PEARCY -- Jaylon DeShazier's pitching and Brayden Jones' clutch hitting for Pine Bluff kept Lake Hamilton struggling in early conference baseball.
DeShazier threw six strong innings, and Jones knocked in three runs with a single and squeeze bunt in the Zebras' 4-2 road win Tuesday.
The same matchup went far better for Lake Hamilton softball, the Lady Wolves dominating Pine Bluff 19-1 in three innings. Ashley Green had three hits, including a two-run double, and three RBI.
In baseball, DeShazier was mostly in control after allowing two game-tying runs in the second. The sophomore worked around a fourth-inning jam to retire eight of his last nine, stranding Gunner Williams and Gip Burrow at third and second in the fourth before setting down the Wolves (3-5, 0-2 in 6A-South) in the fifth and sixth.
"He's just a sophomore, but he's a veteran on our staff," Pine Bluff coach Ryan Stinson said. "He gives us an opportunity to win. I thought he kept batters off balance, and they didn't have a lot of runners on base."
DeShazier held Lake Hamilton, coming off a 7-6 loss to Malvern on Monday, to three hits -- one out of the infield. He had eight strikeouts, walking and hitting two batters each. Three free passes came in the first two innings.
"I thought he threw the ball hard," Lake Hamilton coach Mac Hurley said. "He had good command of his fastball."
Brandon Lowe worked the seventh for the save, hitting leadoff batter Skyler Cox before getting three straight outs -- the last two on strikes.
Williams walked the bases loaded in the second, and Jones singled to right for two runs. The Zebras (2-2, 2-0 in conference) led 3-2 after an unearned run in the third, Kacy Higgins walking and scoring on Burrow's two-out throwing error.
"Walks and errors, that's the story of our season so far," Hurley said, "and not hitting."
Lake Hamilton scored in the second on a passed ball and catcher Gealanden Harris' throwing error.
Williams' single to left and Burrow's bunt for a hit gave the Wolves two runners with no outs in the fourth, but DeShazier retired Sinclair, Cox and Jacob Treat on fly balls. The first came after a failed bunt attempt, Williams and Burrow later advancing on a passed ball.
"That's an execution problem," Hurley said, "and we work on that all the time."
Jones went two for three and Little one for three.
Williams took the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) in four innings. He walked eight and struck out six, throwing 86 pitches. Treat allowed an unearned run and one hit in three innings, striking out four.
The Lady Wolves (4-3, 2-1 in conference) scored five first-inning runs before exploding for 14 in the second. Pitcher Annalee Diehl went two for three with a walk and scoring three runs, Elle Henson one for one with an RBI and two runs and Madisson Williams one for one with three walks and two runs.
Diehl pitched two perfect innings, striking out two. Pine Bluff scored and got its lone hit in the third, when the game was stopped under the mercy rule.
Lake Hamilton plays El Dorado Thursday at home.
Baseball
Pine Bluff 021 001 0 - 4 3 1
Lake Hamilton 020 000 0 - 2 3 4
WP-DeShzier. LP-Williams. Save-Lowe. S-PB: Smith, Jones. LH-Sinclair. SB-PB: Hence, Jones, DeShazier. LH: Treat.
Sports on 04/01/2015