East pitchers in zone from start

FAYETTEVILLE — The East All-Stars pitching staff came in ready to throw strikes.

The East used strong performances from three pitchers to take a 4-1 victory against the West All-Stars in the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star baseball game Monday at Baum Stadium. Three East pitchers combined to allow 4 hits and 1 walk and strike out 8.

The West pitchers gave up only 6 hits and 1 walk but hit 4 batters and had 3 errors committed by their defense.

The opening game started well for the West, which got three shutout innings from Rogers Heritage starter Hunter Wood. The West took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first against Little Rock Catholic’s Taylor Wallace when Shiloh Christian’s Joseph Paulino doubled in Arkadelphia’s Garrett Rucker, who had singled.

That was about all the West would get off the East. Wallace, who earned the victory, retired eight consecutive batters after Paulino’s double, and reliever Daniel Imbro of Little Rock Central pitched two hitless innings.

Watson Chapel’s Zach Bradford earned the save with two shutout innings, allowing two hits.

“They did a great job,”East Coach Kirk Bock of Bryant said. “The kids threw strikes. Wallace settled down in the second and third, and the other guys came in and did a great job.”

Bradford pitched seven plus innings in the Class 6A title game the last time he was in Baum Stadium and was more pleased with the result this time since the Wildcats lost to White Hall in the championship. Bradford said he was ready to throw after arranging his American Legion schedule so he would be fresh Monday.

The East, after being shut down by Wood, struck against Greenwood’s Austin Suter in the fourth. Poyen’s Luke Nannemann was hit by a pitch, and Jacksonville’s D’Vone McClure reached on a single when left fielder Blake Sullivan of Genoa Central lost the ball in the sun.

Smackover’s Landon Bradley singled to drive in Nannemann and move McClure to third. Hamburg’s Hunter Smith drove in McClure with a sacrifice fly.

The East added another run in the sixth against Lincoln reliever Zach Summers, who hit the first two batters of the inning. A passed ball advanced the runners to second and third.

Bradford drove in Marked Tree’s Bryant Anderson with a sacrifice fly. Bradley got his second RBI with a sacrifice fly that drove in McCrory’s Collin Campbell in the seventh.

“They threw strikes and made the routine play,” said West Coach Randy Loyd of Magazine. “We gave them hit-by-pitches and had a ball lost in the sun. We didn’t play as clean as they did.

“You do that in an All-Star game, you’re probably going to come out on the losing side.”EAST 8, WEST 7

Little Rock Catholic’s Matt Morris singled to drive in Poyen’s Luke Nannemann with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to give the East a victory in the second game.

Morris’ single, his second hit of the game, came against West reliever Blake Sullivan of Genoa Central. McCrory’s Collin Campbell, who pitched a scoreless eighth, was the winning pitcher and had two RBI.

Campbell was named the MVP, while Bradley was named the East’s Most Outstanding Player. Matt Burgess of Greenbrier was named the West’s most outstanding player.

Burgess had three hits in the second game, which was plagued by eight errors by the teams. The East tied the game on a two-run, two-base error by West first baseman Corey Scheide of Dover in the bottom of the seventh.

Six of the East’s eight runs were unearned, while the West scored two unearned runs.