Arkansas high school baseball notebook (2/29/2024)

Southwest Sporting Goods Classic lives up to the hype

For the fourth consecutive year, professional scouts and coaches made the trip to central Arkansas to see the best prospects in the state. For the second consecutive year, organizer Neil Groat hosted the event at Hot Springs’ Majestic Park with the best turnout in the four-year history of the event. 

Over 70 scouts were in attendance on Wednesday. Five teams were invited to the event this year: Bryant, Maumelle, LR Christian, Valley View and Lonoke. All four games were dominated by pitching and decided by two runs or less.

Bryant

Garrett Bock won his first game as head coach of the Hornets behind solid defense and a sterling pitching performance from Oklahoma commit Ridge Southerland.

“Ridge did well. I am really proud of him for the work he has put in. He has worked on his pace and becoming a better pitcher.”

Southerland fanned eight hitters allowing only one baserunner via walk over five innings. Bock said the defense was focused the entire game and it started with the pitcher. I believe the Hornets offense will get better considering the elite level pitching they are facing early in the season. Bryant is in Monroe, La., for an invitational event facing four of the best teams in Louisiana.

Little Rock Christian

The Warriors only played one game in Hot Springs, dropping a 5-4 decision to Lonoke on Tuesday. Jackson Kircher started on the mound and did not allow a hit over 3.1 innings. He struck out six but allowed four walks. After loading the bases with three straight singles to begin the top of the sixth inning, the Warriors hit into a double play and Kircher struck out allowing Lonoke to escape unharmed. Tate Collins threw against Sheridan on Monday and looked good allowing no hits through five innings. Head coach Brandon Eller will need younger arms to step up and provide depth behind Collins and Kircher if the Warriors want to repeat as state champions.

Maumelle

We knew going into the season that Maumelle had a pitching staff that rivaled any team in the state. Arkansas Razorback commit Peyton Lee had a rough first inning but settled in to shut down Bryant in a 3-1 loss on Tuesday. Lee had his fastball sitting at 89-91 mph and his slider was a highly effective put away pitch. Razorback signee Tag Andrews had the best overall stuff of any pitcher at the event according to a couple of scouts I spoke with after the event. Andrews was up to 94 MPH with his fastball and his slider and changeup were effective in any count. Maumelle pitching coach Nick Watson said, “Tag pitched lights out. He had command of his fastball and slider. Knowing Valley View likes to steal a lot of bags, he was very good at holding runners.”

Lonoke

The Jackrabbits avenged one of their two losses from last season with a walk-off win against LR Christian Tuesday evening. Steele Eaves delivered a bases loaded single to right field to set the final score at 5-4. Cole Spears started the game on the mound and looked comfortable working both sides of the plate. Steele Eaves got his first start of the year on the mound against Valley View in the most anticipated matchup of the event. Eaves did not have his trademark command issuing five free passes over six innings. He did tally nine strikeouts while only two of the four runs allowed were earned. I really like freshman Ryder Ingle behind the plate. He had no problem with the low 90s velocity from Spears and Eaves. Seniors Jaxson Ingle and Tripp Sullivan were unavailable for this game and will add offensive firepower when they return.

Valley View

After all the hype, Valley View finally got to take the field for a doubleheader on Wednesday. The roster is being debated as one of the most talented in Arkansas high school baseball history, and it was on display from the first pitch. First baseman Hudson Rogers delivered clutch hits in wins over Lonoke and Maumelle knocking in four runs on the night.

Razorback signee Lance Davis looked good in his first game going three innings on 45 pitches allowing one hit and striking out five batters. Head coach Josh Allison had his pitchers on a strict pitch count with no one going over 60 pitches on the night.

“We threw pretty well, stuck to pitch count numbers.” Allison also added, “Defensively, we made top level plays and only runs we allowed were from walks.”

Valley View has the reputation for consistently putting pressure on pitchers with their offensive running game and the dam finally broke in the sixth inning against Maumelle when Rogers delivered a double scoring two runs. With the caliber of pitching in this event, no team was going to put up big offensive statistics, but Valley View did an excellent job of capitalizing in clutch situations. 

--Kevin Bohannon I @SBLiveArk