SHERIDAN -- Utah Aitken's two-run single in the top of the eighth inning gave Lake Hamilton enough of a cushion for a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over Siloam Springs in extra innings during the first round of the Class 6A state baseball tournament.
"These kids are battle tested," Lake Hamilton Coach Mac Hurley said. "We've had several extra-inning games this year, and these guys are never going to give up no matter what. We got down, but they kept fighting and fighting until we got the big hit we needed to pull it out."
Aitken's hit came on the heels of a rally from Siloam Springs (12-16), which led 3-0 after three innings but found itself trailing 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh. The Panthers were down to their final strike before Kyle Comiskey's RBI single tied it at 4-4.
But Lake Hamilton (18-10) responded. Aitken, who finished with two of the Wolves' five hits, was down to his last strike before delivering the game-winning blow.
"He did such a great job when we needed him the most," Hurley said. "But it was a team effort all around. At this time of year, it's all about surviving and advancing, and we were able to do that."
Lake Hamilton will play No. 1 seed Jonesboro today at 3 p.m. in the second round, but the prospects of that happening looked grim early Thursday.
Dawson Armstrong's RBI double and Chandler Cook's sacrifice fly gave Siloam Springs a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Comiskey's RBI single in the bottom of the third upped the Panthers' lead to 3-0, but the Wolves rallied for four runs in the top of the fourth to take their first lead of the game. Bryce Briggs scored on a bases-load walk, and Kirk Shildgen hit a two-run single to tie the game at 3-3. Briggs would later score on Conrad Lax's sacrifice.
SEARCY 7, EL DORADO 3
Bryce Bartlett's two-run home run in the sixth inning gave Searcy (18-5) the breathing room it needed to get past El Dorado and advance to play Sheridan today at 12:30 p.m.
Will Wilkins added a two-run double in the third inning for the Lions, who got two bases-loaded walks and a sacrifice fly to open up a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
Daniel Johnson had two hits for El Dorado (8-15), including an RBI single in the seventh inning. In fact, the Wildcats had three consecutive hits to start the final inning but could muster just one run.
MOUNTAIN HOME 8,
PINE BLUFF 6
Zane Walker's three-run double in the second inning gave Mountain Home (8-19) the boost it needed early to upset Pine Bluff (18-10).
Macllain Edington added a home run in the fifth inning for the Bombers, who jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second before holding on. Brandon Lowe had a two-run double in the seventh inning for the Zebras.
Greenwood 3, Texarkana 2
Jake Phelps' RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning completed Greenwood's (15-11) comeback victory.
Texarkana (12-14) pitcher Patrick Flanagan had limited the Bulldogs to just one hit through six innings, but the Bulldogs finally got to him in their final at-bat to erase a 2-0 deficit. Hunter Cardwell and Westinghouse Sagely had the RBI hits for the Bulldogs.
Sports on 05/13/2016