Jacksonville baseball Coach Larry Burrows thought he had a plan to slow one of the best hitters in the state on Monday afternoon: He was going to have his pitchers walk Pulaski Academy’s Blake Wiggins every time he stepped to the plate.
But at some point between the game’s first pitch and Wiggins approaching the plate with two outs in the top of the first inning, Burrows changed his mind. Jacksonville walked Wiggins once, but pitched to him three other times and the University of Arkansas signee hit two home runs to left-center field at Dupree Park in Jacksonville.
Those home runs, along with Colin Castleberry’s complete-game shutout, lifted defending 5A champion Pulaski Academy to a 7-0 victory in Monday’s Class 5A state semifinal.
“That’s my fault,” Burrows said. “I guess the emotions of the game got to me. That was our plan, to walk him every time he came up. You can put that on me.”
Wiggins, the Bruins’ catcher, is certainly glad they didn’t. Wiggins said he hasn’t seen many pitches to hit during his senior season, but when he saw a changeup from Jacksonville starter James Tucker in the first inning, he didn’t let it go by, hitting it over the fence to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
He led off the fifth when the Red Devils (24-7) decided to pitch to him again, and he hit a 1-2 fastball to almost the same spot to put the Bruins (20-12) up 6-0.
“I hate walking, it’s one of the worst things,” said Wiggins, who has hit three home runs in the state tournament. “I’m definitely glad they changed their mind, otherwise I wouldn’t have had the day that I had.”
Pulaski Academy cashed in the one time Jacksonville did walk Wiggins in the third inning.
The Bruins were leading 1-0 when Tony Chacko singled to left and Bryce Bartlett singled up the middle to bring up Wiggins. Jacksonville walked him intentionally to load the bases, then walked Merritt Osment to drive in Chacko and make it 2-0. Bartlett and Wiggins scored on an error and Osment scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
Wiggins, who will weigh his signing with Arkansas or professional baseball after next month’s amateur draft, struck out in the seventh, but his presence had already been made at that point.
“He knows going to the plate that he’s not going to see a lot of good strikes, he’s not going to see their best stuff,” Pulaski Academy Coach Billy Adams said. “To be able to put a good swing on two balls today was pretty amazing.”
WHITE HALL 4,
WATSON CHAPEL 3
Turner Sparks singled and scored to break a tie game in the sixth inning and White Hall added another run in the seventh to upset Watson Chapel and earn a spot in the Class 5A state final.
The Bulldogs (15-11), who were swept by their 5A South Conference rivals during the regular season, took a 1-0 lead in the first when Antoine Lasker hit a lead-off home run, then tied it at 2-2 in the third when Lasker walked and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Watson Chapel (20-6), the No. 1 seed from the South, took a 2-1 lead in the second when Kirel Young hit a home run, and pulled within 4-3 in the seventh on Jaylon Jackson’s home run.