The Armorel Tigers won an extra-innings thriller Thursday night against Kirby in the first round of the 1A state tournament at White Hall.
Trailing 3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Dallas Nicholson scored from third on a wild pitch. Jonathan Porter scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch as well to extend the Tigers' season at least for another day.
Longtime Armorel head coach Charlie Brown continues to preach, "pitching, defense and timely hitting." While they got great pitching from their aces, Tay Hopper and Ty Wagganer, and great defense, the "timely hitting" part may need a little tune-up in time for today's game against Nemo Vista.
The Tigers scattered six hits over nine innings.
One run was scored on a Wagganer sacrifice fly and the other two on wild pitches.
So, while their hits may not have been timely, they certainly scored runs in the nick of time.
Run production may be only one of Brown's issues today against Nemo Vista and going forward. Hopper threw five innings while Wagganer tossed the final four.
He'll more than likely have sophomore Seth Eatmon on the hill to start. While Eatmon may not be at the "ace of the rotation" level yet, he certainly has shown he has enough stuff to give the Tigers a chance to win and he certainly doesn't lack the confidence necessary to perform in a pressure situation.
Junior Peyton Brown will be ready to go and, according to Brown, so will Hopper and Wagganer, if necessary.
"We're going to put the pieces together as we go," said Brown. "Our pitchers' arms are in shape. We pretty much have a year round throwing program. So, their arms are as strong as anyone's in the state this time of year."
Year after year, Brown has done a good job of giving his top arms enough innings throughout season to stay strong but has given them enough rest to peak during the postseason.
Yes, it was concerning that he had to throw his two best arms in the nine-inning marathon last night but when you're in a sudden-death situation I don't know a respectable coach who could live with themselves losing a game knowing he hadn't used his best pitchers.
It seems like the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs always looks like a jigsaw puzzle.
Some teams come into it unscathed while others go through what Armorel did and just needed to survive and advance.
This is where knowing your players comes into play even more than just knowing the game. Another factor that may play a part today is the weather.
There's a chance of isolated showers in the Pine Bluff area. I know Brown will tell me that he's not concerned with that and he's ready to play with the players he has but I'm sure there is a little bit of him, of any coach, that wouldn't mind an extra day of rest after a night like Thursday.
Two years ago, the weather played havoc with the state tournament and even the state finals the following weekend. The Tigers' finale against Viola at UCA was pushed back a day because of rain.
That gave Brown a chance to rest his ace, Chris Ashmore, who had already thrown two complete games in a week, one more day. Ashmore pitched nearly five strong innings and Zach Skelton came into finish the game as the Tigers won their first championship since 2006.
Who knows what the weather may bring and who knows how the game will unfold but I'm sure that Brown will be ready to put the pieces in the right place.
afitzpatrick@blythevillecourier.com