Tigers experience growing pains

Pea Ridge turns back Prairie Grove in District Semifinal

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Pea Ridge pitcher Cole Wright loses the baseball while trying to cover home against Prairie Grove’s Logan Gragg, who slid in to score. Prairie Grove lost 15-5, yet qualified for the 4A North Regional baseball tournament.
MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Pea Ridge pitcher Cole Wright loses the baseball while trying to cover home against Prairie Grove’s Logan Gragg, who slid in to score. Prairie Grove lost 15-5, yet qualified for the 4A North Regional baseball tournament.

HUNTSVILLE -- Prairie Grove's young baseball team experienced growing pains in the form of a five-inning 15-5 District semifinal loss to Pea Ridge at Huntsville on Saturday, May 9.

This was a day in which the Tigers (14-8) struggled to record outs. Three pitchers faced 35 Blackhawk batters in five innings and Pea Ridge capitalized by piling up 15 runs on 11 hits. Gavin Heltemes started on the mound for Prairie Grove and sustained the loss. He began with a strikeout but got into trouble with a pair of walks before working his way out of the inning by minimizing the damage. With the bases loaded Prairie Grove nearly turned a double play just missing getting a second runner at first. One run scored for Pea Ridge and Heltemes induced a fly out to end the inning. Pea Ridge added four runs in the second scoring their fifth run on a passed ball.

Prairie Grove generated some offense of their own in the top of the third. Logan Gragg was hit by a pitch, then stole second and went to third on a passed ball. Reed Orr reached when the Blackhawk catcher dropped a third strike and with Clay Fidler batting, Gragg scored on a passed ball. Fidler patiently drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch and Evan Rush stroked an RBI double narrowing the gap to 5-2.

Sam Dodd came on in relief but Pea Ridge answered with 4 runs in their half of the third taking a 9-2 lead. Prairie Grove continued to chip away producing 3 runs in the fourth highlighted by Heltemes' triple which drove in a run. Gragg then duplicated the feat by blasting a shot into the empty left corner two batters later ending the day for Pea Ridge starter Cole Wright, who had reached an 88-pitch count with 7 strikeouts. The Tigers added one more run on a passed ball but trailed 9-5.

Prairie Grove put together a good defensive finish in the bottom of the fourth after yielding a leadoff walk followed by an error. Nick Ellis recorded a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around a fly out into shallow right field. Still, the Tigers couldn't fashion offense and a leadoff walk turned into a Pea Ridge double play. Pea Ridge resumed their attack in the bottom of the fifth pouring in 6 runs to end the game early on Zaine Holiday's 2-run double to earn the run-rule win.

"Today was one of those days where we didn't pitch very well, we didn't locate very well and when you don't locate very well against these guys (Pea Ridge) they're going to take advantage. They do a good job of hitting the ball and they're well-coached," said Prairie Grove coach Mitch Cameron.

"I feel like we did battle. We did a much better job this time against their pitcher Cole Wright. We faced him before and didn't do very well but today we got him out of the game with a high pitch count but we couldn't stop the bleeding. Until that happens, you never really get that momentum shift."

Sports on 05/13/2015