Sports

Scrappers win Gross Memorial Tournament--NHS hurlers toss two no-hitters on weekend March 8, 2005 - Jay Strasner - (Editor)

The Nashville Scrappers continued their dominating ways on the baseball field this past weekend on their way to a a championship in the Ralph Gross Memorial Tournament.

Nashville clinched the title at Wilson Park Saturday night with a 2-1 win over Pleasant Grove, Texas in the championship game.

“The kids are playing really well,” Coach Kyle Slayton said. “It was just a great weekend of baseball, from the weather to the fans to the competition. We had a lot of compliments afterwards about what a tremendous tournament it was.”

Scrapper pitcher Haydon Arnold earned tournament MVP honors after his performance on the mound.

In the semifinals against De Queen, Arnold tossed a five-inning no-hitter and struck out five Leopards in the 10-0 win. Arnold would have had a perfect game if not for an error.

“Haydon was in a zone that night,” Slayton said. “It was total domination, one of the best pitching performances I’ve seen in probably three years. During the game, I told our other pitchers to watch what Haydon was doing. He went out to the mound with a mindset that he was unbeatable. That’s what we’ve got to have.”

First baseman D.J. Graham belted a grand slam in the third inning and scored two runs in the game.

“He hit a missile,” Slayton said of Graham’s blast.

Arnold tacked on a single and an RBI while Ryan Scott knocked in two runs. Jonathon Davidson added three runs and a pair of stolen bases.
Tyler Floyd also had a single.

Slayton said Arnold’s teammates didn’t dogpile him on the mound after the no-hitter.

“I think the guys were more excited about whipping De Queen than they were about the no-hitter,” Slayton laughed.

In the championship game, sophomore A.J. Whitmore climbed the mound and pitched four and a third innings of 1-run baseball. He also allowed no hits and struck out eight while walking three Pleasant Grove batters.

Arnold came on in relief and threw two and two-thirds of no-hit ball to earn the save. He struck out five and walked two. The two hurlers combined for the second straight no-hitter of the tourney.

“A.J. pitched well,” Slayton said. “It was an eye-opener for us to see that against a quality opponent like PG. He was un-hitable. His fastball and slider were really working. It made us feel confident that he can be our No. 3 starter.”

With the game tied 1-1, Graham blasted a home run in the fourth inning to provide the one-run lead and eventual win. Whitmore slid over to second base when Arnold relieved him and made a difficult over the shoulder catch for the last out of the game.

Davidson had a single in the game, Whitmore smashed a double and Justin Rodgers brought him in to score with a single and an RBI on the next pitch.
“After all the blowouts, it was good to be in a close game and see how the kids react under pressure,” Slayton said. “We had some good pitching and defense and a couple of big hits. We’re still a little sluggish at the plate, but we’re getting some timely hits and scoring runs.”

The Scrappers opened the tournament Thursday night with an 11-1 thumping of Hope.

Scott pitched four innings and allowed one run on two hits and struck out seven while walking two. Whitmore threw one inning of no-hit relief.

Scott helped his cause at the plate with a pair of hits, two stolen bases, two runs and an RBI. Davidson added a run, an RBI and a stolen base.

The Scrappers had 11 runs on three hits. Eight Scrappers drew bases on balls and four batters were hit by Hope pitches.

“We put the ball in play, made Hope play defense and they kicked it around,” Slayton said. “Hope didn’t play very well.”

Graham, Whitmore and Scott joined Arnold on the all-tournament team.

The Scrappers are 8-0 on the young season and have outscored their competition 86-6.

“That’s dominating,” Slayton said. “I couldn’t imagine a better start to the season than we’ve had. Hopefully we can keep rolling along. We really like this team.”

Slayton said the Gross family and the community as a whole “really seemed to enjoy” the tournament.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better tournament,” Slayton said. “We really thank the coaches and volunteers who showed up and helped us out. There were some big crowds who got to see some great baseball. We had 11 games in three days and seven of those games were decided by one run. Nashville’s been needing something like this. It was a total success.”

NHS 23, ASMS 1

HOT SPRINGS—The Scrappers convincingly won their conference opener on Tuesday over the struggling Arkansas School of Math and Sciences.

Caleb Jamison and freshman Tyler Serrano teamed up to pitch the squad’s third no hitter in eight games.

Jamison threw three innings and Serrano tossed two innings in relief.
Lance Lacefield blasted a two-run home run while Arnold had a pair of doubles, three runs and two RBIs. Serrano had a double, a single, three runs and an RBI. Jamison finished with a double, two RBI and two runs.

The Scrappers will travel to Genoa Central for non-conference action Monday before hosting Fountain Lake at Wilson park Tuesday.

The Scrappers will begin play in the Ashdown tournament Friday. NHS will face Hope at 3 p.m. Friday and Malvern at 5:30.

↑ Top