Cash Signs With Northeastern State

— Preston Cash is proof that patience is a virtue.

The former Springdale Har-Ber baseball star has signed a financial aid agreement with Northeastern State (Okla.) University and is ready to become a Riverhawk.

Call it a twist of fate, but Cash’s childhood dream of playing collegiate baseball almost didn’t happen and it took a chance encounter with new NSU coach Travis Janssen to make it come true.

With his senior season over and only receiving little attention from colleges he had interest in, Cash was playing on the Fayetteville Lindsey American Legion team this summer when an opportunity came.

“(Janssen’s) wife’s family lives in Springdale, so he was just here visiting and opened the paper to see there was a Legion tournament, so he just came out to watch the game,” said Cash, who played first base for Har-Ber. “I had one of the best games I’ve had in a very long time, so it was miraculous that he was there.”

Janssen watched Cash go 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBIs against Fort Smith Kerwins during the American Legion Zone 1AAA Tournament in Rogers on July 17. Three days later, the NSU coach offered Cash a scholarship.

Cash admitted it was nerve-racking to not know if he’d be playing college baseball on scholarship this fall. Last fall, he was given an opportunity to play at a few small schools in Texas and Tennessee, but said none of those colleges had the right feel.

The NSU coaching staff has asked Cash to do three things to keep his scholarship for all four years in school: Always be honest, be a good person and stay on top of his school work.

Har-Ber coach Randy Salsbury said he has no doubt that his former go-to player in the clutch will have a problem being held to those standards.

“Preston is the type of guy who plays sports because he wants to be the guy, who probably grew up playing in the backyard thinking it’s a full count with two outs, bases loaded in the World Series and trying to hit one over the fence,” Salsbur said. “Because of his upbringing, I really believe he’s going to do well.”

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