NORTH LITTLE ROCK -- Van Buren took advantage of early control problems by Fort Smith left-hander Khaden Washington to jump in front and cruised to a 12-1 win in six innings in the Class 7A state baseball tournament Thursday at DeJanis Memorial Field.
The Pointers (21-6) scored six runs in the first two innings, despite managing just three hits, but also took advantage of four hit batsman by the Northside sophomore en route to the blowout win.
State Baseball Tournaments
Class 7A
At North Little Rock
Thursday
Game 2 4C Bryant 3, 5W Fayetteville 2
Game 4 3W Van Buren 12, 5C Fort Smith Northside 1
Game 6 4W Bentonville High 4, 5C North Little Rock 1
Game 8 3C LR Catholic 14, 6A Bentonville West 6
Today
Game 9 1W Springdale Har-Ber vs. Bryant, 10 a.m.
Game 10 2C Cabot vs. Van Buren 12:30 p.m.
Game 11 1C Conway vs. Bentonville, 3 p.m.
Game 12 2W Rogers High vs. Little Rock Catholic, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 13 Winner Game 9 vs, Winner Game 10, noon
Game 14 Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 2:30 p.m.
Van Buren will now take on Cabot, the No. 2 seed from the 7A-Central, today at 12:30.
Van Buren coach David Loyd acknowledged the raw ability of the 6-foot-2 Washington makes a coach nervous.
"If he's throwing strikes, he scares you to death," Loyd said. "We game out and got a few early. You have to really be patient with him. But we really did have guys up and down the lineup contribute today."
Trevor Johnson went 2-for-3 and drove in four runs to lead the Pointers offense. The junior hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to end the game thanks to the 10-run rule.
He also pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in relief of freshman Connor Johnson. The elder Johnson was pulled with two outs in the top of the sixth after throwing only 30 pitches. This allows him to come back tomorrow if needed.
Evan Jones threw only two pitches to get the final out before Van Buren ended it in the bottom of the inning.
Connor Johnson made just his third start of the season, but was solid allowing a run on three hits over 3.1 innings. He struck out three and walked two.
Loyd said he impressed in the second half of the season and earned the state tournament start.
"We started him in the second game against Bentonville and he went five," Loyd said. "We decided to throw him back out there today and he did a nice job. We were gonna do whatever we had to do to win the game, but we have the opportunity to bring those guys back. That worked out well for us."
Jackson Hurst also added two hits and two RBIs for Van Buren, while Chase Moore also drove in two runs. Grant Johnson and Conley Bone led Northside (8-25) with two hits each.
Washington took the loss, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on five hits over 3.1 innings. He walked one batter, struck out one and hit four batters.
Van Buren 12, Fort Smith Northside 1 (6 innings)
Northside^000^100^--^1^6^4
Van Buren^330^303^--^12^9^0
Washington, Scrivner (4), Jordan (5) and Linam, Zuerker (5); C. Johnson, T. Johnson (4), Jones (6) and Rauser. W-C. Johnson. L-Washington. HRs-T. Johnson, Van Buren.
Bentonville 4, North Little Rock 1
The Tigers (16-10) scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on just one hit to claim the win.
Bentonville, the No. 4 seed from the West, combined a single, a hit batsman, a walk, a sacrifice bunt with a pair of North Little miscues snap the 1-1 tie.
The Tigers will now take on 7A-Central champion Conway at 3 today.
Tyler Johnson's two-run single was the big blow in the inning after Payton Allen was hit by a pitch and Ryan Kneeshaw reached on a error after he laid down a sacrifice bunt. Johnson later scored on Parker Charlton's groundout.
That made a winner of senior Austin Garrett (4-2). The senior allowed an unearned run on just two hits over seven innings. He struck out five, walked one and also hit a batter.
Bryant 3, Fayetteville 2
The Hornets (21-9-1`) scored three runs, all with two outs in the fourth and Bryant pitchers made that stand up to advance to the quarterfinals.
Ninth-place hitter Myers Buck hammered an 0-2 pitch from Fayetteville starter Miller Pleimann over the left fielder's head for a two-run double. Lead-off man Logan Chambers followed with a bad-hop single up the middle to drive in another run for a 3-0 lead.
Fayetteville, the No. 5 seed from the 7A-West, scored twice in the sixth on a groundout by Beau Stuckey. Mason Shaw pulled the Purple Bulldogs (17-14-1) within 3-2 with a two-out infield single to the hole at shortstop.
But Bryant reliever Coby Greiner got Emory Kincaid to pop out with the bases loaded to end the threat. Fayetteville was retired in order in the seventh.
Bryant, the No. 5 seed from the 7A-Central, will now take on 7A-West champion Springdale Har-Ber today at 10 a.m.
Will McEntire (4-4) picked up the win for Bryant, allowing two runs on five hits over five innings. The junior struck out seven and walked two. Pleimann (4-3), a Wichita State signee, took the loss, allowing three runs (all earned) on six hits over 5.1 innings. He struck out four, walked four and hit a batter.
Brandon Hoover went 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored for Bryant. Shaw and Matthew Magne each went 2-for-3 for Fayetteville.
Little Rock Catholic 14, Bentonville West 6
The Rockets blew and early 6-0 lead, but bounced back with a seven-run fifth to pull away for the win.
Bentonville West, the No. 6 seed from the West, tied the game 6-6 with four runs in the third and two more in the fourth on just two hits. But Catholic took advantge of seven Wolverines errors and seven walks to regain command.
But Catholic (16-13) grabbed the lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth and took control with the big fifth. The Rockets will take on Rogers at 5:30 today.
Senior Evan Hiatt picked up the win, allowing two runs (both unearned) on two hits over 5.1 innings. He pitched the first two scoreless inning, but was pulled to start the third with the Rockets leading 6-0. However, he went back to the mound to pitch in the fourth and was pulled because of pitch limit with one out in the seventh.
The left-hander struck out eight and walked five. He also went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a walk.
The Wolverines (18-12) were limited to four hits by Catholic pitching. Dylan Carter singled and drove in three for West, while Jason Gloeckler added a hit and two RBIs.
Sports on 05/11/2018