Road to Baum: 7A State Tournament Preview

May 8, 2017

By: Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

The road to Baum Stadium starts Thursday May 11^th for teams across the state of Arkansas. We will break down all 7 classifications before Thursday. Today we will begin by looking at 7A classification. The tournament will be hosted by Bentonville High School.

First Round Matchups

W No.4 Van Buren vs C No. 5 Catholic

This is a tough one to call. Van Buren has had the better year on the field, but Catholic is playing their best baseball of the year and they have an advantage on the mound with 2018 LHP Evan Hiatt. Hiatt is a 6-foot-3 200-pound left-hander with a fastball which works 85-87 mph and compliments it with a 12/6 curveball thrown 77-80 mph. Van Buren has pitching depth and will most likely turn to 2017 LHP Dalton Reeves or 2017 RHP/MIF Ethan Holmes. Both are solid high school arms with ERAs under 2.00. Van Buren’s offensive starts with 2019 OF Landry Wilkerson. Wilkerson is an advanced athlete with a smooth left-handed swing. He plays the game with a competitive fire that gets this team going. Offensively for Catholic 2017 MIF Cameron Tissue is a player that stands out with a line drive swing and a feel for the barrel.

Pick: Catholic HS; Hiatt is a really tough and seems to pitch well in big spots.

C No. 4 Conway vs W No. 5 Rogers

The Wampus Cats aren’t seeded where I expected them, but doesn’t mean, I still don’t think they can make a run. Rogers is a glimpse of Conway three years ago, a talented young team, that is figuring out how to win games at the right time of year. Names to know for Rogers; Offensively 2017 OF Greyson Lee, a physical strong OF with a feel to hit, using advanced bat speed. On the mound 2019 RHP McKaden Templeton, he has advanced pitch-ability with three solid pitches. Conway is the 2015, and 2016 State Runners Up with the majority of their roster returning from that run. 2018 LHP/CIF Jordan Wicks is having a monster junior campaign he has pitched 56 innings, with 77 strike outs, an ERA of .50 and just 6 walks on the season. Offensively Wicks is hitting .420 with 23 RBIs 7 doubles and 1 home run. 2017 RHP/CIF Cade Tucker and 2017 MIF Colby Reck are two players that will need to help Wicks carry the load if the Wampus Cats are to return to Baum Stadium for the 3^rd year in a row.

Pick: Conway HS; Too many players that have made a run to the finals to be an early exit;

C No. 3 Bryant vs W No. 6 Springdale

Bryant is breaking in a new coach and a young roster, but they are still in the hunt for a 7A State Championship. I guess proving that tradition does not graduate. This game will come down to who gives something away first. Bryant’s 2017 LHP Beaux Bonvillian and Springdale’s 2017 RHP Andrew Roach will be the premiere pitching matchup for day one in the tournament. Both have had big year’s leading their teams to the playoffs. Bonvillian is a 6-foot left-hander with advance pitch ability with a mid-80s fastball and solid secondary stuff. Roach is a crafty right-hander that mixes arm slots and works off his fastball 84-87 mph with late sink, he compliments the fastball with a slider with Frisbee action and late break. Offensively both groups will look to their catchers to have impactful at bats 2019 C Jake Wright is a solid athlete with bat speed and the ability to hit the ball to all fields, for Bryant. 2019 C Ben Roach, is a large framed catcher with advanced bat speed and pull side power.

Pick: Bryant; tradition continues for Bryant and they move forward into the state tournament; a young Bulldog team will be competitive, but Bryant will find a way.

W No. 3 Har-Ber vs No.6 Southside

Like Bryant the Har-ber Wildcats tied for 2^nd in their conference and were edged out for a first round bye. Har-ber is an experienced group with solid athletes throughout their lineup. Pitching depth is a concern but they should make some noise in the tournament. 2019 RHP/OF Blake Adams has been their guy on the mound and at the plate all season. On the mound he has a 1.33 ERA in 52 innings pitched with 71 strikes out. Offensively he has hit .386 with 25 RBIs, 9 doubles, a triple, and 2 home runs. He is sounded by a group of upperclassmen that are hitting above .300 as a unit. On the mound they should get key contributions from 2017 RHP/3B Caleb Grace, 2019 RHP Landon McAllister and 2018 LHP Jack Lisle. Southside will throw 2018 RHP Parker Wright or 2017 LHP Kinner Brasher, Wright has a 1.90 ERA in 52 innings. Offensively 2018 INF Mac Moody is leading the Mavericks offensively hitting .338 with 7 RBIs

Pick: Har-ber; The Wildcats just have too much depth to be derailed in the first round.

