Championship Weekend: 4A Preview

May 17, 2017

By: Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

The 4A State Championship Game will be Friday, May 19^th, game time is 3:00 PM. The game will be between Nashville HS and Shiloh Christian HS, as they earned that right winning last week at the 4A State Tournament hosted by Lonoke High School.

See Previews for the: 7A and 3A

Nashville

Road to Baum: Nashville is the hottest team in the state winning 15 straight game, are 22-1 since a spring break trip to Texas. They have rolled through the 7-4A District tournament and the 4A South Regional, to earn a No.1 seed in the State Tournament and a first-round bye. In the quarterfinals, they hooked up with Lonoke High School the No. 3 seed out of the East. They defeated Lonoke 4-2 behind a solid pitching performance by 2018 RHP Tyler Hanson. This win advanced the Scrappers to the semi-finals where they met regional opponent Monticello. They defeated Monticello 4-3 on the rare play of stealing home, to give them the run they needed, as their solid pitching and dominant defense took care of everything after they took the 4-3 lead.

On the Mound: I fully expect Nashville to start 2018 RHP Tyler Hanson. Hanson is 9-1 with 61 innings pitched with a 1.61 ERA and 65 strike outs. In post-season he has taken his game to another level with a 4-0 record and .36 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched. If Hanson gets into any trouble look for 2017 RHP Zach Jamison to come in in relief, Jamison has been almost as dominant in post-season play with a .96 ERA in 22 innings pitched.

Offensively: The guys in the middle of their defense are playing both offensively and defensively. 2017 MIF/RHP Zach Jamison is hitting .409 on the season with 50 runs scored and showing a knack for getting on base drawing 42 walks on the season. 2018 MIF Chris Willard is hitting .358 with 34 RBIs. He is a versatile athlete that has played solid at short stop and anchored the middle of their line up from the three hole.

X Factor: 2017 CIF Austin Bowman and 2017 C Dalton Smead; Two veteran players who have grown up in the program and turn themselves into solid players. Bowman has a solid year hitting .390 with 14 doubles and 29 RBIs. Smead has bat speed and shown the ability to change games with one swing of the bat, if the game stays a pitcher dual one of these two players are candidates for a big hit to cause some damage off, with their ability to hit extra base hits.

Shiloh Christian

Road to Baum: The road to Baum has not been kind to Shiloh as they have been challenged every step of the way. They lost the district tournament finals to a talented Pea Ridge team, they lost a heart breaker to hot Booneville team in the regional finals, before reaching the state tournament. The experience of winning the 2016 State Championship has payed dividends as this group never wavered and continued to compete through every bump in the road. In the first round, they received a dominant pitching performance by 2018 RHP Landon Brown who punched out 14 in a complete game 3-0 win over Arkadelphia. They moved on to the next round to take on the No.1 seed from the East Regional Central Arkansas Christian and defeated them, 7-4 with a strong offensive performance early to cruise to a victory. In the semi-finals, they took on Malvern who finished as the No.2 seed out of the South Regional and was one of the hotter teams around finishing the season strong in the district and regional tournament. 2018 RHP Landon Brown took the ball again and delivered a gem again picking up a 3-2 to punch the Saints ticket to Baum Stadium in back to back seasons.

On the mound: Most would expect 2018 RHP Landon Brown to get the ball in the final, he has been their work horse with 4 appearances combined in the regional and state tournament. Brown is a physical player with a fastball which works 84-87 mph with a solid breaking ball, he has shown the ability to locate both and when he does he has been tough to hit. If he falters 2018 RHP Connor Clark has been their consistent option out of the No.2 spot in the rotation and id very capable.

Offensively: A deep team with versatile athletes throughout their lineup. 2018 OF Jake Nelson sets the table at the top of the order, he is a good athlete which understands how to manipulate the barrel making consistent loud contact. They are anchored in the middle of the line up by 2018 CIF Luke Johnson. Johnson is a physical left-handed hitter with raw power. He has the ability to change the game in one swing of the bat.

X Factor: Experience is key, The Saints have been here before and had success, as they defeated Ashdown. They won’t get rattled and will be in it til the very end. Also, they are a local team and should have the majority of the crowd. Although the Scrapper nation travels well. This is likely to be one of the better games of the week-end.

Championship Weekend: 4A Preview

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