GRAVETTE -- The Gravette Lion baseball team kicked off the final two weeks of the 2019 season with a pair of wins, the first of which was against arch-rival Pea Ridge at home. The second was on the road in Oklahoma.
In the first contest of the week, the Lions squared off against the Pea Ridge Blackhawks in a conference showdown at Lion Ball Field April 8 in Gravette. The Blackhawks got the game rolling in the second inning with a run that put them ahead for the only time in the game.
Gravette gained the lead in inning three when Hunter Cole doubled on a full count (3-2) to bring in the first run for the tie. Brodie Parsons tripled later in the inning on a 1-0 count, bringing two more runs across home plate for a 3-1 lead. The Lions took control of the game for good, putting away the Blackhawks with two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings for the 9-1 victory and the conference win.
Cole led the Lions in the batting department with three hits, one run and one RBI. Brodie Parsons had one run, two hits and three RBIs.
Gravette had 29 at-bats, nine runs, eight hits, six RBIs, two walks and five strikeouts.
Jake Carver took the mound for the Lions, completing four innings and delivering 79 pitches. He allowed three hits and one run, striking out four and walking seven. Cole replaced Carver in the bottom of the fifth to complete three innings and deliver 44 pitches. He allowed three hits and no runs, striking out three and walking one.
In game two April 11, the Lions traveled to Miami, Okla., to face the Wardogs in a nonconference contest.
Cole got the scoring drive started in inning one with a single, bringing home the first run. Four more runs in the inning gave the Lions a 5-0 advantage going into the bottom of the inning. In the top of the sixth inning, with Gravette leading by two, the Lions went on a seven-run rally, taking the lead for good, 14-7, and the win.
Cole led the way with three runs, three hits and four RBIs. Parsons contributed three runs, three hits and three RBIs with a big home run in the second inning.
Ty Frakes took the mound for the Lions, completing 5.1 innings and delivering 95 pitches. He allowed seven hits, six runs and one earned run, striking out six and walked three. Parsons replaced Frakes in the middle of the sixth inning and completed 1.2 innings, throwing 23 pitches. He allowed one hit and one run, while striking out one and walking one.
The final game of the week brought Gravette back to Arkansas for another nonconference contest with the Siloam Springs Panthers in Siloam Springs.
The Lions got the contest started with a run on a stolen base in the top of the first inning. The Panthers answered with a run in the bottom of the second to tie the contest at 1 apiece. Two runs in the top of the seventh gave the Lions a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. Siloam Springs brought two runs home to win the contest, 7-6.
Mason Dagley led the way for the Lions with two runs on one hit and one RBI. Keegan Bulza contributed to the scoring effort with a run on three hits and one RBI.
On the mound for Gravette was Thomas Tryon, who completed four innings, delivering 50 pitches. He allowed nine hits, five runs and four earned runs, striking out one. He was replaced by Cole, who completed the contest, throwing 50 pitches. He allowed five hits, two runs and one earned run, striking out one.
The Lions ended the week in fourth place behind Harrison, Shiloh Christian and Huntsville, with a conference record of 4-2 and an overall record of 11-12 with three games remaining in the regular season.
Sports on 04/17/2019