SPRINGDALE -- Mitch Cameron has a simple plan when it comes to coaching the Rawlings Prospects summer team.
"We show up and play," he said.
How They Scored
Rawlings Prospects 8, Arkansas Rockets 4
Rockets^000^020^2^—^4^8^2
Prospects^310^130^x^—^8^10^3
Vondran, Mills (2) and Perrault; Speed, Tice (5), Richardson (6) and Alexander. W - Speed. L - Vondran. HRs - Prospects, Alexander
It's an approach that has worked well this weekend as the Prospects (4-0-1) are headed to the championship bracket of the Hawg Showcase 17/18-year-old division after their 8-4 win against the Arkansas Rockets on Friday at the Tyson Sports Complex.
Cameron, the coach at Prairie Grove, said having players from all parts of the state creates a challenge when it comes to meshing off their talents together to form a cohesive team.
"It's hard. That first weekend that we played, we lost a 4-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning and lost 5-4," he said. "The guys just really didn't have the camaraderie. But we went to Joplin last weekend and outscored our opponents 40-7, so we started to gel a little bit. And this week has been a great week. But it takes some time, and we can't practice because the kids are from all over.
"We show up, and they're on their own."
Cameron has three players on the Prospects team from his own Prairie Grove team, and all contributed Friday.
J.D. Speed earned the pitching victory and ripped a pair of doubles at the plate to lead the Prospects. Ty Tice had two hits, and Cole Speed added another hit as the Prospects collected 11 hits on the day.
"Our hitting was the difference in the game," Cameron said. "And the sad part was we left bases loaded three times and had chances to blow the game open."
Speed had a no-hitter through 3 1/3 innings before the Rockets, a team comprised entirely of players from Little Rock Catholic, finally broke through. By the time the Rockets got their first hit, they were already behind 5-0.
Kyle Alexander (Conway) crushed a two-run home run to right in the first inning.
The Prospects are loaded with players who will play collegiately in the fall, including Speed and Alexander, who are both headed to Ouachita Baptist. Tice and Jacob Richardson, who pitched in relief Friday, are both headed to Central Arkansas.
The Rockets scored a pair of runs in the fifth as Will Dickenson singled ahead of Will Perrault's double. Both runners ended up scoring. The Rockets added two more runs in the seventh when Perrault singled and Cameron Tissue walked. Both runners scored on Joe Meyers' double and a groundout.
"I thought our pitching was outstanding," Cameron said. "We did a great job overall. We can't complain. We're in a situation where we had to win to make sure that we get a chance to play in Baum Stadium tomorrow in the championship bracket, so this was a big game for us."
Reed Malone of Smackover had two doubles for the Prospects.
Sports on 06/21/2014