Brothers excited to play for a state title

By COSMO COSSEY

Sports Connection Team

GOSNELL – Gosnell senior Blake Brothers was excited for the chance to play for a state title against CAC this past Saturday in Conway. Brothers is a senior and plays left field for the Pirates.

“At first it was just a normal feeling then over the past few days it has really started to set in about how important this game is, not only to me and my teammates but to the community as a whole,” Brothers said. After tough losses to Rivercrest in the district tourney and to Walnut Ridge in the regional tournament, Brothers said the team fixed one team problem. “After those losses we realized it all had something to do with our approaches at the plate. We really worked on being able to choke up and put the ball in play with two strikes, trying to limit strikeouts and I think that has helped us out a ton,” Brothers added. Given their struggles with Rivercrest the last two seasons, Brothers said it was big to beat them to make the state finals. “I think beating Rivercrest to go to the finals was huge because it was such a big rivalry and it was the fourth time we’ve played them this year,” Brothers added.

Heading into the state finals, Brothers was batting .300 on the season with 23 hits and 17 walks. “Blake has really stepped up the past couple games for us and has come through with some clutch hits in big spots,” Gosnell head coach Aaron Coots said of Brothers.

After the game Saturday, when asked how it felt to be a state champion, Brothers was all smiles when he answered, “It's amazing and kind of unbelievable!” “We never gave up all year, always we had a chance to get here at the beginning of the season and we had unfinished business to take care and that's what did it,” Brothers added.