State Championship Preview: 5A

May 20, 2015

By: Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

Saturday May, 23^rd at 12:00 pm, White Hall HS will attempt to defend their 2014 5A State Championship, when they take on the Goblins from Harrison HS. Here is a breakdown of each team.

Pitching

Harrison HS: 2015 LHP Drew Fitzgerald has this group all season with, his results and energy all season. Fitzgerald is a 6-foot-3 250-pound left-hander with advance pitchabilty. He commands his fastball on both sides of the plate at 79-82 mph. He has shown the ability to locate all pitches in any counts. The Goblin bullpen has plenty of options with quality arms that understand how to pitch.

White Hall HS: 2015 RHP Daniel Sprinkle has been the anchor for Bulldogs for the past two years. Sprinkle is a 6-foot-4 230-pound right-hander that pounds the strike zone with a boring fastball 89-92 mph. He compliments his fastball with a curveball 67-69 mph with gradual break. If Sprinkle gets into trouble look for 2015 RHP Antione Luster to come in, in relief. Luster’s fastball is 84-87 mph with a 12/6 curveball as his secondary pitch.

Hitting

Harrison HS: Harrison HS has shown a dynamic offense scoring 25 runs in the three games of the state tournament. They have scored in a variety of ways, executing the bunt game, executing the hit and run and just flat out hitting balls in both gaps. This group stays consistent to the approach one through nine, grinding out at bats.

White Hall HS: 2015 OF Kirk Baugh anchors the middle of the lineup. Baugh is an athletic outfielder that has raw power to the pull side, he helped power them to finals hitting a decisive home run against Sylvan Hills HS in the semifinals. 2015 CIF/RHP Antione Luster and 2016 OF Caleb Carr join Baugh at the top pf the lineup.

Defense

Harrison HS: 2016 MIF Cooper King anchors this defense at short-stop. King is a solid athlete that plays through the ball and has a quick release with an accurate arm with carry. Coach Crow’s teams play with discipline and execute defensively consistently, the 2015 group is no different.

White Hall HS: White Hall has played the way through the state tournament playing solid defense. They entered the tournament as a four seed, losing conference games early in the season due to an inconsistent play defensively. Over the last month they have settled in and defended well, they will need to continue that form if they want to win on Saturday.

State Championship Preview: 5A

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