Panthers sweep Marion
MARTIN COUCH Sports editor

BUNTING KEVIN NAGLE PHOTO Benton Panther Jarrod Shults bunts the ball against the Marion Patriots in the first game.

The Benton Panthers are trying to prove that they will be contenders for the Class 6A state championship this spring.

The state tournament this year will be held at Texarkana on a field with which the Panthers are very familiar, having split a 6A-South Conference doubleheader with the Razorbacks there before spring break.

Owning a 5-1 conference mark, the Panthers hosted the best out of the 6AEast, the Marion Patriots, who might be a state tournament opponent in May.

Benton swept the nonconference doubleheader with Marion at Panthers Field 6-1 and 10-0 to prepare for a 12- 1 Bryant Hornets team two days later. The Panthers host the Sheridan Yellowjackets on Friday in a 6A-South doubleheader.

"They [Marion] were 13-1 coming in here and leading the conference in the East," said Benton head coach Mark Balisterri. "We were excited. I think he played a few different kids in the second game, and we took care of business in the first game. I don't know if that was their ace, but he was pretty good, then they brought in that lefty - he did a good job.They're a quality team and we will probably see them down the line in the state tournament."

TAGGED KEVIN NAGLE PHOTO Marion's Michael Snipes (5) is tagged out by Benton second baseman Taylor Cash.

Balisterri spoke with Sylvan Hills head coach Denny Tipton about the Patriots before the doubleheader.

"I talked to Coach Tipton and he said that the conference would come down to his team and Marion," Balisterri said. "They've swept Searcy already, but anytime you can come out and shake off the cobwebs - and we had some cobwebs with a couple of errors early in the game - but Drew [Simpson] pitched good again and we played good defense after the first couple of innings."

In the first game, Marion took a 1- 0 lead when Bubba Cooper reached on an infield hit and scored when Logan Parker reached on an error. Benton threatened in the bottom of the first when Colby Roberts led off with a single up the middle, but was out on a fielder's choice.

Marion's Taylor Moore doubled deep to left center, but was left stranded at third base, and then in the third, Blake Collins got a single up the middle, but was thrown out trying to steal second.

Finally, the Panthers' bats awoke in the bottom of the third for five runs. Cole Durham led off with a single to left-center, and then Drew McCurry beat out a bunt single. Roberts reached on a fielder's choice that cut down Durham, trying for third base. Jarrod Shults walked to load the bases, and then Simpson singled to right field to score McCurry.

Justin Mills walked to bring in Roberts, and then Luke Kordsmeier doubled to the gap in right-center to score Shults and courtesy runner Garrett Parker. Taylor Cash singled down the right-field line to bring in Mills for a 5-1 lead.

Durham scored in the bottom of the sixth inning when he walked and came in on a single from Shults. Meanwhile, the Panthers defense turned a 1-6-3 double play and a 4-6-3 double play. Simpson struck out his eighth and last Marion batter to end the game.

PANTHERS KEVIN NAGLE PHOTOS Benton center fielder Colby Roberts makes a diving catch on a liner to center by Marion, above, left. Above right, Panthers pitcher Drew Simpson.

In the second contest, Derek Jester struck out two of the first three Marion batters he faced; the other one walked, but was thrown out trying to steal second.

The Panthers scored in the bottom of the first when Roberts led off with a walk and moved to second when Mills was hit by pitch with two outs. Kordsmeier singled to right to bring in Roberts, and then Mills moved to third on a wild pitch.

Cash reached on an error that scored Mills and Kordsmeier to make it 3-0.

The Panthers broke the game open with a five-run third to make it 8-0. With one out, Mills managed an infield hit and Kordsmeier reached on an error. Cash walked to load the bases, and then Austin Pfeiffer walked to score Mills. Durham reached on an error that scored Kordsmeier, and then McCurry walked to score Cash. A groundball out by Roberts plated Pfeiffer, and then Shults reached on an error that scored Durham.

ON THE BASES Left, Benton's Taylor Cash throws to first base to rack up a double play against the Marion Patriots. Right, Benton's Jarrod Shults gets back to first base safely on an attempted pickoff. The Panthers won both games against the 6A-East Conference leaders.

Benton put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fourth when Mills tripled to the wall in right-center. Kordsmeier followed with a double to the gap in left to score Mills. Kordsmeier advanced on a fly to right and scored on a wild pitch to make it 10-0.

Heston Besancon came in for the fifth inning and struck out two Patriots to get the save.

"Jester was fighting the stomach flu, but he didn't want to get out of the rotation, inningwise, so I let him throw," Balisterri said. "He was only going to go three or four anyway, but the main thing that I wanted to see was him getting out there and competing. He wasn't his normal self. At Texarkana, he didn't have his best stuff, but he came back and pitched a good game."

The Panthers improved to 14- 2 overall with the doubleheader sweep and had 11 hits in the process.

The hitting attack has been a pleasant surprise to Balisterri and has become the reason for the team's success.

"Somehow we kept getting runs across the plate," Balisterri said. "In the first game, we had some big hits. We had a big inning and got an insurance run later on in the game. In the second game, we just took advantage of their mistakes."

SINGLE KEVIN NAGLE PHOTO Panther Drew McCurry puts down a bunt single toward first base in the second game against the Marion Patriots.