SPRINGDALE -- Baseball players refer to getting hit by a pitch as "wearing it" or "taking one for the team."
Using that latter phrase as a measuring stick, few players do more for their team than Springdale Har-Ber senior Blaze Brothers. This season, Brothers has been plunked 13 times, a number he quotes with a smile and a badge of honor he wears proudly.
Profile
BLAZE BROTHERS
SCHOOL Springdale Har-Ber
CLASS Senior
HEIGHT 5-8
WEIGHT 175
POSITION Second base
NOTABLE Leads the Wildcats with a .427 batting average and 38 hits. … Has been hit-by-pitch 13 times and has 24 stolen bases. … Signed a letter of intent to play football at Pitt State, but has since withdrawn that letter and will play college baseball instead.
State Baseball Tournaments
Class 7A
At North Little Rock
Today
Game 2 4C Bryant vs. 5W Fayetteville, 10 a.m.
Game 4 3W Van Buren vs. 5C Fort Smith Northside, 12:30 p.m.
Game 6 4W Bentonville High vs. 5C North Little Rock, 3 p.m.
Game 8 3C LR Catholic vs. 6A Bentonville West, 5:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 9 1W Springdale Har-Ber vs. Winner Game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 10 2C Cabot vs. Winner Game 4, 12:30 p.m.
Game 11 1C Conway vs. Winner Game 6, 3 p.m.
Game 12 2W Rogers High vs. Winner Game 8, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 13 Winner Game 9 vs, Winner Game 10, noon
Game 14 Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 2:30 p.m.
Class 6A
At Greenwood
Thursday
Game 2 4W Benton vs. 5E West Memphis, 10 a.m.
Game 4 3E Mountain Home vs. 6W Russellville, 12:30 p.m.
Game 6 4E Searcy vs. 5W Texarkana, 3 p.m.
Game 8 3W El Dorado vs. 6E Jacksonville, 5:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 9 1E Marion vs. Winner Game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 10 2W Sheridan vs. Winner Game 4, 12:30 p.m.
Game 11 1W Greenwood vs. Winner Game 6, 3 p.m.
Game 12 2E Jonesboro vs. Winner Game 8, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 13 Winner Game 9 vs, Winner Game 10, noon
Game 14 Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 2:30 p.m.
Class 5A
At Harrison
Field 1
Game 1 1S White Hall vs. 4W Vilonia, 10 a.m.
Game 2 2C Sylvan Hills vs. 3E Batesville, 12:30 p.m.
Game 3 1W Greenbrier vs. 4S Lakeside, 3 p.m.
Game 4 2E Green County Tech vs. 3C Pulaski Academy
Field 2
Game 5 1E Valley View vs. 4C Beebe, 10 a.m.
Game 6 2W Morrilton vs. 3S Magnolia, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7 1C LR Christian vs. 4W Nettleton, 3 p.m.
Game 8 2S Watson Chapel vs. 3W Farmington, 5:30 p.m.
Friday
Field 2
Game 9 Winner Game 1 vs. Winner 2, noon
Game 10 Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 2:30 p.m.
Field 1
Game 11 Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, noon
Game 12 Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 13 Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, noon
Game 14 Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 2:30 p.m.
Class 4A
At Nashville
Thursday
Game 2 3N Dardanelle vs. 3S Nashville, 10 a.m.
Game 4 3E Baptist Prep vs. 4N Prairie Grove, 12:30 p.m.
Game 6 2S Ashdown vs. 4E Gosnell, 3 p.m.
Game 8 2N Shiloh Christian vs. Warren, 5:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 9 1E CAC vs. Winner Game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 10 1S Malvern vs. Winner Game 4, 12:30 p.m.
Game 11 1N Pottsville vs. Winner Game 6, 3 p.m.
Game 12 2E Southside vs. Winner Game 8, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 13 Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, noon
Game 14 Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 2:30 p.m.
Class 3A
Thursday
At Smackover
Game 1 1st 2 Glen Rose vs. 4th 4 Prescott, 10 a.m.
Game 2 2nd 1 Jessieville vs. 3rd 3 Corning, 12:30 p.m.
Game 3 1st 4 Horatio vs. 4th 2 Bald Knob, 3 p.m.
Game 4 2nd 3 Manila vs. 3rd 1 Charleston, 5:30 p.m.
At Norphlet
Game 5 1st 3 Clinton vs. 4th 1 Elkins, 10 a.m.
Game 6 2nd 4 Genoa Central vs. 3rd 2 Harding Academy, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7 1st 1 Greenland vs. 4th 3 Piggott, 3 p.m.
Game 8 2nd 2 Mayflower vs. 3rd 4 Fouke, 5:30 p.m.
Friday
At Smackover
Game 9 Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 10 Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 12:30 p.m.
Game 11 Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 3 p.m.
Game 12 Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 13 Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, noon
Game 14 Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 2:30 p.m.
Class 2A
At Pangburn
Thursday
Game 2 3WC Lavaca vs. 4N McCrory, 10 a.m.
Game 4 3S Magnet Cove vs. 4WC Pangburn, 12:30 p.m.
Game 6 2N Buffalo Island Central vs. 4S Rison, 3 p.m.
