PRAIRIE GROVE -- Farmington and Prairie Grove combined for 30 hits and 21 runs with the Cardinals prevailing, 12-9, as the schools renewed their baseball rivalry after not playing last year.
Prairie Grove went through five pitchers with Tiger coach Chris Mileham taking his cap off to Farmington's batters.
"They hit, they had 15 hits, hats off to them they had hits at the right time," Mileham said. "That's a good team. They beat Shiloh earlier in the year. They've put it on some teams in our conference."
Farmington exploded for 5 runs in the top of the fourth inning. Drew Sturgeon doubled and Will Danenhauer was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on steals with Eric Hill batting. Hill plated 2 runs hitting a single and with two outs. Tate Sutton drove in another with a triple. Logan Bobak's single drove in one more stretching Farmington's lead to 9-5. After a pitching change, Derek Perona singled and Evan Shoffit drew a walk with the bases loaded to score a run upping the Cardinal lead to 10-5.
Farmington coach Jay Harper liked what he saw in the batter's box, but wants improvement on the mound.
"We played well offensively," Harper said. "We had 15 hits. I think everybody in the lineup had a hit. Some had multiple hits. I'm happy with that, but I'm not happy with our pitching at all. Prairie Grove is a good team. Chris has done a good job. A good baseball team scores runs when you put people on base. I'm happy with the win, but I'm not ecstatic with it. We've got to get better."
Prairie Grove rallied trimming the lead to 10-9 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the fifth.
In the fourth, Prairie Grove freshman Jackson Sorters came in as pinch-hitter and delivered a single moving a runner to third after Silas Myane led off with a walk. Drew Cates singled into center field to drive in Myane. Chase Wade walked to load the bases with two outs and Cole Simmons' RBI single scored the Tigers' seventh run.
Myane walked in the fifth and D.J. Pearson knocked a single into right field. With runners at the corners, Cates drove in a run, but was out at first. Kyle Fidler followed that up with a two-out RBI single pulling Prairie Grove within a run. Couper Allen's smartly hit single went down the third base line, but the runner was held on third. Farmington reliever Kyle Gates got out of the inning with a strike-out.
Farmington added insurance runs in the top of the sixth and seventh. Hill reached on an error with the bases loaded as a run scored in the sixth. Cates, who went to the mound with two outs and two runners on, ended the inning by inducing a fly-ball to shallow left field.
Prairie Grove couldn't capitalize on Simmons' leadoff double that hugged the third base line and a walk by James Birmingham and the sixth ended with Farmington ahead, 11-9.
Sutton led off the top of the seventh with a walk and Bobak hit into a fielder's choice sending Sutton to second. Colton Kilgore blasted a double that bounced into the wall scoring Sutton. Fidler got on in the bottom of the seventh by singling for Prairie Grove, but the Tigers couldn't bring him around and Farmington claimed the 12-9 victory.
Sports on 04/18/2018