CLASS 7A STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : 7A state title up for grabs when Fayetteville, Har-Ber meet again
Posted on Friday, May 16, 2008
Familiar foes will vie for the Class 7 A State Championship today at Baum Stadium.
Today will mark the fourth time this season that Fayetteville and Springdale Har-Ber have been pitted against each other. The Bulldogs (29-3 ) won a nonconference meeting earlier this year and the first game of a conference doubleheader. Har-Ber's 6-4 win in the nightcap ended Fayetteville's school-record 24-game win streak.
Last year the two clubs met in the state semifinals, with Fayetteville winning 3-0. Today's game carries more consequence than the previous meetings. Fayetteville is playing for a third straight state title and the program's first 30-win season. Har-Ber (23-9 ) is attempting to become a state champion only three years into the existence of its baseball program.
A pair of left-handed aces are tasked with pitching their respective teams to the title. Taylor Shaddy (8-0 ) will take the ball for Fayetteville, and Zach Hall (10-1 ) will toe the slab for Har-Ber.
"We respect Fayetteville, but we know we can play with them," said Mike Reagan, Har-Ber coach. "We'll have to play extremely well to beat them. It will take a full-team effort.
"We'll need to get some timely hitting, because we know Shaddy isn't going to let a lot of men get on base. We'll need a strong pitching per- formance, and we'll have to play defense."
Hall's numbers are impressive. The 10-game winner averages almost 10 strikeouts per outing and carries a minuscule 1. 48 ERA., but Reagan said numbers can't quantify Hall's most conspicuous attribute.
"The biggest thing he brings is that he's a true competitor," Reagan said. "He'll keep you in games as long as he physically can."
Competitiveness is also part of Shaddy's makeup, said Vance Arnold, Fayetteville coach. If Shaddy doesn't have full command of his pitches, Arnold is confident that his ace can still be effective. That trust allows Shaddy to work his way out of precarious situations, as Arnold entrusts Shaddy to extricate himself from difficult spots.
"Every time he goes out and pitches, Shaddy may not have his best stuff, but we know he's going to compete," Arnold said. "Late-inning type jam, it's like, hey, that's Shaddy's problem. Leave him out there."
Relying on sophomores and juniors, Har-Ber went 14-15 its first year. It improved to 23-9 last season, reaching the final four of the state playoffs. Reagan attributed the program's rapid ascension to diligent players guided by a competent coaching staff.
"We have some very talented, hard-working kids," Reagan said. "Our kids work hard and play baseball all year long. We've got some good left-handed pitchers. We've got some kids that can run and some good defensive kids.
"You combine that with our coaches, and that's why we've been successful."
Fayetteville has tradition on its side. It's won four state championships and played in four of the last six statetitle games. The Bulldogs have borne the pressure to win a third-straight state championship all season long. Lesser teams might have wilted under the stress, but Fayetteville doesn't view its past achievements as an albatross.
Slugging second baseman Weston Harbaugh said the Bulldogs' attention is fixed on the present.
"We really try not to focus on what happened the last two years," Harbaugh said. "We try to focus on what we're trying to do this year."
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