Vilonia wins Wood Bat Invitational

ALMA — The Vilonia Eagles began a championship run in the third Annual Wood Bat Invitational with a marathon game and ended it with a marathon inning.

Vilonia’s Carter Massey worked out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning as Vilonia hung on for a 4-2 win over host Alma on Saturday night in the championship game.

Vilonia played the first game of the three-day tournament on Thursday with a 9-7 win over Ozark in 13 innings that took four hours, 49 minutes.

“We played well,” Vilonia Coach Brad Wallace said. “We needed that to get us back on track going into conference after spring break. Spring break came at the right time. When you win the first one in 13 innings, you have confidence that keeps building and building and building. That came into play tonight because their pitching did an outstanding job on the mound.”

Saturday, Massey cruised through six scoreless innings with just 70 pitches but needed 42 pitches in the bottom of the seventh inning, leaving the bases loaded.

“He threw one time last Friday for about 20 pitches, so to ask him to do that and needed him to do that to have guys that can throw on Tuesday is awesome,” Wallace said. “It just goes to show his preparation. He’s ready to do that when he needs to do that. He was outstanding.”

Massey was masterful in the first six frames, allowing just two hits, walking none, and had seven-pitch innings in the third, fifth and sixth innings.

Branson Brogan walked on a full count to open the home half of the seventh inning.

After a fly ball, Easton Daily reached on an infield single, and both Brogan and Daily moved to second and third on a wild pitch.

Piercen Howell walked to the load the bases and Cash Wilson followed with a single to score Brogan for Alma’s first run.

After a strikeout, Colby Kimmons reached on an error that scored pinch-runner Dylan Jackson.

With the bases loaded, Massey got a called third strike on a full count to cap it.

“We’re disappointed,” Alma Coach Bryan Fry said. “We didn’t give up. They have a lot of fight in them. We went the first five innings, and we hit the ball hard right at them. We kept battling right there to the end. We had the tying run on second base.”

Vilonia took a 1-0 lead on the first inning on run-scoring single by Levi Lane.

The Eagles scored single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings for a 4-0 lead.

Miles Bailey, who reached base all four times in the championship game with two walks and two singles to earn the tournament’s Most Valuable Player bat, singled on a perfect bunt that hugged the thirdbase line and finally came to rest nestled against the third base bag. He took second in an errant pick-off throw, went to third on a base hit by Lane, and scored on a wild pitch.

Carter Brown singled to lead off the sixth inning and advanced on to second on a bad throw, and then took third and scored on consecutive wild pitches.

Brown scored Vilonia’s fourth run with a double that scored catcher Caleb Johnson, who had singled with two outs. Johnson had struck out his two previous at bats, both with the bases loaded.

“Our catcher had a big hit to get that one extra run,” Wallace said. “Caleb had some guys on early in the game and didn’t get a hit. That was killing him. I told him we got a new guy on the mound and look at who’s still in the lineup. I had confidence in him, and we got a two-out single that gave us our fourth run.” GREENLAND 11, NWA HORNETS 1

The Pirates scored in every inning and rolled to a five-inning win in the Jarren Sorter Memorial Tournament on Saturday. Carter Jackson went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs for Greenland, while Brandon Vaughan went 2-for-2 drove in a run and scored three times. Logan Miner picked up the win for Greenland, allowing a run on seven hits over five innings. He struck out five and walked one. GRAVETTE 16, PEA RIDGE 10 The Lions grabbed a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning and held off a late rally to close the Jarren Sorters Memorial Tournament on Saturday in

Greenland. Gunnar Woolard went 3-for-3 and reached base five times, drove in a run and scored three times out of the lead-off spot for Gravette. The Lions led 13-2 going to the bottom of the fourth, but the Blackhawks scored seven times in the bottom of the inning to extend the game. LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN 8, BENTONVILLE WEST 3 The Warriors scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie to take the win at the Robinson Invitaitonal. Dominic Cicero had two hits, scored two runs and drove in two runs, while Jackson Kircher and Carson Stoll each drove in two runs for Little Rock Christian. Will Anderson had two hits and drove in two runs for West, while Jonathan Viera had a hit, scored a run and drove in a run. Brady Penick gave up three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings for Little Rock Chrisitan, while Gavin Ballard picked up the win in relief. Alex Downing pitched 3 2/3 innings and gave up three runs for West, while Laiten Hall pitched the final 2 1/3 and took the loss, allowing five runs on four hits.

MONTICELLO 8, DOVER 0 The Billies scored four runs in the second inning to take the third-place game. Blaine Hayden walked and Jagger Hines, Brooks Bowman, and Laytn Nichols all followed with consecutive hits for a 2-0 lead, and Kaleb Romero added a single for a 4-0 lead in the second inning. Evan Bealer singled and scored in the fourth inning, and walked and scored in the sixth inning. Bowman walked and scored in the fourth inning. Tye Guthrie earned the win on the mound with four scoreless innings.

PANAMA (OKLA.) 5, OZARK 3 The Razorbacks mounted the rally of the tournament with four runs in the top of the seventh inning to win the consolation bracket. Ayrn Seamons singled to start the seventh inning, and after a strikeout, Talan Fairless and Boomer McClain followed with singles with McClain scoring Seamons. Jaxson Harris’s bunt attempt accounted for three runs after a wild throw to first ended up far in four territory that allowed Fairless and McClain to score, and then Harris scored on another throwing error on the play for a 5-3 lead. Breyden Wiles threw a perfect seventh inning

to close out the rally. HOWE (OKLA.) 13, PARIS 8 Howe jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Paris scored three in the top of the fourth inning, but Howe put the game away with six runs in the fourth. In the fourth inning, a walk to Cole Wann drove home a run, Gavin Lute was hit by a pitch that scored another run, Aiden Scott and Garrett Smith walked each forcing home runs, and Ethan Dalton doubled home the final two runs. Smith earned the win for Howe, striking out seven in six innings. Konnor Edwards and Joel Johnson each scored twice for Paris, and Brady Owen had two hits. BENTONVILLE WEST 7, TAHLEQUAH

(OKLA.) 6 The Wolverines held off a late Tigers rally to take a one-run win Friday at the Robinson Invitational in Little Rock. West led 7-2 after five innings, but Tahlequah scored four in the bottom of the sixth to close within a run. Will Anderson had 2 hits, scored 2 runs and drove in 4 runs to lead West, while Cole Edmondson also had two hits and scored and drove in a run. Nathan DeFries had two hits with an RBI. Kadean Jacobs added an RBI for West, while Dalton Murphree, Jonathan Viera and Damion Bridgeman each scored runs. Ben Arnold picked up the win for West after going 5 1/3 innings with 3 earned runs, 4 strikeouts 4 walks and allowing 6 hits. Daniel Rodolph worked a third of an inning, and Will Geiger pitched the final 1 1/3 innings with three strikeouts for the save.

SOFTBALL

FARMINGTON 17, VALLEY SPRINGS

4 Mallory Sills collected three hits in four at bats, as Farmington Lady Cardinals defeated Valley Springs in the championship game of the Ozarks Classic in Harrison on Saturday. Sills tripled in the fifth inning, doubled in the second inning, and singled in the first inning. Farmington piled up 14 hits in the game. Morgan Uher went 4-for-5 to lead Farmington. FARMINGTON 18, CALICO ROCK 0 Farmington won big over Calico Rock in the semifinals. The Lady Cardinals collected 16 hits in the game. Sills and Uher each collected three hits for Farmington Lady Cardinals.