SPRINGDALE -- Members of the Gravette baseball team got to sleep in a little later than they had in years past on Saturday for the final day of the McDonald's Bulldog Classic.

The Lions entered the final day of tournament play in the winner's bracket after an impressive Friday win over host Springdale High. And they weren't just content to be there, evidenced by a 9-2 win over Shiloh Christian in an early-afternoon semifinal matchup before losing 15-2 to a loaded Stillwater, Okla., team in the championship game.

"For us to be able to accomplish that this weekend was a success," Gravette coach Randall Hunt said. "In the four years these seniors have been in this tournament, they'd never played in the afternoon on Saturdays. They were always in that consolation in the morning. And so that (Springdale) win really changed the direction of this program for these guys. And they were excited for that."

The weekend again underscored the tough schedule Class 4A Gravette (5-3) has embraced in non-conference play.

The Lions' 8-3 win over Springdale on Friday was their second against the 7A Bulldogs this season. Gravette also has the win against 5A Shiloh and a victory against 6A Greenwood, along with losses to 7A Springdale Har-Ber, 6A Siloam Springs and Stillwater, which is among the best teams in Oklahoma playing in the stout 6A, the state's largest classification.

"It's been a schedule that, up front, wasn't the way it was intended," Hunt said. "But it just kind of worked out with all the rainouts and stuff, this is what was left. And these guys have responded really well."

Stillwater's numbers advantage was apparent in the championship game rout.

Gravette senior righthander Aaron Means struck out eight and didn't give up an earned run while picking up the win over Springdale. Fellow senior Ethan Vanderpool pitched six solid innings in the 9-2 win over Shiloh.

But the Lions struggled without their top two pitchers in their third game in two days. Stillwater battered four Gravette pitchers for 11 hits in the five-inning, run-rule win.

"It's tough to go three games in two days," Hunt said. "We really had to test all aspects of our pitching staff. Aside from our two studs, we're still trying to figure out who's capable of making that big pitch for us."

Stillwater (7-1), on the other hand, still had enough on the mound despite playing its sixth game in the last week. Gunner Black struck out five and limited Gravette to two unearned runs in the win as the Pioneers capped a 6-0 week.

"We have about 12 to 14 kids that are pitchers that we think can win," Stillwater coach Jimmy Harris said. "We're very fortunate to be that deep. When you play six games in a week like we did, we finished strong."

The weekend should prove a valuable learning experience for Gravette, which will open 4A-1 Conference play against Pea Ridge on April 1. And the Lions can look forward to a two-games-a-week format in league play that should be conducive.

"It sets up well to have those two guys coming in," Hunt said of Means and Vanderpool.

AT A GLANCE

STILLWATER, OKLA. 15 GRAVETTE 2

HOW THEY SCORED IN SATURDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Stillwater 221 64 -- 15 11 3 Gravette 000 20 -- 2 3 1 Black and Higgins. Shaw, Fields (4), Burrow (5), Gibbons (5) and Soule. W - Black, 1-0. L - Shaw, 0-2.

Gravette's big inning holds up in victory

SPRINGDALE -- Gravette led Springdale High 4-0 by the time Cody Fields stepped to the plate for a second time in the top of the first inning Friday.

Fields was drilled by a pitch moments later, sending Brandon Shaw home for a 5-0 Lions lead.

Gravette never looked back, using the big opening frame to spark an 8-3 win in second-day action at the McDonald's Bulldog Classic at the Tyson Complex.

"We came out in preparation on Wednesday and Thursday for that mindset of jumping out of the gate in that first inning and really putting on some pressure," Gravette coach Randall Hunt said. "I commend the guys to get out there and execute, hitting fastballs where they're placed. We had some good aggressive base running that got us those five runs. Really good job setting the tone early."

The Lions (4-2) jumped on Springdale starter Jonathan Castanon as their first five batters reached base on three singles, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Boston Daniels and Brandon Shaw had RBI singles, while Mathew Stelting had a two-run double before Fields got hit to push across the final run of the first frame.

"You can't give up big innings," Springdale coach Billy Ray Rutledge said. "It makes it difficult when you go out and throw up a five spot in the first inning. Our kids did a good job of fighting back and trying to get in the game."

That was as much run support as Gravette's Aaron Means needed as the Class 4A Lions earned their third win this year against a 6A or higher program.

The right-hander struck out eight and gave up just two unearned runs on five hits and five walks in six innings to earn the win for the Lions. He also got out of a few jams, stranding two runners in scoring position in the second inning and two in the sixth.

"He competed," Hunt said. "From the get-go, it wasn't his best stuff of the night. But he's a battler, a bulldog on the bump. That's what I expect out of a leader, a senior vet that's playing at the next level next year. He competed for six tough innings tonight against a good 7A club at their house."

Springdale got on the board when it struck for two runs to cut the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the third inning. The Bulldogs (2-6) took advantage of a throwing error to score Carson Johnson, then Brandon Castanon's RBI groundout scored Matt Sherry.

But Gravette answered by scoring three runs in the top of the fourth, highlighted by Ethan Vanderpool's two-run single looped into shallow left-center. Springdale didn't get closer until tacking on a lone run on a Gravette throwing error in the bottom of the seventh.

HOW THEY SCORED

GRAVETTE 8

SPRINGDALE HIGH 3

Gravette 500 300 0 -- 8 10 2 Springdale 002 000 1 -- 3 6 2

Means, Gibbons (7) and Soule; J. Castanon, Johnson (1), Davis (4), Been (4) and Poulos. W - Means, 2-0. L - J. Castanon, 0-2. HRs - None.