MALVERN -- After a Cinderella run to the Class 4A semifinals last year, Malvern's baseball team has spent the first half of this season proving that it has staying power among the elite.
With a record of 15-4, the Leopards have separated themselves as the team to beat in the 3A/4A-8 blended conference, tied with Crossett (15-5) for the most wins in Class 4A with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
"You could see it coming last year, just our culture and changing things," third-year Malvern coach Matthew Weigand said. "The first year, you talk about winning championships and it seems so far-fetched, but that's our thing and we're going to talk about it.
"That's our goal and it's always our goal. We're not going to shy away from it. You could start to see it last year with the guys buying in and then it just kind of trickled down. You could start seeing it change."
Graduating only three seniors from a team that finished one game shy of a state championship appearance, Weigand elected to pit his team against some of the best competition Arkansas has to offer in non-conference play.
Malvern's four losses have come at the hands of defending Class 6A state champion Sheridan (14-2) and Class 6A contender El Dorado (13-3).
The Leopards have beaten perennial Class 5A power Watson Chapel (11-3), as well as larger schools Camden Fairview (5-11), Jacksonville (7-11) and Lake Hamilton (2-10).
"When you play teams like that, it makes you better," said Weigand. "Every aspect of the game, they're going to force you to focus in on and that's what you want. You want to play teams that are going to make you play the game the right way."
With a roster that features 10 upperclassmen, Malvern's vast experience has been on full display throughout its lineup. Led by junior Parker Freer at .429, the Leopards boast a sterling .316 batting average as a team, including nine players with an average of .286 or higher.
Behind Freer and fellow upperclassmen Demias Jimerson, .364 with 20 RBIs; Garrett Mayhan, .396 with 24 RBIs; Brandon Scott, .339 with 20 RBIs; and Whit Jones, .391 with 17 RBIs, Malvern averages over nine runs per game, scoring 10 or more runs 11 times.
"It really has a lot to do with our approach, especially our two-strike approach," Jones said. "One through nine, we feel confident that not only can somebody put the ball out of the park at anytime, but we have the best nine that are going to go up there and compete. We're trying to see the fastball and hit it where it's pitched."
In addition to boasting 10 players with 10 or more RBIs, the Leopards have the ability to wreak havoc on the basepaths. Led by Jimerson with 20 in 19 games, Malvern has 67 stolen bases on the season.
"It's a mindset thing that we want to help the guys at the plate when we're on the bags," said Jones. "We kind of have a team mindset to be a bully on the bags and get in the pitcher's head. It sucks doing it every day in practice, but it's really paying off."
For Weigand, scoring runs and swinging a hot bat is great, but arguably the greatest strength of the team is its starting rotation.
Under the guidance of assistant coach Chance Cleveland, Malvern has a team earned run average of just 2.24, allowing two runs or fewer in nine of its 19 games.
With Jimerson, 1.49 ERA and 60 strikeouts; Micah Hollyfield, 2.19 ERA and 41 strikeouts; Jace Turner, 2.67 ERA with a record of 5-1; and Jones, 13 strikeouts in 10 innings, Weigand believes his team has the rotation to make a playoff run next month.
"I feel more than comfortable putting all four of those guys on the mound against anybody," Weigand said. "They are competitors and they have that competitor mentality. They'll go up there confident against anybody and we feel comfortable with them."
Knowing that a district, regional and state tournament stand in the way of a trip to Baum Stadium for the Class 4A state championship in May, Weigand entered his team into three tournaments this season in order to prepare for the format that lies ahead.
The Leopards went 2-1 in the Ryan White tournament and 2-2 in the Sheridan Classic before beating Class 4A foes Dardanelle (10-5) and Pottsville (10-4) to claim the Robinson Invitational championship during spring break.
"It's huge and we try to schedule our games that way," said Weigand. "You have to find a way to win three if you want to make a run. You look at our whole schedule and we set it up that way; we play a lot of games in threes.
"We'll play three days in a row and you're always doing things with a purpose, preparing for the end. That's what we do and it helps."
In the midst of an eight-game winning streak, Malvern has been on a tear of late as they look to cap the regular season on a high note.
The Leopards have won their last four games over Glen Rose (10-4), Bismarck (2-7), Fountain Lake (9-3) and Centerpoint (5-8) by a combined score of 61-6.
With just five regular season games remaining, Weigand said his team's focus is on staying the course to maintain its momentum entering the postseason.
"Every day when we show up, we're going to make sure we win that day," Weigand said. "We don't look too far ahead, but we keep the end in mind, which is Baum Stadium and winning a state championship. With that in mind, we go to work today and try to win today.
"Our kids have really bought into that. The group of men that we have right now are by far the hardest working group that I've had in the 10 years that I've been coaching. They've put in the work and it's showing."
Sports on 04/09/2018