Prairie Grove Teams Head To 4A-1 Tourney

PRAIRIE GROVE — The Prairie Grove Tiger baseball team and the Lady Tiger softball squad both head to Ozark on Saturday to compete in the 4A-1 district tournament.

Each team carries their respective tournament’s number two seed as well as a full head of steam leading up to their contests on Saturday.

On March 28, both Tiger teams lost a one-run heartbreaker to their rival Farmington Cardinals, which proved to be both teams only blemish in conference play. The setbacks also kept each team from winning the regular season conference crown.

After the losses each Tiger team reeled off five consecutive conference victories, placing each team in second place in the standings while earning both squads the number two seed for the tourney.

If things play out according to seedings, all four teams (Tigers and Cardinals) could meet in the finals of the tournament, giving the Tigers another crack at their U.S. 62 rivals, but at the moment Tigers’ baseball coach Mitch Cameron is more focused on his Saturday contest.

“We can’t worry about the things that we can’t control,” said Cameron. “We can only play the way we know how to play and let everything else take care of itself.”

According to Cameron, his team has yet to put together a “complete game,” however, he added, “It’s hard to complain when we are winning.”

Offensively, the Tigers are carrying a collective average, as a team, of .323 at the plate. Aaron Kincaid and Jon Halbert lead the Tigers’ hit parade with 27 hits apiece and Halbert also leads the team in runs scored, crossing the plate a team high 23 times. Keelon Henderson has stood out as Prairie Grove’s biggest run producer, tallying 22 RBIs while banging out 19 hits.

The Tigers pitching staff has also looked impressive this season. Kincaid has compiled a 6-2 record with 68 strikeouts and a 2.92 ERA. Ty Tice has been equally effective, building a record of 5-2, with 45 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.08. Halbert and Henderson both have perfect pitching records, with Halbert boasting a 3-0 mark and Henderson logging in with a 2-0 record.

Not to be outdone, the Lady Tigers have looked every bit as dominant as their male counterparts.

“The biggest step we’ve taken this season is with our mental toughness,” said Lady Tigers’ coach Chris Collins. “In the past we would let any little setback get us down, but this season we’ve found a way to work through those issues.”

On offense, Kelbie Brown has been scorching opponents with an incredible .449 batting average and a .571 on base percentage. Madison Cluck (. 347), Sidney Jaro (. 333) and Christian Parker (. 316) are all batting over .300, with Jaro adding 17 runs scored and Cluck pitching in with 11 RBIs. Addison Evans leads the Tigers in RBIs with 12.

Madison Skelton has shouldered the bulk of the pitching duties for the Tigers, compiling a 9-3 record with 71 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.30.

“Madison has been phenomenal pitching this season,” Collins said.

Brown has served time in the chalked circle, as well this season, with a 4-2 record, 23 strikeouts and a 2.65 ERA.

The Lady Tigers first game will be in Saturday’s semifinals. Starting time is 2 p.m. The Tiger boys will also open their tournament in the semifinals on Saturday, with their contest starting at 2:30 p.m.