PRAIRIE GROVE -- After getting rained out Thursday, double-headers were scheduled for Prairie Grove on Friday as well as Siloam Springs and the NWA Hornets on Saturday in the Jarren Sorters Memorial Baseball Tournament.
Prairie Grove co-hosted the tournament along with Greenland and several local teams including: Prairie Grove, Greenland, Farmington, Elkins, Siloam Springs and the NWA Homeschool Hornets enjoyed two days of beautiful weather for baseball.
Prairie Grove Tigers
Baseball's back in Prairie Grove in a big way on the heels of an agonizing 2019 season and the cancellation of the 2020 season -- thanks to Mitch Cameron.
The 2021 Tigers improved to 11-1 on the season with three wins last weekend under the guidance of a veteran coach, now in his second stint with a program he previously transformed into a perennial contender.
The Tigers beat Elkins, 4-1, and Siloam Springs, 6-2, after beginning tournament action with an 8-1 decision against Horatio on Friday.
"It was just good to see these guys perform and do what they're supposed to do, doing things right and the success. It's a ton of fun," Cameron said.
Cameron never got the opportunity to coach Jarren Sorters, who passed in August 2016, one month before his sixteenth birthday, yet observed both Jarren and his younger brother, Jackson, now a senior contributor to Tiger baseball, in interactions with their parents, Joey and Donna Sorters.
"[Them] growing up around here and knowing Jackson and Jarren both and knowing what kind of kids they were, they were always at Hog games, they were always baseball guys and to be able to have this and to give money back to the [Play4Jarren] Foundation and make awareness for the cancer, it's really fun and to be able to have all these other teams come out and support that, and to be able to give back to that family that has given a lot to this community is pretty good," Cameron said.
Farmington Cardinals
Farmington baseball coach Jay Harper, a Prairie Grove alumni, brought the Cardinals into the tournament for the first time and enjoyed the outings with the Cardinals picking up wins against Ozark (6-0) and the NWA Hornets (10-5) on Saturday.
"Mr. Sorters and I are really good friends. You know, to play in this and honor his son that was a great individual is an honor for the Farmington Cardinals to come do that," Harper said.
The close proximity and activity over Spring Break showcased a double benefit for Farmington. The Cardinals are now 8-3 overall and 1-0 in 4A-1 play coming into this week.
"Usually we take a trip and we haven't done that because of covid and we have to get some games in really before we start out conference season," Harper said.
Siloam Springs Panthers
In the second game of Saturday's double-header, the Panthers rolled to a 14-4 victory over the NWA Hornets. Siloam Springs racked up six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Elijah Coffey walked, and Gavin Henson singled. A run scored on a Hornets' miscue with J.P. Wills batting. He eventually walked, and Ryder Winfrey was hit by a pitch. Brayden Fain reached on an error and a run walked in with Christian Ledeker drawing a pass on ball four.
A second run scored on a walk and a third on a pickoff throw to first. Nathan Lee got credit for pushing a run across by walking with the bases loaded as did Coffey who got beaned. The sixth run scored on a passed ball before the Hornets got out of the inning.
The Hornets tightened up their defense after that. The teams traded runs with Siloam Springs holding an 8-1 advantage going into the bottom of the third. The Panthers added a pair of insurance runs on Wills' double only to give up two runs to make it 11-3 after four innings.
The Panthers put the game away in the bottom of the fifth with four straight doubles. Coffey led off with a double. Henson plated him with a solid hit into deep right center. Wills found the same spot to drive in a run. Jacob Gilbert blasted a shot into the right corner driving in the Panthers' 14th run.
Siloam Springs coach Alan Hardcastle admitted the Panthers were "a little bit thin" with pitching in the second game of the double-header, yet was pleased with the hitting and some timely defense when they caught the Hornets in base running errors.
"We came alive and swung the bats a lot better in the second game," Hardcastle said. "J.P. Wills and Nathan Lee came in and got outs for us on the mound."
The Panthers' extra effort running the bases made the victory a lot easier as did their defense tagging out the Hornets trying for an extra base at third and catching a runner stealing to exit the fifth after giving up a run that narrowed their lead to 11-4.
"We're real aggressive on offense," Hardcastle said, while noting, "We're looking to catch somebody off base and it pays off."