The idea of having an annual baseball game spotlighting the two biggest schools in Saline County has been tossed around for years. And while the two do play each other regularly, the contests have never had the same weight of the annual Salt Bowl or Saline County Shootout that football and basketball have in the fall.
“Benton and Bryant have such a tradition in all sports, but specifically speaking, they have a great tradition in spring sports,” Bryant Athletic Director Mike Lee said. “This idea has been tossed around for years among me, Benton Athletic Director Scott Neathery and David Hendrix for years.
“It may be kind of convoluted on how we have arrived at it over the years, but the interest was there. We really like the idea of making it a big deal. … That’s how it started. That’s how we got here.”
Benton and Bryant baseball will face each other on Saturday at the brand-new Everett Field at Benton Stadium, part of the Benton Schools Athletic Complex. A tailgate party in the main-concourse area of the complex, between the football stadium and baseball stadium, will begin at 3 p.m. The game is set to begin at 5 p.m.
Shane Broadway, the spokesman for the Big Red Baseball Series, said the idea actually began with brothers David and Doug Hendrix, owners of the Big Red Stores.
“They approached both athletic directors and pitched the idea of doing something big with baseball,” Broadway said.
“Similar to the Salt Bowl, the event will start as a home-and-home series, but if it ever outgrows either stadium, then we might look at a different venue,” he said.
“It has been an idea for about three or four years,” Neathery said, “but it was actually the owners of the Big Red Stores who spearheaded it and did a lot of the organization and financed a big portion of it.
“They were real instrumental in the whole thing.”
Lee said he expects the series to stay in Saline County.
“The Salt Bowl is the exception,” he said. “We are building a new basketball arena, so it is going to be a while before we outgrow that. I imagine basketball and baseball will stay in Saline County, which will be great for the county and the supporters to be able to celebrate this game inside the county.
“I think we will have a great passionate crowd for baseball, just like we get for basketball every year.”
Leading up to the beginning of the game, there will be a dedication ceremony for Everett Field. The first pitch will be thrown by former Benton Panther and Cy Young Award Winner Cliff Lee and former Bryant Hornet and 2016 World Series Champion Travis Wood. The game will be followed by a fireworks show.
“There have been so many great baseball and softball players, not only the two you mentioned, but there have been other guys and girls who have come out of Benton and Bryant,” Lee said. “We have had some tremendous players, and some of them are still playing.”
Lee said that next year, the series will also include softball.
“First off, I truly appreciate those behind the scenes, making it a big deal,” Bryant head baseball coach Travis Queck said. “Both communities have been a staple in Arkansas High School baseball, and it is good to have a yearly game with them.
“The impact that it will have for us is a quality opponent who will prepare us for a state tournament. [Benton is] going to look at it at the same way on their end.”
Queck said he believes the series could move to a bigger venue in the future, like Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
“I think for a high school baseball game to draw bigger crowds would be something tremendous for our kids to experience,” he said. “It would be great for both communities.”
Queck said that three years ago, when he took over for former coach Kirk Bock, Benton head baseball coach Mark Balisterri brought the idea of a Benton-Bryant series to his attention.
“But we are so busy that it was hard to get any traction, but Coach Neathery, Lee and Broadway, and a bunch of people above my pay grade, took it and ran with it,” Queck said. “I think both communities were longing for it and are super excited about it.
“It is going to be a fun atmosphere, to say the least.”
Neathery said the game will be modeled after the annual Salt Bowl game, meaning there will be 40 vendors and an early tailgate event for the game. He also said free hot dogs will be given out, and there will be other activities as well.
Tickets and T-shirts for the game are already on sale at all Saline County Big Red Stores. Ticket and shirt combos are $10, and tickets will be $8 at the gate.
Neathery said he wasn’t sure how many tickets had been sold so far, but he said the new stadium can hold 1,000 people in the bleachers but has standing room for an additional 1,500.
“It all comes down to the fact that we have super good athletic directors,” Benton baseball coach Mark Balisterri
said. “They both do great things, and with them on board, it is going to be good.”
Balisterri said that with the opening of the new field, the timing for this series couldn’t be better.
“I think we are going to blow everybody’s mind when they walk into Everett Field,” Balisterri said. “It is super nice, and it is definitely something. When everybody leaves, people from other schools are going to fall in love [with the field] and try to do something similar to what we have.
“It is going to be something special. I get real excited about it, just talking about it.”
Balisterri said whenever Benton and Bryant play each other — in any sport — it takes the game to another level of excitement.
“I don’t think either of us is looking ahead to this game, but I would say we are looking forward to the game. To bring the community in it and be involved, and to honor these youth teams where they might get to play one day — it is exciting,” Balisterri said.
“I feel honored to be the head coach at Benton. For the administration to put the money and the trust to put this together, and for us to have a facility like this, it is something special for me,” he said.
“We are real fortunate that our school district and our community understand how athletics is important to our town and community,” Neathery said.
He said if it gets too crowded, attendees will be allowed to stand or sit at the top of the home-side bleachers of the football stadium to watch the game. The game will also be live-streamed through the video board of the football stadium.
“I think there are going to be a lot of people there,” Neathery said. “We are excited about it.”
Broadway said that eventually, they would also like to add Harmony Grove and Bauxite baseball into the mix.
“Because we want the whole county to be involved in different ways,” Broadway said.
“We like putting on these events because it gives these kids an opportunity, a unique experience, because of the closeness of the schools,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to the pageantry of the event,” Lee said. “Obviously, I’m looking forward to the competition — that’s why we are there, but I’m also looking forward to all that goes into it. … It is going to be a big deal.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.