The Greenwood Bulldogs usually play in a tournament during spring break, often out of state, but this season new Head Coach Brandon Brewer kept his Diamond ‘Dogs close to home, and it resulted in a seven-game winning streak. The GHS baseball squad is currently 8-4 on the season, but more importantly they are off to a 4-0 start in 5A West conference play. They are slated to travel to Harrison for a league doubleheader on Tuesday this week before playing a non-conference game at Fort Smith Northside on Thursday. Greenwood is tied with Mountain Home and Greenbrier for the league lead.
Springdale Har-Ber
The Bulldogs suffered their third loss of the season on March 10th at Springdale Har-Ber, dropping their record to 1-3 after earlier losses to Gravette (AR) and Owasso (OK). The Wildcats defeated Greenwood, 9-7, in non-conference play. Har-Ber plays in the tough 6A West conference and is currently in third place with a 12-4 overall record. But after the loss, the Diamond ‘Dogs embarked on a seven-game winning streak that extended through spring break and included four conference victories.
Russellville Cyclones
The Bulldogs opened conference play the week before spring break on March 14th with a pair of home games against Russellville, winning both contests, 3-0 and 6-2. Senior Aiden Kennon earned the pitching victory in the opener, while sophomore Grant Karnes earned the win in game two. The ‘Dogs outhit the Cyclones in both games.
Greenwood scored twice in the bottom of the third inning in game one, then added a solo run in the fifth. Senior Dawson Holt and junior Austin Mitchell had two hits each, accounting for half of the team total of eight knocks. One of Holt’s hit was a double and he also plated two runs. Seniors Harrison Adams and Hunter Houston, along with juniors Braden Skaggs and Austin Bercher also each had a hit. Kennon gave up five hits in 6.2 innings of work, with no walks and six strikeouts before being relieved by Austin Mitchell, who recorded the final out.
In the nightcap, Grant Karnes pitched 5.2 frames for the Bulldogs, also giving up just five hits and two walks while fanning six Cyclones’ hitters. He was also relieved by Mitchell, who closed out the 6-2 win, recording the last four outs of the game, though he gave up two hits and a pair of walks with two strikeouts.
Dawson Holt continued his hot hitting with three more knocks in game two, including another two-bagger. Karnes also doubled and drove home a pair of runs. Junior Brady Pettigrew had two hits and an RBI, while Hunter Houston drove home two runners with a double. Austin Bercher also had a hit and a run batted in. Greenwood scored once in the second and third innings before plating four runs in the fifth. Russellville scored once in the fourth and again in the seventh.
Brookland Bearcats
Greenwood’s next game (on March 16th) against Red Oak (OK) was cancelled before the Brookland Bearcats arrived on the 21st. A small town located near Jonesboro in Northeast Arkansas, Brookland is known for its baseball excellence, and stopped by Greenwood for a tune-up before competing in a spring break tournament in Northwest Arkansas. The Bulldogs won the game, 6-2, behind the combined pitching efforts of Aiden Kennon and Austin Mitchell.
Oddly enough, the visitors outhit the Bulldogs by a six to three margin. Brady Pettigrew had two of those hits, including a double and an RBI. Austin Mitchell had the other GHS hit, also a double, and plated a run as well. Grant Karnes accounted for the other RBI while Harrison Adams walked twice and scored both times. The Diamond ‘Dogs scored two runs in each of the first three frames, while the Bearcats scored solo runs in the second, third, and seventh innings.
On the mound, Kennon threw 68 pitches over 3.1 frames of work, yielding four hits, one walk, and two runs, one earned, with eight strikeouts. Mitchell toed the rubber for 3.2 innings, throwing 49 pitches while allowing two hits and one run with six Ks. The Greenwood defense made the only two errors in the game.
Booneville Bearcats
Two days later, the Bulldogs faced another group of Bearcats from neighboring Booneville, sweeping both non-conference games, 12-2 and 10-9. Greenwood took advantage of six bases on balls and made their eight hits count, scoring 12 runs in the opener. The home team also had eight hits in the nightcap while capitalizing on four more walks and three Booneville errors. The Bulldogs themselves made six errors, yet somehow managed to pull out the one-run victory in walk-off fashion. Game one lasted five frames with game two going the traditional seven innings.
