PEA RIDGE -- Logan Wichert is a player without a position on the Pea Ridge Blackhawks baseball team.

And that's just the way the senior likes it.

Wichert, one of just three seniors on the Pea Ridge roster, bounces around the diamond like a wicked ground ball. He may start in right field, move to second base when needed, slide over to first base on occasion and climb up to the pitcher's mound -- all in the same game.

"Oh yeah, I like it better that I don't have one set position," Wichert said. "I like playing wherever coach needs me to play."

The Blackhawks (17-4) have enjoyed a stellar season as the team moves toward the 4A-1 District Tournament this week, which starts Thursday in Prairie Grove. Pea Ridge will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament and take on No. 8 seed Berryville in the first round of the tournament at 4 p.m. The Blackhawks will have to win two games to punch their ticket to the 4A-North Regional next week in Lincoln.

That Pea Ridge is fifth in the conference with a sparkling record is testament to the parity in the 4A-1 this season.

"Our conference is just stacked," Blackhawks coach John King said. "The top five or six teams are so close. Our No. 6 seed (Ozark) beat the No. 2 seed (Prairie Grove). That shows how tough it is."

Earlier this season Pea Ridge outslugged Prairie Grove 15-14, in a game the Blackhawks dominated early then had to hang on for dear life at the end.

"Crazy game," King said. "We had a big lead and they came back just like good teams do. Then the next game Farmington jumps on us and is one out away from maybe run-ruling us and we came back in that game. We didn't win, but we were in position to win after almost getting run-ruled."

The district tournament promises to be a wild one with the door wide open for several teams to take the prize.

Wichert, who has been in the baseball program all four years of high school, said the biggest difference this year is the Blackhawks' ability to swing the bats up and down the lineup.

"Everybody is getting hot with their sticks this year," he said. "Another thing we've done a lot better job of is cutting down on errors. But mainly it's been the sticks. Everybody is hitting the ball."

Wichert, who is batting .377 with 20 RBIs, 5 doubles to go along with a 3-0 record on the mound, hopes to play baseball at the collegiate level next season and plans to attend North Arkansas College in Harrison, which he has an invitation to try out for the team.

King said the leadership that Wichert and the small group of seniors has made a big impact on the younger players on the team this season.

"It's almost like having another coach," King said. "And they set a good example hustling on and off the field. A lot of the younger guys want to walk on and walk off the field. These guys have showed them that that's not the way you do it."

Wichert is one of the first guys out of the dugout each time, usually running to a different position on the field.