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The Arkadelphia 9-year-old All-Stars won the State Championship on Monday knocking off the NEA East Vipers, who beat Arkadelphia as 8-year-olds when they meet in last year’s state final, in a double header with Arkadelphia taking an 8-6 win in the first game and 10-9 win in the second.
Arkadelphia pitcher Will Heron opened the pressure filled, must-win first game, throwing seven strikeouts in three innings of work on the mound. Behind Herron, the Arkadelphia defense allowed only three runs. In the bottom of the first inning, Payton Edington, Matt Green and Joe Rocole made it across home plate, advancing off of hits from Foxx Ward and Tucker Freeman.
KJ Terry joined Edington and Green in the bottom of the second inning, batting in another two RBI before Terry stole home on a passed ball. The score sat at 6-3, Arkadelphia, going into the top of the third inning, during which neither team added to their score.
Terry took the mound for Arkadelphia in the top of the fourth inning and finished the game. The defense allowed NEA East three runs in the fourth before shutting them out through the fifth and sixth innings.
Arkadelphia, facing a tied score at 6-6, put two runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with Ward getting on base off of a single and Carson Almond advancing Ward into a position to later steal home for the go ahead, 7-6, run. Josh Wallace ripped a grounder that sent the final run home.
Both teams went through a scoreless fifth inning locked in a defensive battle before Arkadelphia continued the strong defensive work. Edington sealed off the top of the sixth inning with two, standout defensive plays at second base.
With the first game win, Arkadelphia’s faced the NEA East Vipers again for the State Title. The Vipers put Arkadelphia down 7-0 with a second inning rally that Arkadelphia had to fight through the remainder of the game. Piece by piece, Arkadelphia put together their comeback. Alec Ruble smashed a double to bring offensive life to Arkadelphia’s squad in the top of the third inning and made it across the plate on a passed ball for the first run on the Arkadelphia side of the scoreboard. Before the end of the inning, Arkadelphia brought the score within three runs and chipped away at the Vipers’ lead.
Almond, who opened the second game pitching for Arkadelphia, and his defensive company, kept the Vipers off of the board in the bottom of the third inning
The Arkadelphia 9-year-old All-Stars won the State Championship on Monday knocking off the NEA East Vipers, who beat Arkadelphia as 8-year-olds when they meet in last year’s state final, in a double header with Arkadelphia taking an 8-6 win in the first game and 10-9 win in the second.
Arkadelphia pitcher Will Heron opened the pressure filled, must-win first game, throwing seven strikeouts in three innings of work on the mound. Behind Herron, the Arkadelphia defense allowed only three runs. In the bottom of the first inning, Payton Edington, Matt Green and Joe Rocole made it across home plate, advancing off of hits from Foxx Ward and Tucker Freeman.
KJ Terry joined Edington and Green in the bottom of the second inning, batting in another two RBI before Terry stole home on a passed ball. The score sat at 6-3, Arkadelphia, going into the top of the third inning, during which neither team added to their score.
Terry took the mound for Arkadelphia in the top of the fourth inning and finished the game. The defense allowed NEA East three runs in the fourth before shutting them out through the fifth and sixth innings.
Arkadelphia, facing a tied score at 6-6, put two runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with Ward getting on base off of a single and Carson Almond advancing Ward into a position to later steal home for the go ahead, 7-6, run. Josh Wallace ripped a grounder that sent the final run home.
Both teams went through a scoreless fifth inning locked in a defensive battle before Arkadelphia continued the strong defensive work. Edington sealed off the top of the sixth inning with two, standout defensive plays at second base.
With the first game win, Arkadelphia’s faced the NEA East Vipers again for the State Title. The Vipers put Arkadelphia down 7-0 with a second inning rally that Arkadelphia had to fight through the remainder of the game. Piece by piece, Arkadelphia put together their comeback. Alec Ruble smashed a double to bring offensive life to Arkadelphia’s squad in the top of the third inning and made it across the plate on a passed ball for the first run on the Arkadelphia side of the scoreboard. Before the end of the inning, Arkadelphia brought the score within three runs and chipped away at the Vipers’ lead.
Almond, who opened the second game pitching for Arkadelphia, and his defensive company, kept the Vipers off of the board in the bottom of the third inning
With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the fourth inning, Rocole bounced a big hit over the outfield fence, bringing in Ruble and Edington for a score of 7-6 by the end of the inning.
The Vipers managed two runs in the bottom of the fourth and extended their lead back to three runs.
With the pressure and excitement at climax and nearly every fan pacing the sidewalks, Braxton Bailey relieved Almond on the mound to begin the fifth inning. Herron and Edington helped keep the Vipers away from home plate before Arkadelphia took up their bats for their last chance at the win. The score sat at 9-6, Vipers.
Green was walked to start the top of the sixth. Rocole advanced Green to second on an outfield fly ball that the Vipers caught. Terry hit a line drive double to bring home Green. Freeman hit a single to put the tieing runs on base before hits by Almond and Bailey put Arkadelphia ahead 10-9.
Bailey took the mound in the bottom of the sixth, and with help from defensive plays by Rocole, Almond and Terry, protected the one run lead for the win.
“These kids have worked hard all summer,” said Head Coach Chris Bailey. “This is redemption. We’ve thought about this all year. We’ve been paying the price and have played close to 100 games since the end of February. This is amazing.”
