Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Regional title shot eludes PG Tigers
SPORTS EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series evaluating how local teams performed against top teams in the state. Prairie Grove reached the Class 4A State quarterfinal round in baseball before losing, 4-0, to eventual Class 4A State champion, Lonoke, while Dardanelle had a bye into the state quarterfinals and lost, 11-1, to Brookland, which reached the semifinals. The Tigers previously defeated Dardanelle, 10-1, in a nonconference game at home in Rieff Park on Friday, March 17.
GRAVETTE — Both coaches expressed frustrations, some dating back to the 2021 and 2022 regionals as Dardanelle rallied to beat Prairie Grove, 6-5, in the 4A North Regional baseball tournament semifinals.
The Tigers lost a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, one out short of getting to the 4A North Regional baseball championship on Saturday, May 6, at Gravette.
Some of the controversy involved one pitch during an at-bat with Dardanelle’s Drew Vega, who took a called strike, then watched ball-one and ball-two go by.
Prairie Grove coach Mitch Cameron thought the count should have been 1-2 instead of 2-1 at that juncture, and Drew Vega took another called strike which evened the count at 2-2 before on the next pitch he beat a throw to first to avoid the third out. Next, Chris Miller reached on an error. Those two miscues came back to haunt Prairie Grove because Robert Millard singled to drive in the tying run.
With two outs and the score deadlocked at 5-5, Prairie Grove replaced starter Ryder Orr, who was charged with the loss, allowing six runs on eight hits and hampered by two Tiger errors.
“Ryder threw outstanding. He came off after the third inning and he was like, ‘What do you think we should do?’ He felt like he couldn’t get outs. We made some adjustments with him and he was able to grind through it and ended up throwing an outstanding game,” Cameron said.
The next batter walked to load the bases and Dardanelle scored the game-winning run on Creed Vega’s single to send the Tigers into the consolation game against
Morrilton.
“They were hot and, man, we left a pitch out over the plate that they were able to hit. I thought that game should have been over before that. I thought we didn’t get a [strike] call at the end of the game, which it is what it is. You got to keep playing.
That gave them some momentum and we made the error up the middle, which prolonged it and plunked the pitch over the plate at the end to close it out,” Cameron said.
In the opposite dugout, Dardanelle coach Phil Vega looked back even further, expressing frustration with what transpired in the 2021 and 2022 regionals that worked against the Sand Lizards.
“We had our nine hole up, which is a senior, then of course going back to the top of the order, 9-1-2-3-4 are all seniors, all four of them reached base safe and all four of them scored, which is huge. I’ve thought all along that bunch has been a really good bunch and we got a raw deal the last couple of years in regionals,” Phil Vega said.
Prairie Grove trailed 2-0 going into the bottom of the third when Dardanelle doubled its lead.
Zane Rose singled into right center with one out. Two batters later, Miller belted a double. Prairie Grove held Rose at third, but Robert Millard walked to load the bases for the Sand Lizards.
Clayton Weatherford singled into right center to drive in a pair of runs and Dardanelle increased its cushion to 4-0.
Prairie Grove fought back in the top of the fourth. Orr hit a shot towards the shortstop, who bobbled the ball. A throwing error past first enabled Orr to go to second.
He was replaced by a courtesy runner, who scored on Tate Benoit’s single.
The Tigers proceeded to load the bases with one out. Asher Linn hit a single up the middle and Bryce Ledgerwood walked. Spencer Allen drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch, slicing Dardanelle’s lead in half at 4-2.
Prairie Grove struck again in the top of the fifth. Conner Hubbs belted a leadoff standup double and Orr tripled to score Hubbs. Benoit knocked out a single to drive in the tying run, evening things up at four runs apiece.
Allen was back at it again in the top of the sixth. His leadoff single was followed by Tristan Hall’s sacrifice bunt. Luke Vance singled into shallow right center to drive in the go-ahead run and Prairie Grove enjoyed a 5-4 lead.
The Tigers held onto their advantage for one inning but couldn’t get through the seventh unscathed and absorbed the loss.
“I told our guys it was a well-fought game. It was competitive. We were in the game. It just didn’t happen to go our way,” Cameron said.
The Sand Lizards did the same thing a day earlier, in knocking off 4A-1 No. 2 seed, Farmington, 10-7, when they scored six runs in the top of the seventh.
