FAYETTEVILLE -- Mason Edgemon got the pitch he was looking for, an inside fastball, and put a good swing on the ball.
He hit a rocket that was about 40 feet foul but had plenty of distance for a home run.
7A State Baseball Tournament
FS Southside 9, North Little Rock 6
FS Southside^000^009^0^—^9^10^2
North Little Rock^100^140^0^—^6^9^5
Harpenau and McCrea; Goshen, Stuckey (5), Askins (6) and Bailey; W-Harpenau, 6-2. L-Stuckey. HRs-North Little Rock, Bailey, Dulin; Southside, McCrea, Edgemon.
On the next pitch and with the bases loaded, the Fort Smith Southside first baseman waited just a little longer and this time the ball stayed fair for a grand slam.
Edgemon's home run capped a nine-run sixth inning and helped the Rebels overcome a 6-0 deficit against North Little Rock on Thursday at Bulldog Field in the first round of the Class 7A state baseball tournament. Southside advanced with the 9-6 win that had coaches for both teams almost at a loss for words.
"This is 31 years for me, and let me tell you something, it just wasn't in the cards for us to win today," Charging Wildcats coach Randy Sandefur said following a lengthy and emotional team meeting after the game. "It wasn't just any one, two or three people's fault. When you lose a game like this, it's meant to be lost."
For five innings, North Little Rock (12-14) appeared to be in control. Center fielder Danny Mitchell, who has signed with Arkansas-Little Rock, led the Wildcats to an early lead with a solo home run to start the game and added two more hits.
North Little Rock led 2-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning when it appeared to nail the door shut on Southside (18-13). Mitchell again got things started with a single and advanced to second on an error. The Wildcats loaded the bases against Southside starter Ty Harpenau, and Lawson Dulin unloaded them with a grand slam for a 6-0 lead.
Southside coach Craig Jones said he told his players in the dugout to keep playing despite the deficit.
"We've been down more than that this season," Jones said. "We had a 12-run inning in Bentonville. So we told them to keep playing and good things will happen."
He was right, although all nine runs did come with two outs.
Southside opened the sixth inning with three straight singles, but Christian Brasher hit into a double-play that did score one run. The Rebels did not made their third out until five batters and six runs later.
After a North Little Rock error, Hunter Pogue singled to put two runners on. Jace McCrea followed with a fly ball to deep center that got over Mitchell. McCrea circled the bases and slid into home for an inside-the-park, three-run homer that closed the gap to 6-5. Four batters later, Edgemon launched his rocket to left after fouling off the pitch before.
"He made a great adjustment," Jones said. "He just wanted to hit the ball hard, and he did. I told him it was about time he hit one out."
The Rebels will take on Conway at 2:30 p.m. today in the second round.
Sports on 05/15/2015