SBLive Arkansas Super 7 baseball rankings: Teams making moves as district play begins in some classes
By Kevin Bohannon I Photo by Jimmy Jones
It is hard to believe that postseason play is already upon us as district play starts this week for Class 1A-4A. There are very few questions remaining about who the state title contenders are in each classification but that doesn’t mean we won’t see an upset over the next few weeks.
SBLive Class 6A Super 7
1. Rogers 18-4
2. Springdale Har-Ber 19-6
3. Cabot 15-5
4. Conway 13-7
5. LR Catholic 15-5
6. FS Southside 16-8
7. Bentonville 16-8
Analysis: Cabot had a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory against Conway on Friday to break the tie atop the 6A-Central. LR Catholic swept their conference games last week as well to stay in the Top five. Rogers returns to the spot they finished in 2021, ahead of everyone else, after sweeping Bentonville last week 17-2 and 2-1. The Mounties have only lost to one in-state team this year. Class 5A No. 1 Van Buren got the best of Rogers early in the season and since then Rogers has played as good as anyone in the state. Har-Ber split with FS Southside with the Mavericks winning game one 8-7 in extra innings. Lucas Jackson hit the game tying homerun in the top of the seventh inning to extend the game.
SBLive Class 5A Super 7
1. Van Buren 19-4
2. Jonesboro 19-6-1
3. El Dorado 20-3
4. Greenbrier 16-6
5. LR Christian 19-5
6. Marion 20-5
7. Benton 17-5
Analysis: The Class 5A State Tournament should be the most competitive in the state. Benton spent most of the season ranked No. 2 but has had a rough couple of weeks and drops to No. 7 after splitting with Maumelle on Friday. LR Christian is red hot behind the arms of Reece Tarini, Nate Gross and Jackson Kirchner. El Dorado keeps winning and Greenbrier went 5-0 last week. Marion makes a return to the rankings after another solid week gets them to 20 wins on the season. There are two 5A-East teams sitting outside the Super 7 in Batesville and Greene County Tech that can beat any of the teams ahead of them on a given day.
SBLive Class 4A Super 7
1. Valley View 21-5
2. Brookland 19-5
3. Lonoke 22-5
4. Farmington 15-7-1
5. Huntsville 20-6
6. Arkadelphia 12-4
7. Morrilton 17-2
Analysis: Valley View and Brookland will do battle for conference supremacy and the top ranking headed into regional play. Brookland defeated Jonesboro 10-6 and is playing as good as anyone with a mixture of veteran leaders and young talent. Farmington walked off Huntsville 15-14 on Friday to claim their outright conference title and punching their ticket to regionals. Arkadelphia got a big win over Fountain Lake to effectively win the 7-4A with one week left. Morrilton wrapped up an undefeated conference championship last week and suffered a setback to Harding Academy on Friday. Star City and Camden Fairview along with Harrison and Shiloh Christian are teams to watch in the postseason.
SBLive Class 3A Super 7
1. Harding Academy 21-3
2. Camden Harmony Grove 22-2-1
3. Walnut Ridge 17-3
4. Ashdown 18-4
5. Booneville 13-4
6. Bergman 17-6
7. Rose Bud 17-6
Analysis: Harding Academy had a big week after thumping Rose Bud to win the conference title and then gave Shane Fullerton his 500th win as a head coach on Friday by beating Morrilton 15-5. Camden Harmony Grove keeps winning as does Ashdown. Walnut Ridge made it through a tough 3-3A with a 14-2 record giving them the title. Manila and Rivercrest were only a couple games back and could be trouble for teams. Booneville has played inspired baseball in April and defeated Paris on Thursday. Bergman claimed the 1-3A title finishing a game ahead of streaking Elkins. Paris sits on the outside looking in after dropping a close one to Booneville.
SBLive Class 2A Super 7
1. Woodlawn 19-5
2. McCrory 18-4-1
3. Melbourne 16-4
4. Mansfield 18-4
5. Murfreesboro 16-6
6. Buffalo Island Central 13-2
7. Bigelow 10-5
Analysis: McCrory is the hottest team in 2A right now having won 11 straight games which has included wins over Morrilton, Carlisle and Southside Bee Branch. Melbourne and Mansfield just keep winning and slowly climbing the rankings each week. Murfreesboro dropped a couple of conference games but still has the talent to make a run. Buffalo Island Central has played mostly conference games, so we do not know how battle-tested they will be come tournament time. Horatio and Parkers Chapel are two teams in south Arkansas that can make some noise. The 2A-5 conference features three teams tied for first place with St. Joes, Bigelow and Southside Bee Branch. They are capable of beating most teams in a one game setting. Bigelow had a big 6-5 win over St. Joes on Friday led by Carter Alexander at the plate and Hunter Alexander on the mound.
SBLive Class 1A Super 7
1. West Side Greers Ferry 14-4
2. Izard County 16-5
3. Norfork 17-4
4. Taylor 11-4-2
5. Ouachita 17-7
6. Mount Ida 13-3
7. Hillcrest 8-4
Analysis: Westside finally ended Norfork’s 14 game winning streak in convincing fashion with a 15-0 win on Friday. The Eagles now sit atop the conference standings and the favorite as postseason starts this week. Taylor has been playing out of conference competition to stay fresh. Ouachita and Mount Ida have been doing the same with the Lions picking up an impressive victory over 2A Murfreesboro. Marked Tree falls out the Super 7 after another loss put them in a three-way tie for the conference title with Hillcrest and Armorel. Hillcrest is playing the best of those three teams at the moment, so they debut in our rankings for the first time this season.
