Arkansas high school baseball notebook: Rockets taking off now
By Kevin Bohannon
Little Rock Catholic head coach Bryan Jones likes his young Rocket team.
“This group is playing a very selfless style of baseball right now” he said. “They are learning to trust the man to their right and left while buying into their role and the things we have asked of them.” Junior center fielder Brooks Ward is having an all-state season leading the rockets in hitting with a .512 average. He has six doubles and five home runs and 19 runs batted in. Sophomore Noel Lewis is hitting .533 with runners in scoring position. Senior Caleb Collins has six stolen bases and is getting on base at a .509 clip.
Underclassmen are leading the Rockets on the mound as well. Sophomore Caleb Short is 3-0 in 33 innings with a 1.05 earned run average. He has 34 strikeouts and only 6 walks. Junior Asher Hamilton and sophomore Jackson England have a combined 52 strikeouts as the second and third starters. Senior Nathan Freeman has been a bulldog as the closer out of the bullpen with a 2-1 record and two saves.
“Senior leadership has pushed the talented sophomore class in the right direction from day one,” Jones said. Catholic lost a lot of offensive and pitching production from last season to expectations were not as high from the outside looking in this season. Now, the Rockets are 12-3 overall and are currently in third place in the 6A-Central. The future is now for this young team.
6A
CABOT
The Panthers have emerged as one of the favorites in class 6A thanks to outstanding pitching performances from junior Aden Velasquez and sophomore Cael Turner. Velasquez shut down Bryant last week in a 4-2 win and got the win against North Little Rock earlier this week in the Panthers 7-2 win. Velasquez has a 1.35 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched. He has also led the Panthers offense this spring with a .442 average and 11 extra base hits. Turner has been an excellent complement to Velasquez with a 1.95 ERA. He has 27 strikeouts in 21.2 innings pitched.
The sophomore has a fastball in the 85-87-mph range with more in the tank. Senior first baseman Lukas Sullivan has been solid offensively with a .357 average and .471 on base percentage. The Panthers are 12-4 overall and 6-1 in conference play. They will take on Conway next Friday at home.
5A
ARKANSAS HIGH
The Razorbacks are in first place at 8-1 in the 5A South and 13-3 overall. They have won seven straight conference games including a sweep of Sheridan last week and a 6-5 win over Lake Hamilton on Tuesday this week. Teams are pitching around slugger U of A signee Ty Waid and his teammates are picking up their production offensively. Luke Paxton hit a towering three run home run against Sheridan in a 15-10 win and he went 2 for 4 against Lake Hamilton on Tuesday. Third baseman Nate Wall led the Razorbacks with three runs batted in against the Wolves. For Arkansas High to capture the 5A South crown, they still have to get past El Dorado and White Hall, but they have successfully made it through the toughest part of their conference schedule.
4A
GRAVETTE
Don’t look now, but the Lions are tied atop the 4A-1 conference and looking to make their debut in our Super 7 rankings after winning seven of their last nine ballgames. In the last two weeks, they have defeated Huntsville 17-5, Gentry 3-2 and class 3A No. 2 Elkins 3-2. Their early season losses were to Harrison, Greenwood and Bentonville West. Now they are taking care of business and looking for a conference championship. Justin Trucks and Isaiah Larson are hitting .405 and .370 respectively and both are tied for the team lead with 13 runs batted in on the season. Hunter Roughton leads the pitching staff with 29.2 innings pitched. Roughton has a 1.43 earned run average with 42 strikeouts and only 9 walks. A key matchup with Prairie Grove on Friday will determine seeding for the district tournament.
3A
HARRISBURG
The Hornets have won 12 of the past 13 games and gave conference leader Rivercrest their first loss of the season on Monday 11-10. Centerfielder Drake Masters was 2 for 3 with three runs batted in. Shortstop Brylan Honeycutt was 3 for 4 with two runs batted in and scored three runs. Harrisburg split with Gosnell on Thursday giving them their first loss since March 13th. They are now 9-2 in conference play and peaking as they head into postseason play.
2A
EPISCOPAL
The Wildcats have won eight straight games after starting the season 1-6. Not many 1-6 teams across the nation would have been ranked but Episcopal has never fallen out of the Super 7 rankings and they are starting to prove why they are a state contender. A 13-2 win over defending state finalist Bigelow sent shockwaves across class 2A but the Wildcats anticipated a big win over the Panthers. Why? Episcopal has Drew Grumbles on the mound. The senior dominated the Panthers lineup with his fastball that topped out at 89 mph. Grumbles helped his cause by going 2-for-4 with a home run and three runs batted in offensively. Not to be outdone, younger brother Hunter went 2 for 3 with a home run and three runs batted in himself. Andrew Johnston was 3 for 5 and one of five Wildcats with multiple runs batted in. Coach Eddie Stephenson frontloaded his schedule with tough opponents and now it seems to be paying off for the Wildcats.
CARLISLE
Carlisle made an unexpected run to the state championship game in football last fall. The Bison baseball team hopes to replicate the success and go one step further. Head coach Steven Tew knew his team had a chance to be good this season and put together a schedule that would prepare his team for postseason play.
“We really enjoy playing baseball and playing against people we don’t normally see or at places that make it fun to go to,” Tew said.
Carlisle lost to Arlington high school 11-0 at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn., on springs break. They faced a University of Memphis commit and Tew said.
“I will play those guys every year because they play the game the right way,” he said.
Everyone in 2A, including the Bison, is chasing Woodlawn. Tew’s goal for his players is to close the gap every day. Little Rock Trojans signee Zach Busick is healthy and performing at an all-state level. Busick is hitting .444 with four home runs this season. He has only allowed five hits in 16 innings of work.
David Hayes and Jonathan Pickard Jr. are hitting .431 and .346 respectively. Holden Jones quarterbacked the Bison in the fall and is dominating hitters on the diamond. Jones has 50 strikeouts in 28.2 innings pitched. Tew keeps his kids focused on the big picture.
COTTER
The Warriors made noise earlier this season when they split their conference doubleheader with Greenland. They have proven that the win was no fluke as they now sit at 12-2 on the season and 6-1 in 2A-1 play. Cotter defeated 1A No. 2 Norfork this week 19-3. Will Morris, Kolby Vinson, Ty Tilton, Drew Jackson, and Hudson Adams all had two hits apiece. Morris led the way with four runs batted in while Vinson and Tilton knocked in three and two respectively. Depth is key in class 2A and the Warriors seem to have the offensive fire power to make noise in the postseason. The question will be if they have the pitching to take them the distance.
1A
HILLCREST
The Screaming Eagles lost four of their first five games this season with three of the losses at the hands of teams in higher classifications. In their eight-game winning streak, Hillcrest is averaging 12.6 runs per game while only allowing 2.6. This week alone they have defeated Maynard, Bradford and Crowley’s Ridge Academy by a combined score of 41-4. Hillcrest made it to the state quarterfinals last season before losing to Mount Ida. They are looking to take a step further in 2023.
