Easterling struck out six

— Pea Ridge baseball coach John King has complete trust in Brandon Easterling.

The Pea Ridge righthander showed why his coach has that trust on Saturday, May 1, striking out 13 ina completegame 7-0 win over Huntsville in the quarterfinals of the 4A-1 District Tournament. The win earns the No. 3-seed Blackhawks (13-4) a spot in next week’s regional tournament in Harrison.

Easterling struck out six Huntsville batters through the first two innings in Saturday’s game. He didn’t allow a baserunner past second base and allowed only five hits while walking none.

“He’s been our go-to guyall year,” King said. “(Saturday), he stepped up and did a good job.

“He obviously kept us in the game. Thirteen strikeouts and no walks; you’re liable to win some games with that.”

Huntsville (6-16), the No. 7 seed that reached the quarterfinals with a win over Gravette on Thursday, was scoreless with Pea Ridge through three innings behind the pitching of Tanner Vanhook. The right-hander had seven of his eight strikeouts through the first three innings.

“He threw a good ballgame,” Huntsville coach Greg Sone said. “He had command of his pitches and did a great job. Theyjust caught up to him.

“There was no pressure on us as the No. 7 seed. I’m proud of our kids for competing.”

The Blackhawks got their first run in the fourth when Levi Roughton singled and reached third after asteal and single by Colby Schooley.

Roughton then gave Pea Ridge a 1-0 lead when he tagged up on a short fly ball to right field by Kasey Cooper and slid around a close relay throw at the plate.

The Blackhawks then put the game out of reach in the fifth, scoring four runs on three hits to build their lead to 5-0. Ethan Higgins had a two-run double in the inning, and Roughton added an RBI triple to cap the scoring in the inning.

Ethan Rhine started the inning with a single before stealing second and taking third when the throw from home went into the outfield.

“That put a spark into us,” King said. “With(Rhine) being a senior, we expect that out of him.”

Ryan Roughton added a two-run double in the sixth inning to put Pea Ridge up 7-0, which was more than enough in support of Easterling on the mound.

Sports, Pages 10 on 05/05/2010