FAYETTEVILLE -- Cody Davenport was part of a Fayetteville baseball senior class filled with talent and loaded with years of accomplishments.
Somehow still, Davenport managed to put together a final season which stood out among the pack.
With Fayetteville finishing off an impressive three-year run through the 7A-West Conference -- which included a 43-game win streak in league play -- Davenport was perhaps the biggest factor in the success. With a team-high .422 batting average, a team-best 38 RBIs and a stellar pitching performance, Davenport did a bit of everything on his way to being named the All-Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Baseball Player of the Year.
"I was always looking forward, my entire career, to being being able to step up and pitch right alongside Andy (Pagnozzi)," Davenport said. "We've done that since we were young and I wanted to finish out that way."
Davenport roamed centerfield for the Bulldogs (27-4) when he wasn't on the mound. But his work as a pitcher might have been his most impressive stuff this spring, as he compiled a 5-2 record with a 0.70 ERA and two saves as Fayetteville's No. 2 conference starter behind fellow senior Pagnozzi.
Davenport will attend Central Arkansas, with a chance to play two positions at the Division I level.
"I had other schools that wanted me to either hit or pitch," Davenport said. "But I wasn't ready to give one or the other up."
Fayetteville fell short of another Class 7A title with a loss to Conway in the 7A semifinals. But Davenport is confident he and his senior teammates will look back on their time as Purple'Dogs with much pride.
"We of course would have liked to finished with another state title," Davenport said. "But to go out there with all of these guys and play the way we did, I know we gave it our all."
Sports on 06/13/2015