GRAVETTE -- The Lions baseball team fell to the Ozark Hillbillies on Thursday, 7-5, but won two on Saturday, defeating Farmington, 9-6, and shutting out Pottsville, 6-0.
Jackson Soule' was two for three at the plate, helping the Lions take home a 9-6 victory over Farmington in seven innings at Prairie Grove. He doubled in the third inning and singled in the fourth.
Farmington's Cardinals grabbed an early four-run lead in the top of the first, but the Lions kept within striking distance, scoring three runs in their half of the inning. The Lions then took the lead, scoring another three in the third.
In the first, Jake Ashworth and Cody Fields both were hit by a pitch. Soule' got on due to a third baseman's fielding error. A shortstop error on a Luke Summerford ground ball allowed Ashworth and Soule' to score. Fields came home after Matthew Stelting flied out to center.
In the third, Soule' made it to second on a fly ball to center and scored on a Fields' single. Summerford was hit by a pitch, and Stelting pounded a double to left, scoring Fields and advancing Summerford to third. Summerford scored on a Brady Rolsma ground ball to the shortstop.
The Lions added two more to the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth. Soule' singled and brought home Pruitt (who had been hit by a pitch). Soule' made it home on a Fields' single to left field.
Farmington picked up another run in the fifth with a steal to home, but Gravette answered in the bottom of the inning when Bryce Moorman walked and made it home on an Ashworth single. Farmington scored one more in the top of the sixth but went down three in a row in their final at bat.
Stelting had three RBIs in the game, and Fields, two. Fields, Soule' and Stelting each had two hits. Soule' led in runs scored, crossing the plate three times for the Lions.
Trey Nunnally pitched the full seven innings for the Lions, allowing seven hits and six earned runs. He struck out three.
Gravette 6
Pottsville 0
Brady Rolsma struck out five and gave up only two hits in over five innings on the mound against Pottsville. Reliever Cody Fields added two strikeouts to the tally. The pitching duo allowed only four hits in the shutout. Neither pitcher walked a batter.
Gravette took the lead in the bottom of the first when Jake Ashworth doubled and then scored on a Jackson Soule' sacrifice fly to right field.
The Lions added another in the third when Brady Rolsma, who was hit by a pitch, scored on a Soule' walk. Chase Owens and Rolsma crossed the plate in the fourth, both on passed balls.
Gravette's final runs came in the fifth when Ashworth singled and was driven home by Luke Summerford. A Matthew Stelting double to right scored pinch runner Dylan Gruver.
Ashworth was three for four at the plate. Summerford had two hits and Stelting one. Soule' led in RBIs, with two.
Ozark 7
Gravette 5
On Thursday in Prairie Grove, the Lions fell to the Hillbillies, 7-5, in six innings of play. Though the Lions out hit the Hillbillies, 8-7, the Lions came up short on runs in the non-league tournament game.
Gravette jumped to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first and answered two third inning runs by Ozark with one of their own to tie the game at three each at the close of the inning. But Ozark blew things open in the top of the fourth, pushing four across the plate and taking a 7-3 lead.
Though the Lions answered with one each in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, they were held scoreless in the sixth.
Luke Summerford was three for three at bat, hitting a single and two doubles in the game. He also led in RBIs, with three. Cody Fields also had two doubles in the game and an RBI.
Kilby Roberts held Ozark to one hit during his 1 2/3 innings of work. He allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out three. Avery Burrows was charged with the loss, allowing six runs.
The Lions were to face Lincoln on Lions' field Tuesday, after press time, and were scheduled to travel to Prairie Grove on Thursday and play Elkins at home on Friday.
Information in this report taken from scoring information entered into GameChanger.
Sports on 04/01/2015