Game 8 2WC Hector vs. 3N Des Arc, 5:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 9 1S Parkers Chapel vs. Winner Game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 10 1N Palestine-Wheatley vs. Winner Game 4, 12;30 p.m.
Game 11 1WC Conway Christian vs. Winner Game 6, 3 p.m.
Game 12 2S Spring Hill vs. Winner Game 8, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 13 Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, noon
Game 14 Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 2:30 p.m.
Class 1A
At Mountain Home
Wednesday
Field 1
Game 2 4th S Ouachita vs. 4th 2 Hillcrest, noon
Game 6 3rd 3 Concord vs. 4th 1 Shirley, 2:30 p.m.
Field 2
Game 10 3rd 4 County Line vs. 4th 3 Mt. Vernon-Enola, noon
Game 14 3rd S Bradley vs. 4th 4 Mount Ida
Thursday
Field 1
Game 21 1st 2 Armorel vs. Winner Game 10, 10 a.m.
Game 22 3rd 1 Lead Hill vs. 2nd S Taylor, 12:30 p.m.
Game 23 1st 3 South Side vs. Winner Game 14, 3 p.m.
Game 24 2nd 2 Viola vs. 2nd 1 Alpena, 5:30 p.m.
Field 2
Game 17 1st 1 Omaha vs. Winner Game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 18 2nd 4 Dierks vs. 2nd 3 Midland, 12:30 p.m.
Game 19 1st 4 Kirby vs. Winner Game 6, 3 p.m.
Game 20 3rd 2 Bay vs. 1st S Woodlawn, 5:30 p.m.
Friday
Field 1
Game 25 Winner Game 17 vs. Winner Game 18, noon
Game 26 Winner Game 19 vs. Winner Game 20, 2:30 p.m.
Field 2
Game 27 Winner Game 21 vs. Winner Game 22, noon
Game 28 Winner Game 23 vs. Winner Game 24, 2:30 p.m.
Saturday
Field 1
Game 29 Winner Game 25 vs. Winner Game 26, noon
Game 30 Winner Game 27 vs. Winner Game 28, 2:30 p.m.
All state championship games May 18-19 at Baum Stadium, Fayetteville
"I want to get on base any way I can," the second baseman said. "I've been hit a bunch, but I just figure that it's part of my job, just get the fire started. I don't really feel like I stand on top of the plate, but apparently, I do."
Brothers (5-foot-8, 175 pounds) is far more than a magnet for the baseball. He leads the Wildcats with a .427 batting average that includes 38 hits, 39 runs scored, 20 RBIs and 23 walks.
The 23 walks combined with the 13 hit-by-pitch means 36 times this season Brothers has reached base without a hit. Combine that with 24 stolen bases, and it equates into a prototypical lead-off hitter, Har-Ber coach Ron Bradley said.
"Speed is one of Blaze's great tools," Bradley said. "He has tremendous plate discipline. He's been our catalyst to get us going and give us an opportunity to score early. He can turn a walk into a double or triple with his speed on the bases.
"He brings a lot of intangibles to our ballclub."
With Brothers providing the spark atop the order, the Wildcats (28-4) rolled to the 7A-West Conference championship and a first-round bye in the Class 7A state tournament this week at North Little Rock. Har-Ber will not play until 10 a.m. Friday against either Fayetteville or Bryant.
Brothers is part of a pack of Wildcats who have played together since they were about 7 years old, he said. They started in the Springdale Kiwanis league and formed a travel ball team called the WildDogs.
"There are seven of us on the team who were on the WildDogs," Brothers said. "We won regionals and a bunch of tournaments. We dominated everything. All of us wanted to stay together because we're all friends. We hang out together, we eat together, we hit together.
"It's going to be really sad to see it end, but we'll always be in touch with each other."
The others are Jake Williams, Leighton Alexander, Lucas McCain, Kirby Jenkins, Hunter Wood, JD Scott and Blake Adams.
Together they form the nucleus of the team this season and led Har-Ber to its first conference championship. Last season, the Wildcats lost to Cabot 2-1 in the state championship game. This season their goal is to win Har-Ber's first state baseball championship.
"You have to play a great week of baseball to get to the championship game," Bradley said. "So many teams are capable of beating you one game. But we're playing quality baseball right now. I think our kids feel challenged to get back to where they were last year."
Brothers has been a two-sport star at Har-Ber for three seasons and signed a letter of intent to play football at Pitt State in February. But he has since de-committed from football and instead will focus on baseball in college. He has been offered a scholarship at Cowley (Kan.) Community College, one of the top juco programs in the nation. The Tigers are 40-9 this season and former Springdale High right-hander Andrew Roach has been a top starter this season.
"My heart was just more into baseball," Brothers said. "I thought it would be football because my dad played at Arkansas and for the Chicago Bears, but when it came right down to it, baseball was what I wanted to commit to."
Brothers will be joined at Cowley by current teammate Mac McCrosky, a shortstop. The two form what Bradley calls, "the best middle infield in the state."
"The old saying is championship teams are strong up the middle," Bradley said. "That has been the strong suit for us the past two years. They are all seniors, and we're going to miss them when they're gone."
With Brothers setting the table and doing whatever it takes to get on base, that may not happen for a few more games.
Sports on 05/10/2018