File photo by Jimmy Jones
RUSSELLVILLE — The 6A-Central Conference season for the Bryant Hornets baseball team concluded on Tuesday, May 4. The teams’ first game at the 6A State Tournament in Fort Smith begins on May 14.
So, instead of waiting 10 days without competition, Hornets head coach Travis Queck scheduled some challenging teams in a bunch, with the idea of not only keeping his Central Conference championship team engaged, but challenged and to give those on his deep pitching staff to make one more appearance to try to keep them sharp and to see who’s throwing well enough to be a candidate for State Tournament innings.
So, the Hornets started a stretch of four games in five days against quality opposition on Thursday when they met the Bentonville West Wolverines at Arkansas Tech University.
West will be the 5 seed from the 6A-West, so it was a bit of a State tourney prequel.
The competition was spirited even though neither team was particularly sharp. The Hornets snapped a 3-3 tie with three runs in the bottom of the sixth only to have the Wolverines, down to their last out — twice to their last strike — rally for four runs in the top of the seventh for a 7-6 victory.
It was just Bryant’s fourth loss in 25 games this season and, for the Wolverines, like they’d won State.
“We want to see really quality opponents,” Queck said. “That team over there could very well flip the script into first or second place by winning five one-run (conference) games they lost. That team’s a solid opponent and I knew going in, it was going to be. It was a good opportunity for us to go out there and compete against somebody that’s going to challenge in the playoffs. We get to do it again tomorrow.”
On Friday and Saturday, the Hornets host a pair of teams that are top contenders for the 5A State championship, Jonesboro and Sheridan, respectively. Lake Hamilton will be in Bryant on Monday for Senior Night to close out the regular season.
The Hornets already know that they will play Friday, May 14, at noon at Hunts Park in the second round of the 6A State tourney. They’ll face the winner of a Thursday game between Fort Smith Northside and Bentonville.
Right-hander Garret Wilson was excellent on the mound for the Hornets through four innings. He pitched around a two-out hit batsman and a single in the first then retired 10 West batters in a row.
He got into trouble in the fifth and Will Hathcote got out of a bases-loaded jam with the Hornets clinging to a 3-2 lead.
But Hathcote got into another bases-loaded jam in the sixth, including the only two walks Bryant’s pitchers allowed. Though the Wolverines tied it, Colby Morrow bailed out the Hornets to keep it tied, stranding the go-ahead run at third.
In the seventh, Morrow gave up a lead-off single to Landon Gregg then got Aaron Arnold to ground into a force. He fanned clean-up hitter Cole Kitchens. But Cole Bonds doubled inside the line in right to bring up the potential tying run.
Morrow battled Luke Schonauer to a 2-2 count — the first time the Hornets were a strike away from victory — before Schonauer doubled down the line in left to make it 6-5.
That brought up Hunter Guill. Morrow got him down 0-2 before Guill slapped a single to right that tied the game. And when the relay from Logan White in right to cut-off man J.T. Parker to the plate got past catcher Ryan Riggs, Guill wound up at second.
Tyler Bates relieved for the Hornets. Though Bates has pitched in junior varsity games, it was his first varsity appearance since March 15.
After inheriting a 1-0 count, Bates got two strikes in on Kolton Kennon — a strike away from sending the game to the bottom of the seventh tied — before Kennon lined a single to center to put the Wolverines ahead for the first time in the game.
Bates got Tucker Bowman to ground out to Austin Ledbetter at second to finally end the eruption.
In the bottom of the inning, Arnold, who relieved starter Dawson Price in the fourth and had given up four runs on four hits and six walks, retired the first two on strikes and on a liner to right. White singled up the middle but a pop to left ended the game.
“I tip my hat to (Bentonville West),” said Queck. “They hit the ball.”
Regarding his team, the coach said, “I would’ve liked to see, in crucial moments, just more competitiveness on the mound. I mean, making the pitch. And executing offensively in the moment, when you’re called upon — in that moment, executing. Because you never know when that one run is going to matter.
“I felt like, early on, we lost a — we ended up scoring one run to make it 3-0, but we also left one on the board by not executing a short game,” he recalled. “That could’ve been it. That could’ve been the one run. We’ll never know.
“We also got chances after that to score runs too and we’ve got to do a better job of that,” the coach related. “We sit there in the last innings and we had situations right there where we’ve got to make pitches.
“Somebody’s got to be the dog, in relentless pursuit to execute and win,” he concluded.
The Hornets’ batters saw plenty of breaking balls in the game. Noah Davis singled in the first and Conner Martin walked in the first, but they were stranded.
The Hornets were issued eight free passes in the game and benefited from two errors.
In the second, Wilson singled. Courtesy runner Jordan Knox stole second and went to third on an errant throw from the catcher. The Hornets made a couple of attempts to squeeze him home but fouled off their bunts. Turner Seelinger drew a one-out walk but a doubleplay ended the threat.
In the third, however, Ledbetter reached on a one-out error then Davis plugged the gap in left-center for an RBI triple to get the first run on the board. He would score on a wild pitch.
West pitchers had three wild pitches and its catcher had a passed ball in the game.
In the fourth, Wilson drilled a double to lead off. The passed ball allowed Knox to take third. Logan White walked then Seelinger got a bunt down to try to get Knox home, but it went right back to Arnold who threw home in time for the out.
With two down, though, Riggs came through with an RBI single to right. Seelinger tried to score from first. The throw from right field got past Gregg, the third baseman, as Seelinger slid in safely, so he tried to score. But the ball ricocheted off the bricks right back to Gregg who threw home in time for the out to end the inning.
Schonauer, who had three hits in the game, greeted Wilson in the top of the fifth with his team’s second knock. Guill beat out a chopper to short then was forced at second on a grounder by Kennon. Bowman got a safety squeeze bunt down that Wilson fielded. He looked at the runner from third, who paused, then threw to first only to have Bowman beat it out as Schonauer held at third.
With the bases full, Wilson had lead-off man Ty Durham down 0-2 in the count but a curveball didn’t break and struck the batter, forcing in the first Wolverines run. Gregg followed with an RBI single to center to make it 3-2.
Queck turned to his closer, Hathcote. He fanned Arnold then got Kitchens on a roller to short on which Davis made a fine play to retire the side and force the Wolverines to strand three.
In the bottom of the fifth, Arnold fanned the first two he faced before issuing walks to Martin and Parker. Another strikeout prevented the Hornets from taking advantage of the free passes.
West tied it in the top of the sixth. With one out, Schonauer singled to right. Walks to Guill and Kennon followed to load the bases.
Morrow relieved and got Bowman to ground into a force at second but the ball was not hit hard enough for the Hornets to turn two and Schonauer scored the tying run.
Durham grounded out to second to keep it deadlocked.
What looked like a winning rally for the Hornets in the bottom of the sixth began with Arnold walking White. He stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Lawson Speer singled him home.
Speer swiped second and, after Riggs walked, they worked a double steal to put both in scoring position. Speer scored on a wild pitch as Ledbetter drew a free pass. Davis came through with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3. Ledbetter got to third on an errant pickoff throw but was stranded.
