ARKADELPHIA — Young people, especially a bunch of athletic boys, can fill their days with a lot of activities, but for the Badger baseball team from Arkadelphia High School, following the players around May 18 would have been too much for almost anyone. Certainly, it is a day they will all remember.
The first highlight of the day was winning the Class 4A state championship with a come-from-behind victory over the Stuttgart Redbirds (5-4) in Baum Stadium at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Following an on-field celebration, team members loaded up on their bus to return the 259 miles to Arkadelphia.
“Then we had about 30 minutes to get cleaned up, put on a tux and get to the prom,” said Badger center fielder Jakhari Howell, who drove in one run and scored another in the final game of the year.
Catcher Austin White said he was a few minutes late to the prom, held on the campus of Henderson State University, but that after carrying the state trophy back to town, it made being tardy “no big deal.”
Howell said the team stopped to eat along the way, and White said the team slept most of the way home.
The Badgers came back from two runs down in the third inning when they scored three runs on three hits.
“I just got behind,” said starting pitcher John Franklin Matros, who gave up a run in each of the first two innings. “I threw too many pitches, and too many of them were balls. We also had some errors in those two innings.”
Arkadelphia came from behind in all four games in the state tournament.
“That’s something we have done in about 50 percent of our games,” Badger coach Brant Matros said. “We always talk about 21 outs, and the team believes they will find a way to win. There is no panic in them.”
May 18, 2013, will be also be remembered as a good day by coach Matros — a very good day. He managed his team to the first state championship in school history, and in addition, his son, junior John Franklin Matros, was the winning pitcher and was selected as the game’s most valuable player. The coach’s younger son, Brandon Matros, a freshman, was the closer and has been dominant when it comes to finishing for the Badgers.
“I have not reached the dad part yet,” coach Matros said. “I’m still the coach and celebrating with the entire team. They all played well down the stretch.”
John Franklin said winning on his father’s team was special for him.
“It was a good time,” he said. “Sometimes it is hard to be the coach’s son, but as soon as I could, I got back to Dad on the field, and he hugged me.”
Along with pitching, John Franklin scored twice after being hit by pitches, and in the fourth inning, he stole third and home.
After Brandon got the last out with a strikeout, White said he took up the traditional job for the catcher.
“I ran out to Brandon and hugged him, but I didn’t want to end up on the bottom of the pile of players, so I then found John Franklin and hugged him,” White said.
When the game ended, Howell came in from center field.
“I was the last one to jump on the dog pile,” he said, smiling. “Since I was a freshman, we have been getting close, and this was it. I knelt down for a quick prayer and then ran in and jumped.”
Howell said he thought the championship was good for the entire community.
“It has been a long time coming,” he said. “I went to the store yesterday, and the woman on the register said, ‘I saw you on TV.’ It is good to know you’ve done something for everyone in the community.”
White said it seemed that everyone he talked with mentioned the championship and that the city’s support had been swelling since the team won the conference championship.
Coach Matros said the remarkable thing about the 23-6 2013 team was it did not have just one leader or one star.
“They all bought into the idea of doing the job, and they played their roles,” he said. “At different points at the season, different players would step up for us.”
After the prom and post-prom activities, both White and Howell said they went home and slept until about noon. On Monday, they returned to school, then attended football practice.
“We start on a football championship, now,” Howell said.
Staff writer Wayne Bryan can be reached at (501) 244-4460 or wbryan@arkansasonline.com.