SPRINGDALE -- Parker Edwards put an exclamation point on his time in the Perfect Timing Collegiate League by pitching four scoreless innings Wednesday at Tyson Park.
The 6-3 right-hander from Alma helped Perfect Timing Black to a 6-0 victory over Perfect Timing Cardinal to claim the league championship.
He finished with a flourish with his best outing of the summer. But Edwards is now hoping to get a call from a college with a place to play after transferring from Ouachita Baptist University.
PT Black Coach Zac Bottoms said Edwards has drawn attention from several schools ,and he's shown improvement throughout the summer.
"He continues like everybody to get in better shape," Bottoms said. "He had a good arm coming out of high school. He's a collegiate pitcher, it's just giving him an opportunity to work. He's continued to get sharper week by week.
"He's done a good job of getting his fastball to change planes, really gets down the hill well, and mixes in the breaking ball which was sharp today and that led to his success. Just overall, he's got a two-pitch mix, steady and he's been really good."
Edwards came out focused Wednesday.
"It was my best outing of the summer so far," Edwards said. "It was more of a mentality thing. It's the last game of the summer and who knows whenever college baseball's gonna be back for the fall so might as well try to go out with a bang."
He did just that, allowing 2 hits, striking out 8 while walking 2 in throwing 65 pitches.
Edwards redshirted his freshman year at OBU after having shoulder surgery coming out of high school, but pitched only six innings in the spring before all sports were shut down because of the covid-19 pandemic.
He admitted to being excited after being contacted about the possibility of playing in the Perfect Timing league, particularly with the pandemic canceling other leagues around the country.
"I was giddy," Edwards said. "There were other leagues I was looking into. There was one in Oklahoma and one in the Fort Smith area that got shut down. As soon as they said we're staying open, I signed up and I was ready to play."
PT Black got Edwards a lead quickly with a five-run second inning. Braydon Webb, a junior at Arkansas, went 2 for 3 and drove in three runs to lead the offense. Webb's three-run double was the big blow in the five-run second. Brock Kimbel added a two-run single.
Peyton Messenger, a recent Broken Arrow, Okla., graduate, finished the combined shutout. He allowed 2 hits over the final 3 innings, striking out 4 and walking 2.
Perfect Timing Red 7,
Perfect Timing Grey 4
Tyler Johnson went 3 for 5 and scored a run as PT Red jumped to an early lead and held on.
PT Red led 5-0 after four innings, but added two more late to set the final margin.
Ryan Kneeshaw added two hits, while Grant Jones added a hit, an RBI and two runs scored. Jacob Williams pitched four scoreless innings to pick up the win. He scattered 4 hits, struck out 4 and walked 1.
Wil Trollinger went 2 for 3 and drove in two for PT Grey.
Paul Boyd can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAPaulb.