FARMINGTON -- Two state tournament baseball teams, Farmington and Huntsville, pushed each other to the brink during three epic battles over the course of the 2021 season.
Amazingly, the Cardinals won all three games, each of which played out like an endurance contest of who could stay sharp for one more play. Each win factored heavily into Farmington's success story.
Had the Cardinals lost any of the three games, it would have changed their season.
Huntsville, coached by Greg Harris, looks to be a program on the rise and the Eagles severely tested the intestinal fortitude of a talented Farmington team, which finished as District 4A-1 Runner-Up, won the 4A North Regional and advanced to the Class 4A State semifinals.
The first meeting occurred with Farmington winning 5-2 at Huntsville on March 19, a victory essential to the Cardinals' strong 7-1 league showing, which empowered Farmington to finish in a 3-way tie for first place with Shiloh Christian (14-11 win on April 2); and Harrison (4-2 loss on April 15). Besides achieving a share of the conference championship, Farmington also received the No. 1 seed going into district.
The Cardinals and Eagles met in the District 4A-1 semifinals at Shiloh Christian's field in Springdale on April 30 and took a 5-4 nine inning victory to advance into the 4A-1 finals where they suffered a 3-1 loss to Shiloh Christian.
Both Farmington and Huntsville advanced with first-round wins to set up a third showdown in the 4A North Regional semifinals at Harrison on May 7. Like the previous two meetings the outcome of that game was hotly-contested with both squads competing well before Farmington emerged with a 4-1 victory en route to winning its first 4A North Regional championship since 2007 with a 9-3 win over Harrison that sent the Cardinals into state with a No. 1 seed.
Huntsville lost to Shiloh Christian, 10-6, in the 4A North Regional consolation game on May 8 and went into state as a No. 4 seed. Again the Cardinals and Eagles were on the same side of the bracket, but a fourth matchup between the conference rivals was not to happen. Huntsville gave a good account of itself, but lost a heartbreaker, 2-1, to Joe. T. Robinson, in the first round.
Meanwhile, Farmington edged Pocahontas, 9-8, in the quarterfinals and rallied to forge a 2-2 tie before giving up six unanswered runs late to eventual State Runner-Up Magnolia in an 8-2 Class 4A semifinal loss. Farmington finished 23-7 while Huntsville wound up 17-9 with a third of its losses coming against Farmington.
Two other 4A-1 teams, Shiloh Christian (24-8), which also reached the state semifinals before losing, 11-4, to 2021 State champion Valley View; and Harrison (23-9) qualified for state. Harrison was also eliminated by Valley View, 8-2, in the quarterfinals.