FAYETTEVILLE -- The Vilonia Eagles soared to their first state championship in 19 years Saturday afternoon.
Vilonia chased Magnolia starting pitcher Matt Goodheart in the second inning and defeated the Panthers 9-2 at Baum Stadium in the Class 5A state baseball championship game.
Vilonia, which won its first state title since 1998, advanced to the championship game by overcoming a 5-1 deficit against Little Rock Christian on Monday in the Class 5A semifinals to win 7-6 in 8 innings.
On Saturday, the Eagles (25-11) didn't need a comeback, scoring 7 runs on 6 hits in the first 2 innings to pull ahead 7-1.
"We just don't want to lose," Vilonia right fielder Luke Gordon said.
Vilonia Coach Brad Wallace praised his players for not letting the setting of Baum Stadium intimidate them, especially against a team that was the defending Class 5A state champion.
"They never got caught up in the moment," Wallace said. "They never walked out on this field in awe. They really embraced that they're not going to make this a big deal."
Zak Whitis went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI to lead Vilonia. Cody Mitchell allowed 2 runs on 5 hits in 51/3 innings to earn the victory. He struck out three and walked four.
Chris Bass led off the game with a base hit and advanced to second on Nick Howard's walk. Bass stole third base and came home on Magnolia catcher Dayton Dickson's throwing error. Later in the inning, Whitis hit a one-out RBI double for a 2-0 lead. Two wild pitches by Goodheart allowed Whitis to score the third run of the inning.
Magnolia (27-2) cut the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the first inning on Goodheart's RBI double to put runners on second and third, but the damage was curbed when Parker Ribble lined into a double play and Dickson struck out.
Vilonia continued to pound Goodheart in the top of the second inning.
Jordan Chandler and Caden Raeburn reached with singles to lead off the second. Ty Johnston was hit by a pitch, and Chandler came home on Bass' groundout for a 4-1 lead. Howard's sacrifice fly made it 5-1, and Goodheart gave up a run-scoring double to Gordon to extend the Eagles lead to 6-1.
Magnolia Coach Bobby Beeson lifted Goodheart and put left fielder Jay French on the mound. French gave up an RBI double to Whitis, which stretched Vilonia's lead to 7-1.
"We're aggressive hitters," Wallace said. "It wasn't like we changed our approach today just because of the setting. That's just how we are."
Goodheart, who struck out eight in the Panthers' 5-4 victory Monday in the Class 5A semifinals against Greenbrier in Sherwood, was tagged for 7 runs on 5 hits in 11/3 innings. He struck out one and walked one.
Goodheart had state championship game experience, being the winning pitcher in last year's 5A final against Sylvan Hills, but Beeson credited Vilonia for its offensive output against him.
"Those boys came out ready to swing today," Beeson said. "When they got the fastball, they hit it hard. They put it in play. It was on the nose.
"They did everything they were supposed to do in this game."
Vilonia added a run in the top of the fifth inning for an 8-1 advantage. With two outs, Hunter Kelley -- who was a courtesy runner for the catcher Whitis -- stole second base, then came home from second thanks to two errors on the play. An errant throw ended up in center field, allowing Kelley to take third. Center fielder Brooks Lynch then bobbled the ball, allowing Kelley to score.
Magnolia pulled within 8-2 in the bottom of the fifth on Ribble's RBI single, scoring Pletcher.
In the top of the seventh inning, Josh Albat's bases-loaded walk brought home Howard for a 9-2 lead.
VILONIA AB R H BI MAGNOLIA AB R H:BI
Bass, cf 4 1 1 1 French, lf 2 1 0 0
Howard, 2b 2 2 1 1 Pletcher, rf 1 1 0 0
Gordon, rf 4 1 1 1 Goodheart, p 4 0 2 0
Whitis, c 3 1 2 2 Ribble, ss 2 0 1 0
Kelly, dp 0 1 0 0 Dickson, c 4 0 0 0
Korzen, 1b 3 0 0 0 Campbell, 3b 3 0 0 0
Albat, 3b 3 0 1 1 Zhao, dh 2 0 0 0
Chandler, ss 3 1 1 1 Drake, ph 1 0 1 0
Raeburn, dh 2 1 1 0 Hrrngtn, 2b 2 0 0 0
James, ph 1 0 0 0 Lynch, cf 3 0 1 0
Johnston, lf 1 1 0 0 Braswell, 1b 3 0 1 0
Mitchell, p 0 0 0 0 Hartsfield, lf 0 0 0 0
Wilson, p 0 0 0 0
Totals 26 9 8 6 Totals 24 2 5 2
Vilonia 340 010 1 -- 9 8 1
Magnolia 100 010 0 -- 2 5 3
LOB -- Vilonia 4, Magnolia 9.DP -- Vilonia 2, Magnolia 2. 2B -- Goodheart, Lynch, Drake, Gordon, Whitis. SB -- Goodheart, Kelley, Howard, Bass. SF -- Howard.
VILONIA IP H R ER BB SO
Mitchell, W 51/3 5 2 2 4 3
Wilson 12/3 0 0 0 2 3
MAGNOLIA IP H R ER BB SO
Goodheart, L 12/3 5 7 7 1 1
French 51/3 3 2 1 3 5
WP -- French, Goodheart 2, Wilson. HBP -- French 2, Goodheart, Mitchell 2. Umpires -- Home: Breeding, First: Kabheer, Third: Zeremba. Time -- 2:03.
Sports on 05/21/2017