Pioneers Blitz Badgers;
Seize 2004 Conference Championship!

published Wednesday, April 21, 2004

The Pioneers closed the door on the competition for the 2004 4A East Conference Championship with a big sweep of the Badgers at Beebe Tuesday. By moving to 12 - 0 in conference play they eliminated any threat to their position as Conference Champs and locked down the #1 Seed position for the State Tournament. This provides the Pioneers with a 2 day break between 1st and 2nd round action which I believe could give us a big advantage in the later rounds of the tournament. The Pioneers have the opportunity to finish conference play undefeated if they can sweep the Marion Patriots at Home next Monday. The Patriots will be fighting for their lives, since a Pioneer sweep would put them in a 3 way tie for the #3 and #4 seed position, with Nettleton already having wrapped up the #2 spot. Could be an interesting night.

The opening game at Beebe took on the feel of a long season of batting practice. The Badgers appeared uninspired both in the field and at the plate. Starting Pitcher Jeremy Burba delivered his typical performance and completely overpowered the Badger batters. Some went down swinging and some just stood stoically and took it, but for 10 of the 16 Badger batters that faced Jeremy the result was a big "K" and a trip to the dugout. Only 1 Badger managed to make it to base in the entire game. The Pioneer batters seemed a little more lively and were definitely more productive. Combining for 20 hits they scored 15 runs in the 3rd inning and added 2 Grand Slam home runs by Brad Fletcher and Evan Eary for a little icing on the cake. The Final score came to Batesville 24, Beebe 0. Batting for the Pioneers: Francis - 4 singles; Skinner - double; Fletcher - home run, double, single; Burbe - 2 singles; Gatlin - double; Smith - triple; Rhodes - single; Davis - 2 singles; Yeager - double; Eary - Home Run; Rogers - 2 singles; Whitener - single.

The closing game was not very different than the opening one. It took a while to coax the Badgers back out of their lair but when they returned to the field the Pioneers quickly took control of the field again. Senior Pitcher Grant Gatlin allowed only 2 hits and 2 walks while gathering 6 Badger strikeouts. Pioneer batting remained strong and while there was no huge inning for the Pioneers like the first game they totaled 17 runs with 2 in the first, followed by 6,1,5 and 3 in the remaining innings. Francis was 5 for 5 on the night scored 8 runs and reached base every at bat. Fletcher went 7 for 8 in the series and had 14 rbi's for the night. Final Score Pioneers 17, Beebe 0. Batting for the Pioneers: Francis - single; Skinner - single; Fletcher 2 doubles, 2 singles; Burba - 2 singles; Gatlin - single; Davis - single; Platt - single; Altom - single.

The Pioneers return to conference play next Monday at home when they face off against the Marion Patriots at 4:00 PM. After that it's off to the State Tournament on Saturday, May 1st at Mills University Studies in Little Rock.