PEA RIDGE -- Pea Ridge had a senior at nearly every position, and that proved to be a winning combination for longtime coach John King and the Blackhawks.
Pea Ridge had eight seniors, and seven batted .356 or better as the Blackhawks finished the season with a 23-5 record after a 9-5 loss to eventual state champion Star City in the quarterfinals at the Class 4A State Tournament. Along the way, Pea Ridge finished second in the 4A-1 Conference before winning both the district tournament and the Class 4A North Regional.
For his efforts, King is the All-Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Baseball Coach of the Year.
King said all the credit goes to that senior class that included Seth Brumley, Blake Cotton, Dakota Canaday, Zach Davis, Garrett Easterling, Nick Hardy, Tristan Trundle and Jarrin Paryzek. Brumley finished the season with a 6-1 pitching record and a .438 batting average for a team that had a team batting average of .382.
"We had eight seniors, and most had been in the program three years," King said. "They are all quality kids. All eight of them are honor roll kids. They are competitive in the classroom and on the field. There is nothing better for a coach than to coach smart kids that are competitive. That in turn makes them coachable."
Pea Ridge was 6-0 in the league before a lopsided loss to Shiloh Christian late in the season.
"We had to do some soul searching," King said of that loss.
Pea Ridge avenged that loss by beating the Saints en route to the district tournament title and the Blackhawks then won three-straight games in the regional while punching a ticket to the state tournament.
"We had some really good pitching performances and the kids stepped up," King said.
Sports on 06/13/2015