AAA AMERICAN LEGION

Cabot uses big 6th to capture tourney

CONWAY -- There wasn't much need for Cabot Coach Cody Perrin to issue any kind of a pep talk before his team's summer baseball game against Russellville on Wednesday.

The RailCats were motivated long before they ever took the field.

Cabot completed a revitalizing run through the American Legion AAA state tournament with an overpowering effort in the title game to blast the Pirates 17-1 in six innings at the University of Central Arkansas' Bear Stadium.

The RailCats torched Russellville for 17 hits and used an 11-run sixth inning to bust the game open and beat their opponents for the second time in less than 24 hours. But the victory delivered more than just a championship to Cabot.

It also brought redemption for several members of the team who had their 2020 high school seasons cut short because of covid-19.

"[The victory] made it a whole lot more meaningful," said Cabot second baseman Jackson Olivi, who was a member of a senior class that didn't get a chance to play a full senior year at Cabot last year. "We were talking about it before the game even ended. I literally had butterflies building up in my stomach because we never had a chance [because of covid].

"But we just kept the same approach that we were going to come in here with, stuck to it, and it paid off."

Perrin was hoping his team would play looser than it did against Russellville on Tuesday, but the RailCats couldn't have been any more relaxed than what they were in the return game.

Kyler Carmack finished with four hits, including an RBI triple in the first inning that gave Cabot a 1-0 lead. Eli Hutcherson and Austin Scritchfield both had three hits apiece, while three other RailCats -- Hayden Prewitt, Hogan Ralston and Lukas Sullivan -- all ended with two hits each.

Sullivan was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Pitcher after allowing 4 hits, all singles, and walking 5 in 52/3 innings.

"The bigger the stage, they better they play," said an emotional Perrin, whose team staved off elimination four times before Wednesday's winner-take-all contest. "I'm so happy right now. ... It was unfinished business for a lot of these guys because they kind of got cheated because of covid. This is just special, especially with the way they came out and played in this one.

"They were ready to play from the start, and they went out and got it going."

Russellville had a tough time stringing together much of anything. The Pirates weren't able to take advantage of their four singles or five free passes. Russellville also hurt itself with three errors.

Cabot built on its early 1-0 cushion by pushing across four runs in the third, highlighted by RBI singles from Sullivan and Ralston. Russellville did get on the board in the bottom of the inning and trimmed the RailCats' lead to 5-1 after Drew Vega scored on a sharp single from Tate Jones. Cabot got another run-scoring hit from Scritchfield in the fourth before exploding in the sixth.

The RailCats sent 16 batters to the plate, with Carmack starting the inning with a home run to left field. In all, eight players had RBI in the frame, three of which came with two outs. Russellville did manage to put two runners on in its half of the sixth, but Scritchfield struck out Brady Burnett to end the game early.

"All of the work these kids put in, it was on display [Wednesday]," Perrin explained. "It starts with Ronnie Goodwin over at Cabot High School. He puts in hours upon hours with these kids, and that can't go unnoticed. It's special when you're just one town, one team.

"A lot of people can pull from other places, but we're stuck with just being Cabot. And we're so thankful for the guys we have."

Cabot advances to play in the regionals next week in Hastings, Neb.

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At a glance

At University of Central Arkansas, Conway

TUESDAY’S GAME

Cabot 13, El Dorado 3

Cabot 7, Russellville 4

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

Cabot 17, Russellville 1

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