Arkansas high school baseball notebook: Conway back on track to defend title
By Kevin Bohannon
The Conway Wampus Cats won their first nine games against in-state competition after returning from the Five Tool Festival in Dallas. Their winning streak was halted by a very good Arkansas High team on March 25th. The Wampus Cats were outhit and outplayed in the 13-5 loss but since then they have dominated their opponents and sit alone atop the 6A Central standings at 6-0 with an overall record of 14-4. Conway has now won 13 of their past 14 games.
Winning back-to-back state championships is never easy, but Conway returned most of their production offensively and defensively. Come-from-behind wins against Cabot and Jonesboro has shown that this team is capable of beating you every way imaginable. Lefty Hugh Hill already has a no-hitter on the season. Preston Prock is hitting .429 on the season with a couple home runs. His production on the mound has been even better as he has struck out 29 hitters in 19 innings with a 1.06 earned run average. Prock also threw a no-hitter against Batesville last month. Sam Gregg has made multiple acrobatic plays at second base including robbing Camden Fairview of a hit in Hill’s no-hitter. Gregg and infield mate Tucker Satterfield are one of the best middle infield combinations in the state.
5A
GREENWOOD
Coach Brandon Brewer is in his first season as head coach for the Bulldogs. He knew he had a good core returning this season, but this team has soared to the top of the 5A-West standings halfway through the season. Brewer will admit that his team has not been tested like they will be in the state tournament, but the Bulldogs are playing as good as anyone in 5A right now. Senior pitcher Aiden Kennon is 5-0 with a 0.82 earned run average, but it is the emergence of sophomore Grant Karnes that has taken the state by surprise. After an all-state season on the gridiron, Karnes is 4-0 with a 2.39 earned run average and that has allowed all-state pitcher Austin Mitchell to move to the closer role and give Greenwood more depth in the bullpen. Braden Skaggs leads the Bulldogs in hitting with a .487 average with Brady Pettigrew behind him at .436. The Bulldogs have a tough stretch of games over the next couple of weeks but if they continue to play at a high level you can expect their name to be on the 5A West conference championship trophy in May.
LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN
The Warriors are looking like a state title contender with frontline pitching, suffocating defense and timely hitting. They swept Sylvan Hills in a 5A-Central doubleheader this week to remain perfect in conference play and 15-1 on the season. Senior Reece Tarini was a first-team pitcher on our SBLive All Arkansas team in 2022 and he is even better this season. The Louisiana Tech signee has struck out 56 hitters over 32 innings. His earned run average is one of the best in the state at 0.65 and he is holding opposing hitters to a .135 batting average. Tarini had his best start of the season against Sylvan Hills striking out 13 while allowing two Bears to reach base.
4A
LONOKE
If you have just awakened from a long winter’s nap, here is something you might not have heard: Lonoke is very good at baseball this season. The Jackrabbits have only dropped one game and that loss was to class 5A No. 2 LR Christian. The biggest strength of the 2023 Jackrabbits is their consistency. They are hitting .404 as a team and through 14 games, they have hit 16 home runs. The offense is good, but the pitching is on pace to set state records. Through 80 innings, Lonoke has only allowed nine earned runs and four of them were to Cabot by a pitcher making his first varsity start. The staff has 154 strikeouts to only 32 walks and they are only allowing an average of 2.14 hits per game. They are the clear-cut favorite in class 4A right now.
BROOKLAND
When you look across state rankings in other states, you will not see many teams with a losing record that have been ranked the entire season. The Bearcats have taken on eight teams from high classifications. They lost by one run to Greene County Tech and Batesville. They played Bryant and Greenwood close as well. The reason for the tough schedule is simple. Brookland wants to be prepared when the postseason arrives and the stakes are higher. After being ranked in the top five all of last year, the Bearcats lost in the regional tournament to Pulaski Academy kept them from getting to the state tournament. They are undefeated in conference play and looking to make sure that does not happen this year.
3A
RIVERCREST
Northeast Arkansas has become a hot bed for baseball talent. One of the last remaining unbeaten teams in the state regardless of classification is in the small town of Wilson, While Rivercrest has been known for their powerhouse football teams, the Colts have made some noise this season winning their first eight games. The Colts also sit atop the 3A-3 standings with a 5-0 record and a win over Manila on Thursday will give them a commanding lead heading into the second half of conference play. Rivercrest has outscored their conference opponents 50-7. They defeated class 5A Nettleton and 2A powerhouse McCrory in key non-conference games. Keep an eye on the Colts as they have a chance to make their Super 7 debut soon rather than later.
MELBOURNE
The tiny town outside of Batesville keeps growing in population. It also keeps producing winning athletic programs. The football team enjoyed their best team in school history with a 13-1 record losing to Booneville in the semifinals. After losing their season opener, Melbourne has reeled off seven straight wins including six in conference play. Razorbacks commit Grant Wren is the headliner but brother Trey has been the top producer on the team this season. He was 2 for 3 with a homerun in the 8-3 win over Tuckerman. Brennon Burch and Logan Seay have also had solid starts to the season with each hitting over .400. Conference newcomer Walnut Ridge will be the biggest test for the Bearkatz and a win could put them in the category of state title contender.
2A
GREENLAND
Head coach Jordan Larkan had lofty expectations for the Pirates with seven starters returning this season with his team dropping to class 3A. Senior shortstop Kade Gobel and Senior 3B/RHP Zach Holte are having big years and provide veteran leadership. Having veteran leadership is part of having a winning program but Greenland has a trio of sophomores that are blending in very well so far this season. Catcher looks the part at 5-9 and 205 pounds and has produced on offense and defense for the Pirates. Stockton is hitting .500 with six doubles and 15 runs batted in. His OPS is staggering at 1.214. Teams have not done too well when trying to run on Stockton as he has gunned down six runners this season. Sophomore Brandon Vaughan ranked nationally with ten interceptions in the fall, and he is doing a great job in centerfield for the Pirates. His defensive back skills are paying off in center as his foot work and quickness allows him to run down would be hits in the gap. Sophomore LHP Carter Jackson tossed his first high school no-hitter in a 17-1 win over Mountainburg. Jackson struck out the first ten hitters of the game and totaled 13 for the game.
RIVERSIDE
The Rebels lead the 2A-3 conference with a 7-0 record and are 12-2 overall. Their losses are to 5A Nettelton and 4A Pocahontas by a combined three runs. Cash Gillis held Cross County to two hits in a 15-0 win. Gillis had five strikeouts and zero walks. He also helped his cause by going 2 for 3 with a walk and two runs batted in on offense. The Colts got their second shutout of the week in a 5-0 win over Marmaduke. Thatcher Durham and Brayeson Timms combined for a three-hit shutout and struck out 12 Greyhound hitters. Gillis also homered in the win. Riverside ended their week with a 6-2 win over the No. 6 Rector Cougars to strengthen their lead in conference.
1A
WONDERVIEW
The Daredevils won their own tournament last weekend defeating Mount Ida in the finals 5-3. They check in at No. 3 this week in our Super 7 rankings. Senior Sam Reynolds has put up video game numbers this season hitting .636 with seven extra base hits. Gage Looney leads the team in homeruns with two and was named CO-MVP of the Daredevil Classic along with Tyler Gotsponer. Matt Bingham has started seven games on the mound for Wonderview and has a 3-1 record with 39 strikeouts to only seven walks. Bingham and Reynolds combined to get the win over Mount Ida in the championship game last weekend.
SCRANTON
The Rockets had the biggest win in class 1A this week with a 24-1 win over County Line. The win gives Scranton control in the 1A-1W conference with a 5-0 record. They have defeated conference teams by a combined score of 77-7 after the win over County Line. They did drop a tough game to Mount Ida in the Daredevil Classic last week but expect this team to make some noise when the postseason arrives.