Byes

C No. 1 Cabot; The panthers won the 7A Central with a conference record of 13-1 in league play. They have a deep pitching staff, using 3 arms that have thrown it well consistently; 2017 RHP Logan Gilbertson, 2017 RHP Brett Brockington, 2017 RHP Reed Sheppard. They have a combined ERA under 2 with 173 punch outs and 45 walks. Offensively they have a deep lineup hitting .304 as unit. 2018 CIF Dillon Thomas and 2017 C Denver Mullins have anchored them in the middle of order Offensively they will be very dangerous if the 2020 Houston King, 2020 Caleb Gray and 2017 OF Evan Hooper have big weeks. King and Gray are young, so it is hard to predict what they will do. Hooper is coming off injury, if he is getting on base and creating havoc, a game in Baum Stadium is almost a must.

W No. 2 Bentonville; The Tigers started slowly but have found themselves over the last month, with a record of 13-2 since April 1^st. On the mound their staff has been carried by 2017 RHP Jacob Williams. Williams competes in the strike zone with a mid-80s fastball and solid curveball. He has down a sound job an inexperienced staff as the Tigers graduated 3 NCAA Division I arms after the 2016 season. Offensively they are loaded with high end talent, 2018 OF/INF Kam’Ron Mays-Hunt, 2018 CIF Nathan Lyons and 2018 CIF/OF Tyler Johnson are all high end athletes with advanced bat speed and the ability to take over a contest. If they have it rolling the Tigers will be a tough out.

W. No. 1 Fayetteville: The Purple Dogs are back to their normal perch atop the 7A West after a year of growth in 2016. The youth movement the swept through the Fayetteville roster has been rewarded in 2017 with a conference title. On the mound they are led by 2018 RHP Miller Pleimann, he shows advanced command on three pitches and uses a fastball that works up into the upper 80s. Offensively they use a balanced line up that receives solid production 1-9. A player to watch offensively will be 2017 INF Barrett Bannister, he is a versatile athlete with raw bat speed. The overall X factor for Fayetteville has been 2017 RHP/MIF Hayes Cox. He has solidified Fayetteville’s number two spot in the rotation and performed at a high level defensively at short stop. If the Purple Dogs are going to make a trip down the street to Baum Stadium, Cox will have to play well.

C No. 2 North Little Rock; this is a veteran club with a deep offensive line up with athletes 1-9. If they are going to stick around until the state championship 2017 MIF Zac Freeman and 2017 OF Chase Freeman are going to have to perform well at the top of the line up to create offensively. On the mound 2018 RHP Tucker Sparks has been a force with a sub 2 ERA. He has been able to keep hitters off balance with an advanced feel to pitch on both sides of the plate with three pitches. He is complimented by 2017 RHP Owen Stucker, a strike thrower, who competes at a high level. A name to watch for the Charging Wildcats may be 2017 CIF Ryan Maloch, who has advanced power as a left-handed hitter. To swing their way to Baum Stadium they will need a surge in power, Maloch has the most power potential in their lineup.

Finals Pick; An anti-climactic pick as I am picking Fayetteville vs Cabot as the 7A Final. The reasons both teams, have had the overall success this spring is why I am picking them to continue. Strong starting pitching, sound defense, especially in the middle of the field, and versatile offenses that can score in a variety of ways.

Overall pick; I am picking the Cabot Panthers to win the 7A State Title. Coach Goodwin appears to have this ultra-talented group playing well together. Chemistry was my question for this group at the beginning of the season, was there enough baseball to go around for the abundance of talent. They have made it work and work well.

Upsets Special; Springdale has the best chance to make a surprise win with 2017 RHP Andrew Roach on the mound, the Bulldogs have had a chance to win every game. If they can avoid a big mistake they may take down the Hornets in round one.

Sleeper Pick; An easy pick with Conway being a No.4 seed. They have plenty of talent and experience to win three games in three days. They have dropped some close games throughout the year. They are experienced enough to handle the emotions of the state tournament and make one more trip to Baum Stadium.

Road to Baum: 7A State Tournament Preview

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