Farmington's Ness Enjoys Breakout Senior Season

FARMINGTON -- Adam Ness slid hard into third base, taking the Prairie Grove player's feet out. The baseball sailed to the fence and Ness quickly scrambled to his feet and raced for home.

The Farmington senior's gritty play Thursday is typical of the hard-nosed kind of player he's become. It's a big reason why he is headed to a Division I college baseball program next season.

Ness (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) verbally committed to Arkansas-Little Rock on Thursday, just a few hours before the Cardinals (5-2, 1-0 4A-1 Conference) took on their Arkansas 62 rivals in a key game. The game was suspended in the bottom of the seventh inning with the score tied 4-4. It will resume Tuesday where it left off with the bases loaded and the Tigers batting.

For Ness, the commitment to UALR will help him accomplish two career goals: He wants to major in engineering, and UALR offers an excellent engineering school; and he can likely get on the field quickly for the Trojans.

"Last summer I was just really looking for interest from anybody," he said. "I really didn't know what my priorities were. It took me all fall to realize what my priorities were. First and foremost was a quality education and a place where I can play baseball and get on the field almost immediately.

"I feel like UALR is the best place for me to have both of those opportunities."

Ness leads the Cardinals in almost every offensive category, including home runs (2), RBIs (7) and batting average (.533). He is also a pitcher, sporting a 2-1 record with 16 strikeouts and a 2.01 ERA.

Cardinals coach Jay Harper said Ness, a three-year starter, has improved his velocity in the past year, adding 2-3 mph to his fastball. A big factor in that improvement was a focus on baseball in the offseason.

"Adam played basketball every year until this year," Harper said. "This year he was able to work in the weight room and just focus on getting stronger."

Harper said Ness has seen his fastball go from mid-80s to upper 80s and can touch the lower 90s.

Ness is not sure where he will play at UALR, either as a position player or a pitcher.

"For me, it's just much easier at the plate," he said. "I'm relatively new to pitching, but a good day pitching beats a good day hitting."

Before he heads off to Little Rock, Ness and the Cardinals have their sights set on finishing the season strong. Farmington is off to a good start, but there are tough games ahead. Ness said the team has lots of areas to improve on.

"We need to be more consistent up and down the lineup right now," he said. "We are struggling to string hits together. Pitching, we all need to fill up the zone more, including me. But I think we're headed in the right direction."