PEA RIDGE -- Prairie Grove had no answer for Pea Ridge pitcher Cole Wright.
Wright struckout 11 Prairie Grove batters and the sophomore only gave up a bunt single in the seventh inning to help lead Pea Ridge to a 7-1 victory over the Tigers in a 4A-1 Conference baseball game Thursday.
4A-1 Conference
Prep Baseball
Pea Ridge 7, Prairie Grove 1
Prairie Grove^000^000^1^—^1^1^1
Pea Ridge^222^010^x—^7^6^1
Gragg, Dodd (6) and Evans; Wright and Cotton. W - Wright, 3-1. L - Gragg. Sv - None. HRs - None.
The win allows the Blackhawks (13-2, 4-0 4A-1) to stay atop the league standings as they finish with Berryville, Huntsville and Shiloh Christian.
Wright started the game by striking out five of the first six batters he faced and he also struck out two Prairie Grove batters in the fifth and sixth innings. The Tigers scored their lone run in the seventh on their only hit and a error. Wright allowed only one ball out of the infield in the seven inning game.
"Cole did a great job for us, and he had command of the strike zone," said Pea Ridge coach John King. "He threw strikes, and Prairie Grove is a quality team, a quality program. We knew coming in that we would have to play well. We only made one error, and that was in the seventh inning."
Wright opened the game with three consecutive strikeouts and a combination of his curve ball, fastball, and changeup was too much for the Tigers the rest of the way.
"I was able to throw strikes and that gives our team the best chance to win," Wright said. "I was mixing speeds well. I felt that my curve ball was on and I was able to get it across the plate and make good things happen."
Wright helped his own cause at the plate with a two-run double in the second inning that gave the Blackhawks a 4-0 lead. Seth Brumley had a two-run single in the first inning while Tristan Trundle and Blake Cotton had back-to-back RBI singles in the third for a 6-0 lead. Trundle also recorded an RBI in the fifth inning on a groundout.
"We earned everything we got," King said. "The first inning was big. When we got up 2-0, it let us settle in. We are going to have to get hits up-and-down the lineup to be successful with three games left in our conference."
Paul Nielsen can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAPaul.
Sports on 04/10/2015