“Today was not near as pretty. We played pretty good on Friday against Farmington, but the kids hung in there and as crazy as it was, it was the same exact situation today, same score, the only difference was we were the home team this time and we were able to scratch those two runs. Our seniors did a good job, stepped up and led our team and we came out victorious,” Phil Vega said.
SPORTS EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series evaluating how local teams performed against top teams in the state. Prairie Grove reached the Class 4A State quarterfinal round in baseball before losing, 4-0, to eventual Class 4A State champion, Lonoke, while Gravette advanced to the state semifinals and lost 15-2 to Lonoke.
PRAIRIE GROVE — Gravette capitalized on an assortment of walks, passed balls and wild pitches to remain in the hunt for a 4A-1 Conference baseball title by beating Prairie Grove, 11-4, April 14.
The Lions (10-6, 5-1 4A-1) and Farmington were tied with one loss each in the league as of Friday, April 14.
Justin Trucks had two hits, including a home run and two RBIs to pace the Lions as Gravette positioned itself to clinch at least a share of the league title if it could win on Tuesday, April 18, at Pea Ridge. Holden Betz also had two hits for the Lions.
Prairie Grove (14-5, 3-3 4A-1) couldn’t cash in on an opportunity to again bump off a league leader at home as the Tigers did against Farmington with 3-2 win on April 6 at Rieff Park.
“It was a total team win, that’s the best way I can describe it,” said Gravette coach Bryan Bearden. “That’s what we teach our guys to be aggressive, put pressure on people. Sometimes
Gravette took a 1-0 in the top of the second inning when Kyle Murphy’s sacrifice fly drove in Trucks, who led off the inning by singling into left field.
Cameron Bedwell beat a throw to first after sending a ground ball to third on an 0-2 pitch to start the third. Gunnar Woolard followed with a single to left field. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch with Rhett Hilger up. Hilger eventually struck out and McCoy Kildow popped up to shortstop for the second out.
Bedwell scored on a
passed ball to make it 2-0 with Trucks batting. Trucks homered on a 1-2 pitch over the right field wall, doubling the Lion advantage to 4-0 on the scoreboard.
In a battle of players wearing opposite jersey No. 12, Prairie Grove starter Conner Hubbs got the best of Gravette’s Isaiah Larson by striking him out to end the inning.
The Tigers roared back in their half of the inning.
Luke Vance walked and Hubbs stroked a single into right field. Ryder Orr moved the runners to second and third with a groundout, and Tate Benoit cleared the bases with a ground ball to third. He dug in and sprinted to first ahead of the throw, allowing the runs to score.
Owen Davenport homered for Prairie Grove on a 1-1 pitch to complete a fourrun rally in the bottom of the third to pull the Tigers into a 4-4 tie.
Gravette regained the lead for good in the fifth. Hilger slapped a leadoff single past second base. He scored on a throwing error that enabled Kildow to go all the way to second.
Hubbs caught Trucks looking on a called strike three and induced a popup that a hustling second baseman Bryce Ledgerwood called and caught in shallow left center field for the second out. Hubbs walked Murphy before getting Cyric Day to put a grounder into the glove of Asher Linn at third, who stepped on the bag for a force out to end the inning.
Gravette padded its lead with three runs in the sixth, taking advantage of Gunnar Woolard’s leadoff walk, Kildow getting hit by a pitch, Larson’;s RBI single, and Day’s bases loaded walk to grab an 8-4 lead.
Woolard was beaned in the seventh and Hilger walked. Kildow drove in a run by doubling into right center, and pinch runner Hunter Robbins stole home, rousing the Lion dugout as Gravette won 11-4.
Gravette reliever Hunter Roughton got the save.
“As things go in the season that’s what he’s done. He likes to settle in under big time pressure. That’s what he did tonight,” said Gravette coach Bryan Bearden.
Ledgerwood finished with two hits and Davenport drove in two runs for Prairie Grove.
Prairie Grove 11, Pea Ridge 6
Prairie Grove scored eight runs in its final two innings and put away Pea Ridge for a 4A-1 Conference victory at Pea Ridge on Tuesday, April 11.
The Tigers held a 3-2 lead after five innings, then scored three runs in the sixth and five more in the seventh. Ryder Orr had two hits and drove in three runs, while Tate Benoit added two hits and drove in two runs.