It's early May and that has meant two things around Armorel for nearly the past decade --unpredictable weather and the Tigers are in the state tournament.
With their 17-1 win over Izard County in the first round of the regional tournament Monday, the Tigers advanced to the state tournament for the sixth straight season and ninth out of their last 10. And the last six years, they've advanced as far as the state semifinals winning it all in 2011 and losing in the championship game a year ago. To put Armorel's success in perspective, the current group of graduating seniors has never ended the season without at least advancing to the state semifinals.
This year's squad enters the tournament with a No.1 seed after winning the Region 2 championship. Taking a look at the 1A state bracket, there are some interesting subplots already forming including who is not on the bracket.
1A-3 East foe, Crowley's Ridge Academy, is noticeably absent. On April 9th, the Falcons handed the Tigers their first conference lose since 2010 and snapped a 31-game winning streak. CRA gave Armorel all they could handle in the district championship before losing, 11-5 and looked like they might meet up with the Tigers a couple of more times before all was said and done.
But an unexpected first round loss to Calico Rock ended CRA's season and a chance at another matchup with the Tigers. As a baseball fan and writer, I was actually looking forward to another possible meeting between the two teams. Yes, Armorel's dominance in the conference has been impressive but it always makes things more interesting if that dominant team has a rival that can bring out the best in them.
Another noticeable team absent from the tournament is the defending state champion, Midland. The Mustangs defeated the Tigers at Baum Stadium last year as the Tigers tried to repeat as champions.
Fortunately for Armorel, they met up with the Mustangs on April 6th in a tournament in Batesville. That day, Taylor Hopper tossed a two-hit shutout in the Tigers' 4-0 win.
Even with CRA and Midland out of the way, that doesn't mean there is clear sailing for the Tigers. There first round opponent, Kirby, comes from the tough, 1A-7 East conference along with recent postseason rival to the Tigers, the Taylor Tigers. Armorel has played Taylor three times over the last four years winning two of the matchups. The most recent came in Armorel's championship season in 2011 and ended with an 8-4 win for Armorel in the opening round. Another battle of the Tigers is possible if both teams advance to the semifinals.
Looming on the other side of the bracket is Viola. The Tigers defeated Viola in the regional championship and two years ago in the state championship. For the two teams to meet again, it would have to be on May 18 at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville for the state championship.
For the Tigers to advance, they'll probably get there on the strength of their pitching. While their top two (Hopper and Ty Wagganer) have gotten most of the press this year, it's their depth this season that may be the key to their success. Sophomore Seth Eatmon will mostly get the call for today's opener with Kirby. Eatmon has been able to give head coach Charlie Brown a lot of quality starts including their regional opener on Monday. While having two quality starters is already a blessing, having a third who can throw good innings to rest your top two is a dream come true for most coaches. And if Eatmon gets into trouble, junior Payton Brown has won a couple of games this year as well including an early season matchup against 3A Rivercrest.
"It's going to come down to our pitching and defense," said Brown, "and if we can get some timely hits."
Armorel's bats have been rather inconsistent this season but they scored 30 runs over three regional games which gives the indication that the bats may be warming up.
Production from Zack Gray and Ashton Kennedy in the top of the order will be key for Wagganer, Hopper and Jonathan Porter in the middle of the lineup to bring them home. Hopper has shown the ability to move runners around with the bunt or just bringing them home with hit. Left-handed batters, Dallas Nicholson and Payton Lannon, have been swinging the bats better lately as well.
In his 20-plus years of coaching between basketball and baseball, Coach Brown has become an expert on downplaying his team's success and not looking past the opponent in front of him no matter who they are.
Still, it would be hard to pick against this team at least making it to Saturday afternoon's semifinal game. It always seems the Tigers will get the key pitching performance, make the game changing play in the outfield and get that timely hit just in time for them to advance.
afitzpatrick@blythevillecourier.com