Pitching depth key for ’Hawks
Posted on Friday, May 9, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/Sports/61639/
PEA RIDGE — If nothing else, Pea Ridge baseball coach John E. King found some pitching depth behind Travis Parsons at the Class 3 A Region 1 Tournament.
Not a bad quality to have this time of year.
The Blackhawks (16-6 ) put behind them Monday night’s painful loss to Shiloh Christian with a one-sided rout of Lamar on Tuesday to finish third at the regional.
They hope the momentum follows them to Searcy tonight for a first-round game at the Class 3 A State Baseball Tournament.
Pea Ridge plays at 7: 30 p. m. against the Marmaduke Greyhounds, runners-up from Region 3. Eight games are scheduled for two fields at Harding University today. The tournament continues there through the semifinals Monday.
The championship game is 12: 30 p. m., Saturday, May 17, at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.
All-Conference senior Dustin Woodward showed King he can give depth to the pitching staff if Pea Ridge can advance.
Woodward, a versatile outfielder and infielder, had the grand sum of 8 innings pitched out of the bullpen this season but made his first varsity pitching start in the regional semifinal against Shiloh Christian.
He carried a shutout and a 3-0 lead into the seventh before the Saints rallied for a 4-3 win.
“ At least it wasn’t to get in (the state tournament ), ” King says. “ But it still wasn’t any fun. For six innings everything looked really good. ”
In the consolation game, though, Pea Ridge showed no ill effects. The Blackhawks led 9-0 after three innings and needed just five innings to finish off a 16-0 win against Lamar. Senior right-hander Drew Rosser had a no-hitter until giving up a single with two outs in the fifth. King loved the team’s resiliency. That and Parsons on the mound should serve the ’Hawks well tonight.
Parsons, a senior left-hander, has put together a very good season on the mound. He carries a 7-0 record into tonight’s start and was dominant in Saturday’s first-round regional victory against Lavaca. He pitched a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts in an 8-1 win.
Marmaduke advanced to its regional championship game for the first time since 1989. They led Corning 7-0 early but lost 8-7 in eight innings Tuesday.
King remembers those Greyhounds of 19 years ago. He coached the Blackhawks to a 9-5 win against them in the semifinals of the Class A State Tournament.
Pea Ridge went on to beat Bergman 11-1 in the championship for its first and only state title. The Blackhawks were close to playing for another a year ago but lost in extra innings to eventual champion Horatio in the semifinals.