Tigers Jelled With All-Conference Cast

PRAIRIE GROVE — Early in the season Prairie Grove played a stretch of six baseball games in eight days with the Tigers going 5-1.

Prairie Grove beat DeWitt 10-4 on March 5 followed by wins over Fort Smith Southside ( 16- 6) on March 6, and Stilwell, Okla. ,(11-7) on March 9 before losing 4-3 to Pea Ridge on March 10, then rebounding to knock off Kansas, Okla., (8-1) on March 11 and culminating the condensed schedule with a 12-2 win over U.S. 62 rival, Lincoln, on Friday, March 12, in a game called by a downpour of rain in the fifth inning.

“We learned a lot about ourselves. We threw six guys, all gave us quality innings,” said Prairie Grove coach Mitch Cameron. “We played six games in eight days. This week was like a tournament.”

The Tigers, who last played a complete season with Cameron as head coach in 2015, needed to jell after getting their 2020 season canceled by covid-19. The 2019 season turned into nothing short of a total disaster in the eyes of Tiger fans when the team went 1-7 in 4A-1 league games on the heels of the resignation of former coach Chris Mileham days before the seasonopener.

Postseason Awards

Five players, who would earn All- Conference honors for the 2021 season, featuring four pitchers, played instrumental roles in turning the program back towards a competitive direction.

All-State

Casey Shipley, a 2021 Prairie Grove graduate, earned All-State and All-Conference recognition. Starting at catcher Shipley batted .500, belting out 37 hits including 10 doubles, 3 triples and 2 home runs to drive in 31 runs while scoring 22 runs.

Shipley went 6-2 on the mound allowing 26 runs (14 earned),. while striking out 59 battersP and achieving a 3.03 ERA.

All-Conference

In addition to Shipley, Prairie Grove All- Conference honorees were senior Jackson Sorters (third base/pitcher), utility player Sloan Smith, Ryder Orr (first baseman/pitcher) and Conner Hubbs (outfielder/pitcher).

Prairie Grove 12, Lincoln 2

Shipley drove in 4 runs on 3 hits to lead the Tigers, while Orr and Sorters each chipped in a pair of hits and 2 RBIs apiece.

“Casey was down in the zone. His fast ball was good. Tonight he located really good,” Cameron said.

“We had some good spurts offensively,” Cameron said. “Our leadoff Davis Stephens triples, Conner Hubbs doubles and Sloan Smith hit a double. That kind of got us going in the third. They were very timely hits when we needed them”

Shipley started on the mound for the Tigers and struck out 11 batters in 4 innings to earn the win. Kase Ingram went 2 innings for Lincoln striking out three while allowing 3 runs to take the loss. Levi Wright had 2 additional strike outs for the Wolves in relief.

Stephens led off the third with a triple, sparking three straight hits for Prairie Grove to break a scoreless tie. Hubbs followed with an RBI double, then another run scored on a throwing error with Smith batting before he eventually

drove in a third run with a double.

Lincoln sent Wright to the mound and he got the Wolves out of the inning nicely after walking the first man he faced.

Wright struck out the next two batters and induced Connor McTaggart into grounding out to shortstop.

The Wolves answered by pushing a run across in the bottom of the inning. Wright was responsible for that with a quality at-bat. Rylee Remington got aboard with a leadoff walk, then went to second on a throwing error and stole third with one out. He scored when Wright reached on an error and Lincoln reduced the Tigers’ lead to 3-1.

Prairie Grove came back with another big inning, scoring 5 runs in the top of the fourth. Sorters walked and moved around the bases on Lincoln miscues. He scored on a throwing error with Jaxon Beare up. Beare, Stephens, and Hubbs all walked. Sloan Smith drove in a run on a ground out, escalating the Tigers advantage to 5-1.

Lincoln lost track of Shipley’s fly-ball as a run scored. Orr singled to drive in a run and up the lead to 7-1. Sorters hit into a fielder’s choice and another Tiger run crossed the plate as Prairie Grove grabbed an 8-1 lead.

Noah Moore got aboard on a dropped strike three and scored on a passed ball with his younger brother, Drew Moore, batting as Lincoln fashioned its second run, trailing 8-2 in the bottom of the fourth.

Rain began to fall in the top of the fifth and the Tigers loaded the bases on a pair of walks sandwiched around Stephens’ single. Shipley’s 3-RBI triple cleared the bases. Orr tacked on another RBI single, stretching the Tigers’ lead to 12-2 before the game was called due to the downpour.

MARCH 12 AT LINCOLN

Prairie Grove 12, Lincoln 2

P. Grove (5-1) .003 54x x — 12 11 3 Lincoln (x-x) ... 001 1xx x — 2 0 2 W— Shipley (1-0), L — Ingram (0-1).

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Prairie Grove baseball players (from left): Tate Benoit, Casey Shipley, Conner Hubbs, Jaxon Beare and Jackson Sorters come off the field during a March 12 game at Lincoln won by the Tigers, 12-2. Shipley, Hubbs, Beare and Sorters were named All-Conference along with Sloan Smith for the 2021 season.