NASHVILLE -- Malvern looked to be in control on Saturday, but Nashville took advantage of an opening midway through the game and punished the Leopards, never looking back as the Scrappers won, 11-4, on their own home field in the semifinals of the Class 4A state baseball tournament.
Demias Jimerson worked out of a couple of tough jams on the mound in the first four innings for Malvern (25-7). Nashville (29-5) seized control with nine runs in the fifth and sixth innings to seal a return trip to Baum Stadium in Fayetteville for the Class 4A state championship.
The Scrappers won, 4-1, in last year's championship game against Shiloh Christian. The Saints (22-6) defeated Pottsville (23-7), 8-1, in the other semifinal on Saturday to set up a rematch. Malvern lost, 3-2, to Shiloh Christian in last year's semifinals in Lonoke.
Jimerson forced a flyout to start the top of the fifth inning with Malvern leading, 3-1, but Aaron Lott kickstarted Nashville's offense on the next at-bat with a ground rule double. Lott moved all the way to third base on a wild pitch and Patterson reached base on a walk.
Whit Jones was credited with an error on a ground ball to third base by Jaydon Hostetler. Lott and Tyler Hanson were both able to score on the play.
The Leopards thought they had the third out of the inning, but the third strike went past catcher Jordan Hart and allowed Ty Gordon to reach base with first unoccupied. Protection behind the plate continued to haunt Malvern weeks after the starting catcher was injured.
Hanson picked up an RBI when courtesy runner Caiden Erwin scored for designated hitter Hostetler on a passed ball to put Nashville ahead for the first time at 4-3. Hanson earned another RBI with a single on a line drive to center field to score Gordon and make the score 5-3.
Tristen Jamison earned an RBI when his hit to center field rolled past Garrett Mayhan, which allowed Hanson to score. Mayhan was able to end the top half of the inning with a running catch toward right-center field on the next play.
Malvern was able to put two runners on in the bottom half of the inning, but did not score any runs. The Leopards left 11 runners on the bases, while Nashville left just five stranded.
Jace Turner entered in the top of the sixth inning to pitch for Malvern. The inning once again began with an out, but a walk to Lott started another Nashville rally.
Nashville had two on after Patterson earned his second consecutive walk. A hard ground ball to Jones at third base took an irregular bounce off of the lip of the grass in the infield and sailed into left field.
Jones was then put in to pitch. He forced Chris Williard into a flyout to left field, but the runner on third base was able to tag up to make the score 9-3. A home run to the opposite field by left-hander Gordon ended the rally with Nashville ahead, 10-3. Jones hit the next two batters, but Hart was able to tag out a runner between third base and home.
Jimerson pulled a run back with a solo home run to left field on the second pitch of the bottom half of the inning. Turner, Jones and Mayhan were then retired by Hostetler in order.
"You want some timely hits, but that is just so hard to control," said Malvern head coach Matthew Weigand. "We got our hits, like D's bomb. It was a solo bomb. What if he had hit that home run when he came up with the bases loaded? Those things are just so unpredictable.
"The bottom line is they got their hits," Weigand said. "I don't know how many hits they had or we had. I think it was pretty close, but they had their hits when they had runners on, and we didn't."
Cason Drummond led off the seventh inning for Nashville and reached base on a passed ball on the third strike. He reached second base on a passed ball, took third base on a passed ball and scored on a passed ball to put Nashville ahead, 11-3. Jones struck out the other three batters in the inning.
Malvern had two runners on to start the bottom of the seventh inning as Drew Golden earned a walk and junior Brandon Scott reached base for the fourth time in the game when he was hit by a pitch. He batted 3-for-3 Saturday with two RBIs.
Hostetler then retired the next three batters to end the game. The teams finished with eight hits apiece.
"Our guys competed," Weigand said. "This is a tough place, a tough place to come and play. It is just tough beating Nashville on their field just like it is tough to beat us on our field."
Nashville scored one run in the first inning, but Malvern answered with two in the bottom of the inning. The Scrappers looked to add more in the third with the bases loaded and no outs.
A hit by Williard was followed by walks to Gordon and Hanson and a visit to the mound by Weigand. Tristen Jamison tossed his bat on what he thought was the fourth ball in four pitches in the next at-bat, but the pitch was called a strike.
Jimerson struck him out on the next three pitches. The Leopards ended the threat when Drummond flew out to right field and Hanson was doubled up at first base.
"They are good and they are well-coached," Weigand said. "They were working counts and they were getting D's pitch count up.
"We caught a break there, but we knew we had to respond, offensively, because that stuff keeps happening. In baseball, you cannot keep getting in those situations and expecting to get out of them every time."
Saturday's semifinal loss was the last high school game for seniors Golden, Hart, Jimerson, Jones, Mayhan and Turner. The group led the Leopards to a 43-20 record in the last two seasons and consecutive trips to the 4A final four.
"It is huge and it says a lot about how far we have come, what the seniors have done for our program and laying that foundation moving forward," Weigand said. "We've got good, young players coming up and I expect us to be right back here in the mix of things next year and any year moving forward."
Sports on 05/13/2018