PRAIRIE GROVE -- After Cole Wright walked the first batter of the eighth inning on four straight pitches, Pea Ridge coach John King said he was "50-50" on whether to allow pitcher Wright to finish the game on Thursday, April 7.
The decision proved correct as Wright ended Thursday's 3-2 victory against Prairie Grove with a strikeout, but the junior left-hander's biggest pitch came during King's visit to the mound.
Pea Ridge 3, Prairie Grove 2 (8 innings)
Pea Ridge^002^000^01^—^3^5^0
Prairie^000^101^00^—^2^10^3
Wright and Holley; Heltemes, Orr (8) and Gragg. W - Wright, 4-0. L - Heltemes, 2-4. HRs - None.
"I told (King), 'Don't yank me ... I want to finish this one,'" Wright said.
King expected that response, even though Wright had surpassed the 100-pitch plateau while issuing the leadoff walk.
"When I went out there and (asked) 'How you feeling?' Of course, he said, 'I'm good, I'm good,'" King said. "When I was going out there, it was definitely 50-50, but he convinced me that he was good to go."
Wright was more than good despite allowing 10 hits in the complete-game victory. He threw 71 strikes on a season-high 114 pitches while striking out seven, walking three and allowing two earned runs.
"(Wright was) as advertised. Man, that kid is good," said Prairie Grove coach Chris Mileham. "He threw strikes when he had to and he made quality pitches when he had to."
Pea Ridge (12-1, 4-0 4A-1 Conference) pushed the winning run across against the Tigers (6-12, 2-2) on an infield pop-up that drifted away from Tiger catcher Logan Gragg's glove and landed in fair territory in the eighth inning. With runners on first and third when Bryce Beckham hit the pop-up, Gragg fired the ball to second base to try for a force out, which allowed Eric Hankins to score from third base.
Hankins tripled to left-center to lead off the inning, ending Prairie Grove starter Gavin Heltemes' day. Heltemes struck out 11 in seven-plus innings.
"On a game like this, we had to take a chance because their pitcher was doing a great job, too," King said of sending Hankins home.
The Blackhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on RBI doubles by Chandler Tidwell and Gage Cawthon in the fourth inning.
Sports on 04/13/2016