CONWAY — Brandon Hawkins came into Friday’s first-round game of the American Legion AAA state tournament with a fresh arm and a positive outlook. The 6-3 left-hander walked out with a victory.
Hawkins, a Mississippi Valley State signee, struck out 6 and walked only 2 in 6 innings in leading Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet over Benton 9-5 at the University of Central Arkansas’ Bear Field.
AMERICAN LEGION
Friday’s results
Blytheville 10, Jonesboro 8, 10 innings
Bryant 27, Conway 0
Jacksonville 9, Benton 5
Mountain Home 7, Russellville 1
Paragould 8, Rogers 6
Searcy 8, Little Rock 4
Texarkana vs. NLR (late)
Fort Smith vs. Batesville (late)
Today’s games
Winners bracket
at UCA
Jacksonville vs. Paragould, 4 p.m.
Searcy vs. Batesville/Fort Smith winner, 7 p.m.
At Hendrix
Blytheville vs. Bryant, 4 p.m.
Texarkana/NLR winner vs. Mountain Home, 7 p.m.
Losers bracket
At UCA
Rogers vs. Benton, 10 a.m.
Russellville vs. Texarkana/NLR loser, 1 p.m.
At Hendrix
Jonesboro vs. Conway, 10 a.m.
Little Rock vs. Batesville-Fort Smith loser, 1 p.m.
“[Hawkins] did better than I anticipated,” Jacksonville Coach Bob Hickingbotham said. “He’s been having a little bit of a wild streak, but today he was pretty well in control on the mound. We let him pitch a little longer than we wanted to, but we’re so short-handed that we let him go as long as we could.”
Hawkins left with his team holding an 8-5 lead. Two Jacksonville relievers – Brandon Hickingbotham and Mike Havard – allowed four batters to reach base in the final three innings.
Hawkins surrendered nine hits but was charged with only three earned runs.
“I had a lot of rest coming into today’s game,” said Hawkins, who had six days off. “We had a game scheduled earlier in the week, but it’s a good thing that one got canceled. I needed the days off.”
Jacksonville came into Friday’s game with only 12 players on its roster
“We’ve got three pitchers that we feel comfortable putting on the mound, and [Hawkins] is one of them,” said Hickingbotham, who is in his 53rd year as an American Legion coach. “He’s a college-bound player. When he’s right, he’s doggone right. And today, he wasn’t bad.”
In other first-round games Friday, Austin Kelly drove in four runs and Garrett Misenheimer went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI as Bryant hammered Conway 27-0. Four Bryant pitchers combined for a no-hitter with reliever Michael Oglesby picking up the victory. ... Austin Williams went 4 for 5 with 4 singles as Searcy defeated the Little Rock Vipers 8-4. ... Layne Ditto tripled and drove in two runs as Paragould defeated Rogers 8-6. Lathan Brooks and Christian Deen each had three hits for Paragould. Jackson Field slugged a three-run home run for Rogers. ... Mason Smith struck out 7 and allowed only 4 hits and 1 walk in pitching Mountain Home over Russellville 7-1. Skylar Culver had two runs and three hits — including a triple and a double. Trevor Himshoot, Brody Ninemire and Ben Henderson added two hits each for Mountain Home. ... Ashton Kennedy and Zack Gray each had hits and scored runs in the 10th inning as Blytheville outlasted Jonesboro 10-8. Gray finished with two hits and three runs. Brett Sweatman had four singles for Blytheville. Jordan Volner scored three runs and had two hits for Jonesboro. Luke Sexton also had two hits for Jonesboro. ... Blake Hall drove in four runs while going 4 for 5 in Texarkana’s 12-2 victory over North Little Rock. Austin Cross picked up the victory for Texarkana, striking out four in seven innings.
Sports on 07/16/2016