Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Hit Boosts Tigers Over Elkins 4-1
— Prairie Grove won the second game of a doubleheader Friday by coming from behind to defeat Elkins, 4-1, in the Jarren Sorters Memorial Baseball Tournament.
Connor Hubbs earned the win throwing six strikeouts in six innings while Sloan Smith was 3-for-4 and Ryder Orr added two more hits highlighted by a 3 RBI single.
Trevor Shumate’s leadoff triple postured the senior to score on sophomore Zanuel Martin’s sacrifice fly giving the Elks a 1-0 lead. Jason Richardson reached on an error when a throw was dropped at first, but Hubbs induced a pop-up to shortstop Sloan Smith to end the inning.
Catcher Casey Shipley’s walk with the bases loaded pushed the tying run across to begin a four-run fifth for Prairie Grove. Prairie Grove coach Mitch Cameron praised his concentration in the batter’s box.
“Somebody like him, who’s going to the next level, he could have easily got a big head and attempted to be the hero, but he didn’t because that’s not him. He’s a team guy and Ryder picked him up,” Cameron said.
The next batter up, Orr, blasted a single deep to the right field wall, scoring three runs and putting the Tigers ahead for good.
“Oh, what a day he had, Ryder had that big hit there in the fifth. I think he drove in five runs on the day [a double header for the Tigers],” Cameron said.
Reliever Jackson Sorters sealed the deal in a performance worthy of his brother, Jarren Sorters, whose memory the tournament honors. Jackson Sorters struck out Martin swinging on a 2-2 pitch then surrendered a double off the right center field wall to Richardson before inducing a line drive caught at
third base. Jackson Sorters fanned the fourth batter he faced swinging and missing on a 1-2 pitch.
“Jackson hasn’t got to throw in about three weeks because he’s our reliever and our starters have been going the distance. He was itching to get in there and he did a real good job,” Cameron said.
Cameron notes Jackson Sorters’ stature fools opponents, who look at his 5-5 height and they think he can’t pitch, but when the first pitch comes they quickly realize he can.
“When you watch the opposing team when you bring Jackson in their eyes light up. They think they can they hit him and then that first pitch the guy was way out front and he just gets bump-ups and groundouts, the different speed changes,” Cameron said.
“I can’t speak for Jackson. I can only imagine what that moment is like for him. He never shows it, but he probably thinks about it. I know that was important for him,” Cameron said.
The tournament raises funds for families dealing with impacts of childhood cancer.