COLLEGE BASEBALL
Gragg, Johnson grab D-I scholarships
A pair of Connors State baseball players from Northwest Arkansas will continue their careers at the Division I level.
Prairie Grove's Logan Gragg has accepted a full scholarship offer to attend Oklahoma State while Springdale High's Carson Johnson will join former Bulldogs coach Shohn Doty at UNC-Charlotte.
Gragg, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound right-handed pitcher, said Oklahoma State is the perfect fit because he was raised on a farm and is majoring in agribusiness. He also considered Central Arkansas after being recruited by more than a half dozen other Division-I programs.
Two unofficial visits to the campus in Stillwater, Okla., earlier this fall cemented Gragg's decision.
"It's a city, but it's surrounded by country, so it just kind of fit my culture a little bit," Gragg said. "UCA offered a full ride just like OSU, so I was debating between those two. OSU was a better fit because they had the schooling I needed and they are pretty good at baseball as well."
Gragg had Tommy John surgery on May 30 but is recovering well. He said he's making 75 throws per day and already is up to 180 feet on long toss. As a freshman this past spring, Gragg made a team-high 14 starts and posted an 11-2 record with a 2.50 ERA. He struck out 82 batters in a team-high 86.1 innings.
Johnson, a 5-8, 155-pound infielder, batted .328 with 48 runs and 34 RBIs this spring. The left-handed hitting Johnson also was third on the team in walks (40) and on-base percentage (.512).
-- MIKE CAPSHAW • @NWACappy
HALL OF FAME
Clark inducted into UCA Sports Hall of Fame
C.A. (Coy) Clark, a 1960 Bentonville High graduate, was inducted to the University of Central Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame last weekend.
Clark, who lives in Indialantic, Fla., and a longtime Brevard County property developer, was a football and track and field standout at UCA from 1960-64 and was an All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference defensive end for the Bears.
Clark was one of eight UCA athletes inducted into the university's Sports Hall of Fame at a brunch last Saturday, prior to the football game against Stephen F. Austin at Estes Stadium.
PREP FOOTBALL
Services for former Bentonville coach set Saturday
Charles Randy "Coach" Cowger of Noel, Mo., formerly of Hiwasse, died Oct. 11 at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City after months of declining health. He was 66.
Cowger was born Oct. 8, 1951, in Bentonville to Charles Ronald and Irene (Holland) Cowger. He was a 1969 graduate of Gravette and continued his education at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and Missouri Southern State University, receiving his Bachelors Degree in Education.
He coached football in Arkansas for 32 years with the last 28 years in the Bentonville schools.
Services are 10 a.m. Saturday at the Washington Junior High School gymnasium (1501 N.E. Wildcat Way, Bentonville) with the Rev. David Presley officiating. In lieu of flowers memorials are being directed to the Hiwasse Christian Church c/o the Ozark Funeral Home, P.O. Box 520, Anderson, Mo. 64831.
Sports on 10/18/2017