It just paid off more this year because I wanted it a lot more.”