Referring to the mounting sports success Pea Ridge High School has achieved this school term, some local sportswriters have dubbed it a "storybook year." The story is about to get some more chapters as both the boys and girls diamond athletes have zoomed up into the top tier of 4A rankings.
The Blackhawk softball and baseball teams are ranked second and third, respectively, in the latest MaxPreps/CBS State 4A Polls. Both teams are undefeated in conference play and are both the top ranked teams in the 4A North Region.
The girls are 8-0 and are ranked second behind the only other undefeated team in the state, 13-0 Bauxite, a member of the South Region. The North Region currently boasts four teams (Pea Ridge, Pottsville, Booneville, Gravette) in the Top 10 overall, best of any region in the 4A classification.
In the girls' conference standings, Pea Ridge is already the only team left without a loss on their league record. The girls have not only won all their games, they have won them in a big way, outscoring the opposition 93-17, averaging more than 10 runs a game.
The girls blended conference has only eight teams this season. The two private schools, Shiloh and Haas Hall, did not offer softball to their girls this year. In the cellar so far this season is Gentry at 0-3. This strikes me as a little bit odd after they whipped 7A schools Fort Smith Southside and Springdale in their first two games then lost by a single run to HarBer in their third game. Either 4A ball is tougher than 7A ball this year, or maybe the Pioneers have had some bad luck lately.
The boys, ranked third, are tied for the best record in the state at 10-2, the same as the top-ranked Ashdown squad. They are joined in the Top 10 by Huntsville and Shiloh, all members of the 4A-1 District. Shiloh is the defending state champion this year, though they lost to Pea Ridge in district play in 2016.
The boys are coming off a three-game set at the Prairie Grove Spring Break Tournament last week. The boys lost 8-5 to Bentonville West, the No. 7 ranked team in the 7A classification in the tournament opener, then came back to nip Booneville the next day 8-7 in a thriller. Will Feemster brought Hayden Holtgrewe home on a suicide squeeze bunt to win that game. The opportunity was set up by a triple off the bat of Holtgrewe and the fireworks occurred in the 'Hawks' final at-bat in a 7-7 game.
The third and final game of the tournament saw the 'Hawks blast Ozark 11-0. Booneville is the highest ranked member of the 4A-4 District with Ozark ranked fourth behind Dover and Dardanelle. The 4A-4 is the other half of the North Region along with the 4A-1 District. Ozark came into the Blackhawk game with a 10-1 mark with Pea Ridge having a 9-2 ledger. In what was supposed to be a close battle turned into a Blackhawk blowout.
I went down to the Bentonville West game as I had some free time on my hands and I hadn't seen the 'Hawks play yet. There were quite a few Blackhawk supporters there, a lot more than the Wolverines could muster to my estimation. I noticed the old-time hand-operated scoreboard that reminded me of the old days in professional parks. Turned out it was a professional scoreboard that was once the property of the Wichita AA minor league baseball team. That team moved to Springdale, had a new scoreboard so the newly renamed Naturals donated the old one to Prairie Grove.
The honors keep rolling in
The basketball honors from the high school boys season just concluded season keep rolling in.
Joey Hall was named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Arkansas Division II Player of the Year among the dozens and dozens of of 5A-4A-3A-2A-1A high schools in the area comprised of Fort Smith across to Harrison. A three-time all-stater, Hall was the team's lead scorer in the state tournament where the 'Hawks took second. Pea Ridge had a best ever record of 32-3, and had the best won-loss record of any school in the state with the exception of 6A Jonesboro.
Hall was joined on first team All-Northwest Arkansas squad by teammate Matt Thomas. Both Hall and Thomas along with Britton Caudill were earlier named 4A All-State.
Recognized for his team's season of excellence, coach Trent Loyd was named the Coach of the Year by the Democrat-Gazette in his fourth year of directing the Blackhawk varsity basketball team. One the strengths of the Loyd's stellar season was his athletes' unselfishness and the camaraderie the players had with one another.
With Kobe Rose being named to the All-State Tournament Team, four of the five starters received statewide recognition. If the awards programs listed the best defenders in the state, senior Cole Wright would have topped that list. An All-State performer in baseball, Wright is a member of the most talented senior class to attend Pea Ridge High School.
Razorback baseball on the rise
After a dismal season in 2016, the worst of head coach Dave Van Horn's tenure as the Razorback skipper, the Hogs have bounced back and now lead the SEC with a 5-1 record, 20-5 overall.
The Hogs have been blessed with power hitting this season. The hammering Hogs have clubbed 38 team home runs, 12 more than any other team in the SEC. Arkansas is just off a 2-1 series victory over 18th-ranked Missouri this past weekend. The Hogs sweep of Mississippi State last weekend led to Arkansas entering the rankings at 24th, and are certain to rise further in the polls this week.
State 4A MaxPreps
Baseball poll
including all 4A-1 teams
1. Ashdown 10-2
2. Gosnell 8-2
3. Pea Ridge 10-2
4. Central
Arkansas 8-3
5. Huntsville 10-2
6. Brookland 9-2
7. Shiloh 7-2
8. Booneville 9-4
9. Hamburg 9-2
10. Monticello 10-3
18. Berryville 5-3
26. Gravette 3-4
32. Lincoln 3-7
34. Gentry 1-6
4A North Region Poll
1. Pea Ridge 10-2
2. Huntsville 10-2
3. Shiloh 8-2
4. Booneville 9-4
5. Dover 6-2
6. Dardanelle 9-2
7. Ozarkv10-2
8. Prairie Grove 6-5
9. Berryville 5-4
10. Pottsville 6-3
3A-4A-1 Conference Standings
1. Pea Ridge 3-0
2. Shiloh 2-0
3. Greenland 3-1
4. Prairie Grove 2-1
5. Gravette 2-2
6. West Fork 1-2
7. Huntsville 0-2
Lincoln 0-2
9. Gentry 0-4
MaxPreps State 4A
Softball poll
including all 4A-1 teams
1. Bauxite 13-0
2. Pea Ridge 8-0
3. Pottsville 8-1
4. Heber Springs 6-2
5. Monticello 8-2
6. Booneville 5-2
7. Stuttgart 10-3
8. Truman 6-4
9. Gravette 6-6
10. Nashville 6-4
18. Prairie Grove 7-7
22. Lincoln 5-5
23. Gentry 4-4
32. Berryville 3-7
4A North Region Poll
1. Pea Ridge 8-0
2. Pottsville 8-1
3. Booneville 5-2
4. Gravette 6-6
5. Dardanelle 7-4
6. Ozark 7-3
7. Prairie Grove 7-7
8. Lincoln 5-5
9. Gentry 4-4
10. Dover 4-7
3A-4A-1 Conference
1. Pea Ridge 3-0
2. Gravette 2-1
Prairie Grove 2-1
Elkins 2-1
5. West Fork 1-2
6. Lincoln 1-3
7. Greenland 0-1
8. Gentry 0-3
•••
Editor's note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 03/29/2017