Grant Karnes started on the hill and earned the win for the Bulldogs in the opener, pitching four innings, giving up three hits and both Bearcats’ runs. He also fanned nine batters while throwing 60 total pitches, 43 of them strikes. He was relieved by sophomore lefty Zack Zitzmann, who pitched a scoreless fifth inning.
Offensively, the Diamond ‘Dogs were led by Braden Skaggs and senior Weston Pschier with two hits each. Skaggs also had an RBI while Pschier drove home two runners. Dawson Holt had a double and a pair of RBIs, while Brady Pettigrew and Austin Bercher both had a hit and an RBI. Pettigrew and Holt also had a stolen base each. Greenwood outhit Booneville eight to three and neither team made a defensive error.
But the two squads combined to make nine errors in game two, coupled with 15 hits and eight walks, with at least one run scored in all seven innings. Greenwood led early then trailed in the middle innings before winning the game, 10-9, with a two-run seventh inning. Hunter Houston was the GHS starting pitcher, going 2.1 innings before being relieved by Brady Pettigrew, who finished the game (4.2 innings) to earn the victory.
Houston gave up four hits, three walks, and five runs, none earned, while striking out four Booneville hitters. The Bearcats scored once in the top of the first and again in the second before plating three runs in both the third and fourth innings and another in the sixth. Greenwood pushed across two runs in five different innings, the first, second, third, fifth, and seventh. Pettigrew gave up just three hits, one walk, and four runs, none earned.
At the plate, Greenwood was led by Braden Skaggs with a four-hit day, including a double, an RBI, and a walk, reaching base five times while scoring three runs. Besides earning the win on the mound, Brady Pettigrew also had a pair of hits, including a triple and homerun, with an RBI and three runs scored. Greenwood’s other two hits belonged to Weston Pschier and Hunter Houston, with the GHS staring pitcher getting two RBIs as well.
Van Buren Pointers
With the end of spring break the Bulldogs returned to conference play last Tuesday, March 28th, traveling across the Arkansas River to Van Buren, taking both ends of the league doubleheader from the Pointers, 8-5 and 7-0. A four-run third inning made the difference for the visitors in the opener behind the mound work of Aiden Kennon, Hunter Houston, and Austin Mitchell. In the nightcap, stellar pitching by Grant Karnes and Mitchell was more than enough, holding the Pointers to just one hit. A five-run sixth inning put the icing on the cake for the Bulldogs.
Both teams opened game one by scoring three runs in both halves of the first inning. With the game still knotted at 3-3, the Bulldogs plated four runs in the top of the third, then added a solo run in the seventh. Van Buren scored single runs in the sixth and seventh, but fell shot in the 8-5 loss. Greenwood outhit the home team 12 to four. The GHS pitching trio of Kennon, Houston, and Mitchell held the Pointers to just four hits and three earned runs with nine strikeouts.
With the bats, the Bulldogs were paced by Harrison Adams, Braden Skaggs, Austin Bercher, and Austin Mitchell with two hits each. Adams had a double and added three RBIs. Skaggs had two RBIs while Bercher had one. Weston Pschier also had a hit and a run driven home. Dawson Holt, Grant Karnes, and Aiden Kennon also had one hit each.
In the second game of the twin bill, the Bulldogs scored a single run in their first at bat, then again in the third inning. Leading 2-0 in the fifth, Greenwood pushed across five more tallies, collecting 15 hits in the game for the 7-0 shutout win. Karnes got the pitching victory with 5.1 frames of solid work, fanning 10 Van Buren hitters while yielding just one hit and giving two walks.
With the sticks, the Diamond ‘Dogs had runners all over the bases throughout the game, getting 12 hits off the Van Buren starter in 5.2 innings of work. He was followed by two relievers. Six GHS players had multiple hits in the contest, led by Grant Karnes with three knocks and two RBIs. Dawson Holt, Harrison Adams, Aiden Kennon, Braden Skaggs, and Weston Pschier all had two hits each, with Adams driving home two runners. Brady Pettigrew also had a pair of RBIs with a hit.
Rogers Mounties
The twin victories over Van Buren moved the Bulldogs to 4-0 in conference play and extended their winning streak to seven games, but the run came to an abrupt and painful end at Rogers last Friday, March 31st. The Mounties play in the state’s highest classification and presently lead the 6A West conference with an 11-2 overall record. They pounded Bulldogs’ pitching for a 12-0 victory. The Diamond ‘Dogs must now pick themselves up as they travel to Harrison this week.