From April 2nd to April 9th, the Pioneer baseball team played five games against Berryville, Bentonville West, Huntsville, Providence Academy, and Farmington.

The boys took a drive and ran into Berryville, running out seconds later with an amazing 14-0 win.

On the mound for this game was junior Bennett Roberts. Roberts pitched through 3 innings and saw 11 total batters, only allowing one hit and 0 runs.

Roberts shined through this whole game; he went 4-4 with 4 singles, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored. Junior Drew Nash went 2-4 with a single and a double, an RBI, and one run scored. Sophomore Jaxon Holt went 2-2 with 2 singles, 2 RBIs, and one run scored. 

Lastly, senior Riggs Harper went 1-3 with a single, a hit by pitch, 1 RBI, and 3 runs scored.

The boys then went back home and played Bentonville West, and sadly, they fell to the Wolverines 22-3.

Freshmen Bryson Woodall started on the rubber; he saw through 2 innings with 14 batters, and he gave up 4 hits and 2 earned runs. Holt took over for Woodall; he saw 2 innings, 13 batters, and allowed 3 hits and 1 earned run. 

Nash went 2-3 with 2 singles and one run scored; senior Brair Mayberry went 2-3 with 2 singles and 1 RBI; and freshman CJ Bolinger went 2-2 with 2 singles and 1 run scored.

This game was difficult, but the Pioneers continued on; they took on Huntsville and lost in conference play in a close 6-5 game.

Nash took the mound and played through five innings; he saw 24 batters, allowed four hits, and scored two runs.

Mayberry was prominent in the hitting game; he went 2-3 with 2 singles and a walk. Roberts also went 2-2 with two singles. Woodall went 1-2 with a single.

Next up, the Pioneers beat the Providence Academy Patriots 8-7 in their second game this season; this time, the boys were able to clinch the win at home.

This game also happened to be the Teacher Appreciation Game.

Woodall took the honors of throwing; he saw 2 innings, 14 batters, 6 hits, and 5 earned runs. Senior Jared James saw some play; he played 2 innings, saw 9, and allowed 3 hits, with 1 earned run. 

Roberts, whose bat has been hot as of late, went 2-3 with 2 singles, 3 RBIs, and 2 runs scored. Harper went 1-1 with 2 walks and was hit by a pitch while scoring 2 runs. Mayberry went 0-1 with 2 walks and a hit by pitch; he followed through and scored 2 runs.

For the next game of the season, the Cardinals flew in from the south, and Gentry took a conference 16-8 loss to Farmington.

Harper started off the pitching game; through 3 innings, Harper saw 25 batters and allowed 10 hits with 6 earned runs. Roberts saw 2 innings with 11 batters, allowed 3 hits, and 0 earned runs.

Nash went 2-3 with one single, one double, a walk, and an RBI with one run scored. Sophomore Dillion Duncan went 2-3 with 2 singles and an RBI. junior Houston Nance went 1-3 with a double, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored.

Head Coach Anthony Nail said, “Our goal during conference play is to win our games.” He continued and told me every bit of preparation and non-conference game goes into succeeding in the conference. 

Riggs Harper holds the best batting average, coming in at.392%, an on-base percent of.614%, and a slug percent of.706.

Drew Nash is the master in the pitching game, with an ERA of 2.77, even when playing for high-level teams.

The Pioneer baseball team holds an 11-16 record. They are ranked 7th in the conference, only ahead of Berryville.

But records don’t matter if you win the tournament, and we can’t wait to see how they do in next week’s district tournament. The boys will face Huntsville on Monday.