CLASS 3A: 5-year plan works for Wildcats

FAYETTEVILLE - Five years of baseball, one state title.

Not a bad ratio.

In only its fifth year of baseball, Harding Academy captured its first state championship Saturday with an 8-4 victory over Marmaduke at Baum Stadium.

The Wildcats (29-3) scored a run in four of the first five innings, then added some insurance with a four-run sixth inning. In the process, Harding Academy's lineup produced three triples, two by Ty Finley and one from T.J. Thompson.

But it wouldn't be a stretch to say the Wildcats got some help along the way. Needing to play good defensive baseball, Marmaduke instead committed six errors that led to six of Harding Academy's eight runs being unearned.

"That's been our downfallwhen we've lost," Marmaduke Coach Larry Willis said. "We couldn't cough up the ball and we did. That was the difference in the game."

The Wildcats scored their first two runs off miscues. J.T. Fisher scored in the bottom of the first on a passed ball, and an inning later Thompson scored when shortstop Ray Taylor dropped a pop-up.

"Taking advantage of what the other team gives us and putting the ball in play, that's what we've been trying to do all year," Harding Academy Coach Dennis Rine said.

Another costly mistake came in the bottom of the fifth when Matthew Calhoun reached base on a fielding error by Taylor. Calhoun then scored off a triple to deep right-center by Finley.

Despite giving away so many runs, the Greyhounds (16-10) remained competitive throughout most of the game. A home run by Dexter Jordan in the top of the sixth made the score 4-2 and briefly revived what had been a silent Maramduke dugout.

But the worst was still ahead. Thompson led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple, and the Wildcats scored two runs off errors on the way to a four-run sixth inning.

Playing in its first state final after an unexpected run through the postseason, Marmaduke played the game with a severe case of the jitters, Willis said.

"I think the kids were scared being in the state [final] for the first time," Willis said. "I think that made a difference. The better team won today."

The Greyhounds weren't the only team that appeared to be playing through jangling nerves Saturday. Sitting on a comfortable 8-2 lead, Harding Academy had difficulty closing out the seventh inning.

Junior Matt Lincoln, who came on in relief in the fifth and had thrown two clean innings, struggled with his command at the start of the seventh. After walking the first two batters, Lincoln loaded the bases after giving up a single to Dustin Ellis.

Taylor grounded into a double play to give Lincoln some breathing room, though a double by Huckaby scored two runs before the final out.

With six extra-base hits to their credit, the Wildcats did more than simply wait to score off errors.

"We've hit the ball well allyear," Rine said. "We're athletic and can run. Here in a bigger park, when it hits the wall we're going to turn them loose and let them run."