Chance Junkermann would have liked to have finished Thursday's game against Alma, but he had no concerns over someone else getting the job done.
Junkermann, a senior left-handed pitcher for Siloam Springs, carried a shutout into the seventh inning and Eli Hawbaker got the final out with the bases loaded full of Airedales as Siloam Springs beat Alma 3-1 in a 5A/6A District 1 baseball game at James Butts Baseball Complex.
Junkermann (2-1) pitched 6 2/3 innings and scattered seven hits and three walks. But he also threw 103 pitches and ran out of gas in the final inning.
"I threw a lot of pitches," he said. "I had a lot of 3-0, 3-1 counts that should never happen, bottom of the lineup guys that you want to go at early. I threw too many pitches, but it's great to throw those pitches and know that guys are behind you who can come in and close the game. ... I had complete confidence."
Alma had runners on first and third and two outs in the seventh when Alma's Dakota Whitfield beat out a slow grounder to third base to put the Airedales on the board.
Junkermann then walked Parker Edwards to load the bases, and Siloam Springs head coach Alan Hardcastle brought in Hawbaker from left field to inherit the bases loaded situation.
Hawbaker then threw a strike to Lane Caldwell on the first pitch, and on the second Caldwell hit a groundball to shortstop Chandler Cook, who easily tossed to second baseman L.T. Ellis for the force out to end the game.
Hawbaker recorded his first save of the season. The senior also helped out the Panthers defensively earlier in the inning when he ran down a fly ball to deep left-center field that could have gone for extra bases.
"Eli made a great catch in left field," Hardcastle said. "That probably saves the game. I mean who knows, that ball drops, they score a run and the momentum shifts in their favor."
The Panthers had everything going in their favor early in the game.
Junkermann successfully picked off Edwards in a scoreless first inning to open the game. In the bottom half of the first, Cook led off with a base hit and Hawbaker followed with a successful hit-and-run to set up runners on first and third.
Dawson Armstrong doubled off the left-center field fence to drive in Cook for a 1-0 lead, and Josh Hunt followed with a two-run single to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead.
But that was all the Panthers would get offensively. Edwards (1-2), Alma's right-handed started, didn't allow another hit until the fifth inning.
The Panthers (4-3, 2-1) had another wasted scoring chance in the sixth when Armstrong doubled and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Junkermann singled on the next play, which would have likely scored Armstrong from second base.
Hardcastle shouldered the blame on Armstrong's double.
"Of course I got Dawson thrown out at third. That was my fault," he said. "If we hold the runner at second we go up 4-0. Of course he gets the base hit and scores him and we get that insurance run. I'm a guy that's real aggressive so we're going to try and take advantage of it."
The Panthers shined defensively behind Junkermann, even though they did commit three errors.
The Panthers benefited from a runner's interference call in the fifth inning to turn a double play, and Cook and Ellis turned another double play in the sixth.
"You've got to tip your cap to them," said Alma coach Kevin Edwards. "They made plays right when they had to and got the job done."
Hardcastle praised the effort of Junkermann.
"He works hard," Hardcastle said. "He lays everything up on his shoulders when things don't go well. He's a competitor. ... (Alma) hit a few balls hard, but we made some good plays behind him."
Siloam Springs 3, Alma 1
Alma^000^000^1^--^1^6^1
Siloam Springs^300^000^X^--^3^7^3
Edwards and Henson; Junkermann, Hawbaker (7) and Pool. W - Junkermann, 2-1. L - Edwards, 1-1. Sv - Hawbaker (1). HR -- None.
Siloam Springs 12, Clarksville 1
CLARKSVILLE -- Siloam Springs scored in all five innings in a mercy-rule road 5A/6A District 1 win over Clarksville on Tuesday.
Siloam Springs scored five runs in the first inning, one each in the second and third, two in the fourth and three in the fifth.
Chandler Cook had three hits and scored three runs, while Baron Meek had two hits, a run scored and an RBI.
Josh Hunt and A.J. Serrano each had a base hit and three RBIs, while Dawson Armstrong had a hit and scored three runs. Hawbaker and Nolan Wallis each scored two runs for Siloam Springs.
Hunt (1-1) got the win, pitching all five innings allowing three hits, three walks and striking out three.
Up next
The Panthers were scheduled to play a pair of games Saturday in Mountain Home against the Bombers and Parkview (Mo.). Results were not available at presstime.
Siloam Springs traveled to the Memphis area on Saturday night to play in the Best of the West Tournament beginning Monday. The Panthers are scheduled to play two games on Monday against Tennessee schools Barlett and Collierville in Collierville. They'll play Fayette Academy at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn., on Tuesday and then play their final game against Haywood, Tenn., in Covington, Tenn., on Wednesday. Siloam Springs went 2-2 in the tournament last season.
Sports on 03/19/2017