PRAIRIE GROVE -- With the lead see-sawing back like the ebb and flow of an ocean tide, Arkadelphia's veteran squad seized momentum in the top of the seventh.
Arkadelphia continued to be a thorn in the side of U.S. 62 baseball teams by putting Prairie Grove out of the 2015 state tournament, 11-4, on Thursday at Gosnell. Prairie Grove's young squad became the latest victim of Badger dominance on the diamond. Arkadelphia won state titles in 2013 and 2014, beating Lincoln, 6-4, during the 2013 state tournament. Head coach Brant Matros has eight seasons at the helm. In 2014, Arkadelphia went 26-5 overall, 5-2 in the 4A-7, winning district, regional and state tournaments. The Badgers returned a seasoned, athletic team this season with 7 starters back.
Prairie Grove would bat last in this game with both teams coming in as three seeds with the Tigers higher on the bracket, thus earning the home team designation in the tournament. Arkadelphia scored 2 runs in the top of the first to take an early lead but the Tigers minimized the damage with starter Logan Gragg and the defense behind him overcoming a Badger threat to start the game.
"To have the bases loaded with no outs and only give up two runs that was a big momentum shift," said Prairie Grove coach Mitch Cameron.
Tiger Reed Orr continued his postseason hot hitting and drilled a 2-run homer to even the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the second. Arkadelphia scored in 6 of the 7 innings and edged ahead, 3-2, in the second on an infield error only to have the Tigers answer in the third capitalizing on two Badger errors to push two runs across and go back in front, 4-3. The Badgers tied the game at 4-all in the fourth but once more Prairie Grove forced them to leave runners on base.
"There was an error at second base, a runner goes from first to second and we end up with the bases loaded with no outs but to only give up one run was again a big momentum shift," Cameron said, praising the tenacity of the Tigers to handle adverse situations during the contest.
Neither team scored in the fifth inning before Arkadelpia went back ahead, 5-4, in the sixth with Prairie Grove holding Arkadelphia to fewer runs than what they could have potentially scored. Gragg, who allowed 5 runs on 11 hits, no walks and 5 strikeouts with 2 base on balls, was replaced by Gavin Heltemes.
"Logan did really well but he got his pitch-count up a bit and gave up a couple of hits in a row and we changed pitchers," Cameron said.
Prairie Grove ran into more trouble in the top of the seventh. After three Arkadelphia runs and no outs, Heltemes was replaced on the mound by Sam Dodd. Still, Prairie Grove couldn't curb Arkadelphia's momentum and three more Badger runs crossed the plate with the final, 11-4.
"We never really got anything going in the seventh. It was a great baseball game," Cameron said, noting the future holds promise for the Tigers with only two seniors graduating in designated hitter Evan Rush and catcher Patrick Perdue.
Sports on 05/20/2015