By Rob Patrick
The Fort Smith Church League All-Stars, Babe Ruth champions of North Arkansas, advanced to the championship round of the Southwest Regional tournament for teams of 14-year-olds, by playing 17 innings to win three games. And either Spencer McClure or Jonathan Smith has pitched in all but one of those innings.
On Monday, the duo combined to limit White Hall to just two runs on four hits in the winners bracket final. The 7-2 win put Fort Smith in the championship round on Tuesday at 5 p.m., against Bryant.
The loss meant White Hall had to come back later in the day on Tuesday to take on Bryant in the losers bracket final. [more]
Smith, besides his two innings in relief of McClure, went 3-for-4 in the game with two runs batted in. Max Schaffer added two hits and Joe Presley drove in two runs.
Fort Smith built a 4-0 lead over the first three innings and, after White Hall got on the board in the fourth, a three-run home fourth put Fort Smith in the driver's seat.
McClure faced the minimum of the first three innings. He gave up a single to Tyler Carr with one out in the second but a doubleplay followed. He was also supported by an eye-popping defensive play in center field by Cole Teague.
Fort Smith took the lead in the second when Schaffer and Smith singled, Presley walked to load the bases for Dakota Suttles. A grounder to third resulted in a force out at that bag as Schaffer scored to make it 1-0. A two-out walk to Seth Youngblood, who walked three times in the game, loaded the bases but White Hall hurler Chris Smith got out of the jam with a grounder to Carr at second.
In the third, McClure walked and stole second. With one down, Schaffer singled him home. Smith beat out an infield hit and, after a wild pitch, Presley stroked a single to center to bring both home.
White Hall finally broke through on McClure in the top of the fourth. Smith was issued a one-out walk and, after moving to second on a wild pitch, took third on a groundout. Joseph Stewart came through with an infield hit to get his team on the board.
In the home fourth, however, Fort Smith trumped that. Blake Terrell walked and stole second. Parker Johnson walked and McClure looped a single to right to make it 5-1. Another walk loaded the bases and Smith, the Fort Smith starter, was replaced by Hunter Hale.
With two down in the inning, Smith came through with a single to left that allowed both runs to score, making it 7-1.
White Hall trimmed a run off that margin in the fifth when Carr walked, Clay Cannon singled and Justin McCarty drew a free pass to load the bases. McClure bounced back with strikeout but Michael Acosta singled to make it 7-2. Cannon tried to score on the play as well but was thrown out at the plate by Tucker White.
Smith relieved in the sixth and retired six of seven. The only base-runner came as a result of a two-out walk to Stewart in the sixth.
