Like clockwork : Woodruff not saying if 16th trip his last
Posted on Friday, May 9, 2008
ROGERS - Rogers baseball coach Tom Woodruff asked Billy Bock one time how - in addition to having talent like Torii Hunter - did the Pine Bluff coach win so many state titles.
Bock, who died in 2003, won nine Arkansas state baseball championships during his career which includes a state record five championships in a row. Six of the nine were at Pine Bluff.
"Without hesitation, he said, ' Well, Tom, the secret is you have to keep going back to the tournament, '"Woodruff recalled. "Before he died, I never did ask him, ' But how many times ?'"
Rogers has been "there "like clockwork under Woodruff in his 18 seasons here. How many more trips the Mounties make with him at the helm is not certain; he's not saying right now. "I don't know about that," he said with a laugh. "This year, for sure, we're going to give it all we've got. People have asked me how many more years. … Right now, we're trying to do the best that we can this tournament."
Rogers (14-9 ) makes its seventh straight playoff appearance and 17 th in 19 seasons at the Class 7 A State Baseball Tournament at 2 p.m. today. It plays Pine Bluff at Burns Park Field 2 in North Little Rock. Under Woodruff, the Mounties are 331-177 (53. 4 percent ) since 1991. Rogers has an 11-16 record in the state tournament since 1990. They have reached the semifinal round twice, the last in 1999. The two times they didn't qualify for state were in 1992 and 2001. The Mounties tied Fort Smith Southside for third place in the 7 A-West at 9-5. They have won five of their past six games. They opened their season with a come-frombehind 7-5 win against the Zebras on a bone-shivering (36 degrees ) day at Northwest Park.
Pine Bluff (12-13 ) was 2-0 coming in and had just popped Springdale 18-1 earlier that afternoon when icicles tumbled from the backstop on each wild pitch. Andy Couture tied the game at 5 in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly. Seth White and Grant Wise followed with RBI singles.
The Z's tied Cabot for fifth place in the 7 A-Central at 6-8. Pine Bluff has played four conference games since April 30. All four have been decided by three or fewer runs. It lost Monday 4-3 at Bryant and beat Conway 6-5 Tuesday.
Woodruff said Pine Bluff leadoff batter Sebastian Stargell, a junior, is hitting above. 500. He had a two-RBI single at Rogers in April.
Today's winner advances to meet 7 A-Central No. 1 Little Rock Catholic (18-8 ) at noon Saturday.
"We pair up well," Woodruff said. "I'll be surprised if it's not a close game. We're used to coming from behind, winning in the last innings. Their season mirrors ours."
Today's forecast is mostly cloudy skies with a high near 81.
Rogers did not practice Monday or Thursday. Coaches took the team to Arvest Ballpark in Springdale for a private tour and the Naturals game Monday. The Mounties left Thursday for the tournament.
Woodruff said McKenzie Mathews would be on the mound against Pine Buff. He said he would be quick to change to Harrison Stanfill if things go south.
Mathews has also been the Mounties' hottest hitter, batting. 450 recently. He went 3 for 6 at Bentonville with an RBI in Game 1. White went 3 for 4 in the Mounties' last game with a triple and two singles and two runs batted in.
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