ALL-STATE SHOWCASE

All-Star bats find arms formidable

Pitching and extra-base hits dominated Tuesday's Arkansas All-State Showcase baseball game.

Denver Mullins and Parker Ribble each slugged home runs for Team 2017, but the squad of seniors only managed to tie Team Underclass 3-3 in the inaugural event at Lamar-Porter Field.

"There were a lot of good pitchers throwing the upper 80s and lower 90s tonight," said Mullins, a catcher who helped Cabot earn its first high school state title late last week. "There were some very dominate arms out there."

Eighteen pitchers threw one inning each Tuesday. The game originally was scheduled for 10 innings, but it was shortened to keep any one pitcher from having to throw more than one inning.

The game featured 20 players who have either signed or committed to Division I programs. There also were 11 professional scouts watching.

There were a combined 22 strikeouts, 15 walks and 4 hit batters. Both teams compiled 4 hits, and 5 of the combined 8 hits went for extra bases.

Mullins belted his home run leading off the third inning, but he struck out in his final two plate appearances.

"It was really a tough day at the plate," said Mullins, whose home run off Ashdown junior Jaden Hill cleared the left-field wall by plenty and gave Team 2017 a 1-0 lead.

Team Underclass tied the game in the fifth when Booneville sophomore Brandon Ulmer drew a one-out walk, moved to second when Harding Academy's Pate Fullerton was hit by a pitch and scored when Shiloh Christian junior Luke Johnson singled.

The younger team scored twice in the sixth inning thanks to three wild pitches. Watson Chapel junior Jakobi Jackson reached on an infield single to start the inning, and Greenbrier freshman Cayden Wallace drew a two-out walk. Both scored on wild pitches by Genoa Central's Tyler Moreland.

Team 2017 tied the game in the seventh. After pitcher Miller Pleimann of Fayetteville struck out the first two batters he faced, Searcy's Adrian Hannah doubled, and Magnolia's Ribble followed with his two-run home run to left-center.

Greenwood sophomore Peyton Holt tripled to lead off the ninth, but Cayden Wallace kept the game tied by retiring the next three batters in order. Wallace, who had a double earlier in the game as a member of Team Underclass, came to the mound as Team 2017's final pitcher.

Woodlawn junior Will Richardson struck out two batters in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.

Paxton Wallace, a senior from Greenbrier who is headed to Wichita State this fall, tripled in the first but was left stranded.

Sports on 05/24/2017

Upcoming Events