Nick Hardy has no qualms about making an out if it benefits his team.
Over the past two seasons, the Pea Ridge senior shortstop has executed baseball's ultimate team-first play by laying down 16 sacrifice bunts to move runners to the next base. In its simplest form, baseball is about getting runners on, getting them over and getting them in. And that is why Pea Ridge's smallest player in stature delivers in such a huge way.
Last season Hardy set a school record with 12 sacrifice bunts. This season, a year older and stronger, he hasn't been asked to give himself up as much. A .459 batting average with six doubles and 18 walks means he's moving runners over in other ways. His 23 RBIs proves he's also getting them in.
"Nick does such a great job in the two-hole for us," Pea Ridge coach John King said. "He led the team in sacrifices last year. It wasn't even close. He does a great job there by either getting the runner over, or hitting behind them. He's very good at hitting those gaps and getting runners in."
Hardy broke his leg as an eighth-grader and did not play football until this past fall, when he decided to join the Blackhawks football team. He credits the extra weight-lifting for football as improving his strength this baseball season, which has added more pop to his swing.
The Blackhawks (20-4) are loaded with eight seniors, Hardy among them. After finishing second during the regular season in the 4A-1 Conference, Pea Ridge rolled through the 4A-1 District Tournament and routed Shiloh Christian in the finals 10-2 to earn the No. 1 seed at the 4A-North Regional Tournament. The Blackhawks will take on host Dover at 10 a.m. today in a first round game. A win would clinch Pea Ridge's first state tournament appearance since 2012.
"We've been working hard all season long trying to get as far as we can go this year," Hardy said. "I think anything short of state, or a state championship, would be disappointing."
Hardy is not only a cog atop the Blackhawks' batting lineup, he's also a key in the middle infield at shortstop. King said the team is at its best with Hardy in the middle, with his speed and quickness getting to balls in the hole or up the middle.
Hardy said he'd like to play college baseball, but if that doesn't happen, his plan is to attend Northwest Arkansas Community College, and later the University of Arkansas where he hopes to become a coach.
His team-first attitude and keen understanding of how the game is meant to be played at its fundamental core are two attributes that will serve him well in the future.
Sports on 05/13/2015