In the midst of high-stakes drama with Farmington and Prairie Grove, deadlocked at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh, bases loaded and one out, nature intervened.
With lightening on the horizon and rain threatening Thursday's game was suspended and will be completed this week.
Earlier in the afternoon, Farmington coach Jay Harper expounded on the rivalry.
Of course, Prairie Grove is my hometown and [Prairie Grove] coach [Mitch] Cameron does a great job with his players obviously. They've been a great program the last few years," Harper said.
"In a game like this you just try to keep it close. You try to not make mistakes and go back to your fundamentals a lot and that's what we've been preaching the last couple of days here. It's going to be hyped enough the way it is, you know the game between Prairie Grove and us always is. Whoever makes the least mistakes is going to win the ballgame and that's what we're trying to concentrate on."
In the heat of the rivalry or perhaps the pressure of trying to complete the contest before a storm front moved in both sides had their share of mistakes.
Prairie Grove's J.D. Speed got on board with a single and went on to score when Farmington was called for a balk. The run put the Tigers up 1-0 in the first inning but Farmington took away the lead with a pair of runs in the third on miscues by the Tigers, an error coupled with a passed ball.
Prairie Grove evened the score at 2-2 in their half of the inning on Brandon May's RBI bunt bringing in Spencer Kilgore. After a scoreless fourth inning, Farmington went back ahead, at 4-2, with Adam Ness singling, then scoring on another Tiger error and Tyler Gregg getting aboard when he was whacked by an errant Prairie Grove pitch. Gregg came home on a sacrifice fly.
In their next to last at-bat, Prairie Grove again tied the game on Logan Gragg's RBI double and a second run scoring on a passed ball. Then after Farmington got out of the inning without giving up any more runs, the Tigers kept Farmington off the scoreboard in the top of the seventh before loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh.
The outcome of this suspended exciting contest was unknown at press time.
On Saturday, Farmington defeated Westville, Okla., 3-1, behind a strong performance from starting pitcher Flint Oxford, who issued just two walks against seven strikeouts.
"It was a really good game, we won 3-1. Flint Oxford pitched really well. For the game he gave up about three hits and one run," said Farmington coach Jay Harper.
Chase Norwood drove in two runs with a single in the second inning.
"We struggled again at the plate and we're trying to work our way out of that but so far we've played error-free baseball which you got to do and keep ourselves in it. We did a good job of scoring runs when we needed to."
The softball rivalry game was rescheduled to Tuesday, something Farmington senior Jordin Smith has been looking forward to with her close friend, Madison Cluck, a senior playing catcher at Prairie Grove.
"Playing summer ball with her was a blast but it's even more fun getting to be a rival going up against her," Smith said. "Madison is like a sister to me and like to everyone else in my family. Of course, my parents want both of us to do good and I know her parents are thinking the same thing. They want both of us to succeed."
Smith admitted there is conversation going on when she comes up to bat with Cluck behind the plate.
"Actually, we kind of talk to each other right before I hit. We make little comments something like that. Yeah, it's fun."
We will have game stories from both the Farmington vs. Prairie Grove baseball and softball games in next week's issue.
MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE ENTERPRISE-LEADER.
Sports on 04/09/2014