Hot Springs graduate Ben Slate persevered through a junior slump, multiple school changes and a senior season rife with challenges to earn a chance to play baseball at the collegiate level.
Slate made it official on Wednesday, signing with Central Baptist College in Conway. Coaches and family members were on hand for a ceremony at Hot Springs World Class High School.
"It feels really awesome and great for my family to be here and support me," Slate said. "I am really glad of everything coming into play."
Slate did a bit of everything for the Trojans in his senior season. He scored 19 runs in 19 games with a .442 batting average, .531 on-base percentage and a .635 slugging percentage.
"I thought I had the chance to play at the next level," Slate said. "I really wanted to do what I could for Hot Springs and be a leader for the team."
Slate transferred to Hot Springs from Lake Hamilton ahead of his sophomore season. He scored a team-high 13 runs with a .312 average for the 9-12 Trojans in 2016.
"I could tell early on that he had skills and potential," said Hot Springs baseball coach Brandon Bates. "He was a little immature, but he ended up being all-conference for us as a sophomore."
Slate played for Lake Hamilton in 2017, hitting just .203 with 10 runs scored in 27 games. The Wolves began the season 6-13-1, but won five of their last seven games.
A 2-for-3 day at the plate with a run and an RBI earned Slate all-state tournament honors as a junior as Lake Hamilton bowed out of the Class 6A state tournament, 7-6, to Marion. He returned to Hot Springs for his senior season.
"He really flourished and became a leader on the team," Bates said. "He was one of the hardest workers and really, really took over a leadership role.
"Anything that needed to be done, he did it. He matured a whole lot as a person and not just as a player. I was really proud of him and he ended up leading us and making all-conference again. Now, he has this opportunity to go play at the next level."
Hot Springs began the season strong with Slate at the top of the lineup. The Trojans won their first three games and sat at 7-5 two-thirds of the way through the season.
An injury to junior catcher Shawn Lingo limited him to nine games. He finished the season with a .320 batting average and was third on the team in RBIs despite missing more than half of the games.
"There was no letdown with him," Bates said of Slate. "When Lingo went down, that really hurt us, as far as being behind the plate and in the middle of the order. Then, Wisener also getting hurt, too, messed us up.
"He really stayed positive, kept working hard, came to practice every day and tried to lead in a positive manner emotionally, physically and in a vocal manner."
Hot Springs lost its final seven games of the season, exiting the first round of the conference tournament, 15-1, to Magnolia.
"To start off, we had everybody playing," Slate said. "We were doing great to start the season and we were winning. Each player started to get hurt and then another person would get hurt.
"We just had to overcome those obstacles, play with the players we had, fight through it and play like we should."
Slate had a 4.67 ERA as a junior with 40 strikeouts and 22 walks. His innings increased to 40 at Hot Springs this season, but he maintained a 4.73 ERA, increased his strikeouts to 62 and kept his walks to 23.
"Even though we did not have all of our players there, I felt like it was still the best I could have done," Slate said.
His play earned him a chance to play for the Mustangs, who were 30-30 in 2018. They finished the regular season 26-26 and won four straight games during the National Christian College Athletic Association Central Regional in Missouri before losing, 10-7, to Colorado Christian in the regional championship game.
Slate said Central Baptist coaches said they want him to be a leader for the Mustangs. Bates said he was impressed with Slate's progression and how he grew into a leadership role.
"I know that he has always had the talent," Bates said. "It was just whether he could step up into it or not, and he did that his senior year. I was really proud of him."
Sports on 08/14/2018