Arkansas 1A-5A baseball roundup: Details on Thursday's first-round games

By Kevin Bohannon 

The Road to Benton kicked off Thursday with first-round action across the state. Here are some highlights from Class 1A-5A. 

Class 1A at Ouachita

Region 2 has been the strongest in the state for the last few years. Viola won the 2021 Class 1A title by defeating Izard County, also from Region 2. Nothing has changed in 2022 as the top three teams in the state hail from the fertile grounds of North Central Arkansas. Hillcrest, the 4 seed from Region 2, defeated Scranton 8-5 and Izard County made quick work of Ozark Catholic 15-0.

The Cougars will face Nemo Vista in Friday’s quarterfinals after the Red Hawks’ 9-4 win over Hermitage. Mount Ida took down Mount Vernon-Enola 13-3 and will face Hillcrest. The No. 1 West Side Eagles didn’t have a problem today as they cruised to a 12-0 victory. Taylor defeated Sacred Heart 14-4. The story of the night was Norfork getting behind early to County Line 8-4 then fighting back to force extra innings only to lose 9-8. A great season for the “Party Crashers”. This County Line’s ninth straight appearance in the state tournament.

Ouachita gave the home fans a treat as they had a combined no-hitter in their 10-0 win over Guy-Perkins. Sophomore Brady Huneycutt, junior Kelton Fowler, and junior Hunter Rock were the pitchers that got it done for the Warriors.

Class 2A at Bee Branch

The first three games of the day saw the lower-seeded team win, but they weren’t necessarily upsets. Bigelow got to Dierks early and often knocking their ace from the game en route to an 8-4 win. The Panthers entered the game as the 4 seed from the 2A-Central Region.

Riverside ended Mansfield’s season by jumping out to an early lead and hung on with timely hitting. The Rebels upset Carlisle last week in the 2A-North Regional and kept that momentum going. They will face tournament favorite and No.2-ranked Woodlawn after the Bears run ruled St. Joseph 15-1 in a game where Woodlawn scored 10 runs in the first inning.

Rector spoiled Acorn’s first trip to the state tournament as the Cougars advanced with a 9-2 win. Horatio found their early season form as they took down the top seeded host Southside Bee Branch. The Lions didn’t let Easton Swofford do any damage and their bats were hot.

McCrory shook off their shutout loss in the 2A-North Regional Championship beating Lavaca 9-2. The Jaguars and Horatio will do battle in what could easily be a semifinal matchup. Buffalo Island Central struggled early on but pulled away with a 4-1 win over Mountainburg. Melbourne defeated Murfreesboro 5-3 in the night cap.

Class 3A at Harrison

Harding Academy announced their presence with authority with a 10-0 win over Booneville. Senior Gavin Alveti tossed a no-hitter on only 55 pitches, of which 49 were strikes. CAC got a superb pitching performance from Freshman Grayson Wilson as they shutout Genoa Central 3-0. As expected, the Ashdown Panthers made quick work of Dewitt with an 11-1 victory.

Elkins shook off their loss in the 1-3A Regional Championship by dispatching Pangburn 11-0 setting up what should be a good matchup with Ashdown. Rose Bud jumped out to a 6-1 lead over Paris after three innings. That prompted Paris to go to their ace, Duke Walker, to give the Eagles a chance if he could hold the Ramblers down. The gamble paid off as the Eagles came back to win 8-6 to advance.

Prescott and Episcopal treated the fans to one of the best games in Bee Branch today as the Curly Wolves won 3-2. Prescott Senior Carston Poole has carried them all year and gives them a shot to win every time out. The Wildcats were not expected to be in the field but expect them to be there from now on under head coach Eddie Stephenson. Junior Drew Grumbles is a winner.

Haskell Harmony Grove upset a top seed by one run for the second week in a row as they took down Palestine-Wheatley 3-2. The Cardinals won the 2019 3A State Championship and now Danville stands in their way for this year’s title. The Little Johns defeated Manila 16-9 ending the Lions hope of another 3-3A team making it back to the state championship game. The Little Johns have scored 35 runs in their past three games.

Class 4A at Nashville

Pitching duels turned into fireworks in the first two games of the day. Shiloh Christian was down to Fountain Lake 5-4 entering the Bottom of the fifth inning and that’s when the Saints’ bats woke up. They exploded for 11 runs in the inning to mercy rule the Cobras 15-5. Senior Caleb Anderson was 3-4 with a homerun and six runs batted in and got the win on the mound in relief.

Shiloh Christian faces Lonoke in the quarterfinals which is a rematch from a first round contest last year that Shiloh won 6-4.

Game two followed a similar script with Farmington entering the sixth inning up 3-2 on Valley View. Forty-two minutes and 13 runs later, the Blazers ended the game on sophomore Slade Caldwell’s grand slam for a 15-3 win. The Blazers will face Arkadelphia in tomorrow’s quarterfinal round.

Robinson became the third team in as many games to score double-digit runs when they jumped out to a 10-0 lead over Monticello after two innings. They weren’t done as they rolled to a 15-0 victory making it to the quarterfinals for the second straight season. They will take on Huntsville tomorrow in a rematch of last year’s opening round game that Robinson won 2-1. Harrison outslugged Star City 14-6 in the finale. Harrison lost to Huntsville in the 4A North Regional Championship last week and now will play Pulaski Academy.

Class 5A at Hot Springs

Top-ranked Van Buren faced some adversity early on but scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to defeat Maumelle 4-1.

Jonesboro made quick work of 5A South Tri-Champion Lake Hamilton 8-1 behind a complete-game performance from Rykar Acebo. The senior hurler only allowed three hits while striking out five. He also drove in two runs with a triple. Will Thyer had a solo homerun while Charlie Dominguez added two double to lead the Hurricanes. Jonesboro and Van Buren will face off tomorrow in a rematch of last year’s state championship game.

Marion made quick work of White Hall jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning and cruised to a 10-0 win. In the first upset of the day, Mountain Home got an early lead and held on to defeat LR Christian 4-3.

The Bombers scored three runs in the sixth inning and that was the difference in the game. Sylvan Hills and Russellville played one of the best games of the day at Majestic Park with the Bears storming back late to win 3-2. The Cyclones got a strong performance from pitcher Tyler Hipps but the Bears had some timely hits and took the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a bases loaded walk.

Batesville turned to their ace, Razorback signee Gage Wood, in the opener against El Dorado, and he did not disappoint. The senior racked up fifteen strikeouts on the night as the Pioneers advanced to play Sylvan Hills with an 8-1 win. The nightcap between Benton and Greenbrier was the pitching duel that was expected. Greenbrier’s Jordan Huskey and Benton’s Jake Jones battled to a scoreless game through seven innings with Benton pulling it out 2-0 in eight innings.

Sheridan continued their offensive onslaught as they run ruled Greene County Tech 13-3 in the finale. Konner Canterbury and Evan Ward have been solid for the Yellow Jackets of late. Landen Feimster had a home run and four runs batted in tonight to lead the offense.

We will have more for you tomorrow as the stakes are even high on day two. Make sure and follow @CoachKBo on twitter for live updates throughout the day.