MALVERN -- The Malvern Leopards survived a bases loaded situation Thursday up by one run with a player committed to play for the Arkansas Razorbacks at the plate.
Monticello sophomore Nick Griffin was hitless on the day, but reached base three times via walks and faced Malvern junior Micah Holyfield with the game on the line. Holyfield forced Griffin to fly out to right field for the second time Thursday to give the host Leopards (22-6) a 6-5 victory and spot in the Class 4A state tournament next week in Nashville.
Malvern (22-6) endured a shaky start to the game and a nervy finish to eliminate the 4A-8 conference champion Billies (18-7). The Leopards took the lead for good in the second inning, but Monticello scored twice in the final frame with the game-winning run stranded on second.
The two teams combined for just seven hits, but managed 39 baserunners between them. Left-handers Griffin, senior Mason Philley and sophomore Reid Merrell struck out 17 batters for Malvern, but also walked eight and hit another three.
"We always think we are going to win," Weigand said. "We think we are one of the best teams in the state. Even though we had 17 strikeouts, we still found ways to get on and we were still fearless on the bags with that mentality.
"We are trying to win the game, not go, 'Oh, I hope I don't lose it.'"
Senior starting pitcher Demias Jimerson helped his own cause with a leadoff triple to start the game. The Leopards were the away team on the scoreboard after placing fourth in their conference tournament. Senior shortstop Jace Turner sent Jimerson home with a single up the middle.
Mistakes cost Malvern in the bottom half of the inning. Senior Whit Jones struggled to catch Jimerson.
Monticello leadoff Phillip Stephenson reached base on a passed ball on the third strike. He and Griffin, who reached base on his first walk, gave Monticello a 2-1 lead.
Coach Matthew Weigand moved Jones to third base, subbed Jacobe Hart into the right field and moved Jordan Hart behind the plate.
"Whit is an athletic guy, an all-around athlete," Weigand said. "We worked him there all week and we felt good with it, but you don't know how they are going to react when they are in that moment in the game with the adrenaline and the nerves going.
"I felt like we had to make a quick move right there to keep everything at bases. They had the bases loaded and had us on the ropes early. Our guys did a good job of keeping the damage at a minimum and battling out of it."
Monticello left two on base after Jimerson struck out two batters and forced another to fly out to shortstop.
Junior second baseman Parker Freer reached base on a two-out walk in the top of the second inning. He moved around the bases for the tying run and Jimerson, who reached base on an error, later gave the Leopards a 3-2 lead.
Malvern threatened again in the third inning with a deep fly ball to left center field by senior Garrett Mayhan, who struggled in the conference tournament. He was left stranded on third base to end the inning, but sent an even deeper charge to almost the same spot in the next inning. His two-run home run gave Malvern a 5-2 advantage.
"I don't look at the numbers," Weigand said. "I go by what I see, if he is having a good at-bat or not. I just knew it was a matter of time before he started getting rolling again.
"They weren't up to his standard, but he wasn't having bad at-bats. He was seeing good pitches. He was just missing them. We just knew it was a matter of time, and he's a senior this this is his last go, and we need him to stay hot. He had a heck of a game."
The Billies pulled one run back in the fifth inning when Grant Jeffers was hit by a pitch for the second time. He scored on a double to left field by Merrell to make the score 5-3.
Jimerson reached his 110-pitch restriction on a walk to Stephenson with two outs in the sixth inning. Jones walked Griffin before striking out senior Logan Gilliam.
Malvern worked in an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. Jacobe Hart reached base on a walk and Philley hit both Jordan Hart and Freer. A walk to Jimerson forced in the winning run. Monticello limited the damage as Merrell struck out Turner and Jones.
"All three of those lefties are going to play college baseball as pitchers," Weigand said. "They are good. They are as good as anybody we have seen all year.
"We found a way to get on and we had some timely hits, but we were fearless on the bags when we got on. I don't know how many stolen bases we had, but we were running around like it was nothing. They had a hard time controlling that, which led to a lot of walks in those innings."
Jimerson picked up the win for Malvern, allowing three runs on three hits with eight strikeouts, four walks and two hit-batsmen.
Malvern was scheduled to play today at noon today against the winner between Warren (15-13) and Joe T. Robinson (20-11). Warren led, 11-4, before play was delayed to today due to weather. The tournament is scheduled to conclude on Saturday with Malvern facing the winner in the first of four games beginning at 10 a.m.
Sports on 05/04/2018