PRAIRIE GROVE -- Siloam Springs' baseball team came out swinging in its season opener Monday, running away with a 13-2 victory at Prairie Grove.
The Panthers (1-0) pounded out 10 hits and were led by sophomore Taylor Pool, who went 3 for 4 with two RBIs. Pool laced a line drive to left field on the third pitch of the game to set the tone for Siloam Springs. It seemed to give the rest of his teammates confidence they could hit Tigers starter Chase Wade, who was knocked out of the game by the third inning.
Siloam Springs 13, Prairie Grove 2
Siloam Springs^017^000^5^—^13^10^0
Prairie Grove^002^000^0^2^7^9
Meek, Rowe (3), Broyles (5) and Pool. Wade, Caswell (3), Higgins (3), Heltemes (7) and Allen. W - Meek, 1-0. L - Wade, 0-1.
"Definitely his base hit in the first inning got us started off right," said Siloam Springs coach Alan Hardcastle. "We had some guys really hit the ball on the screws, so I'm really happy with our performance. We swung the bats, we pitched well and we took advantage of their mistakes, so I was really happy."
Those mistakes in the form of nine errors by Prairie Grove contributed to Siloam Springs' first run in the second inning. Jacob Rowe reached on a a two-out error when his pop-up was dropped by the Tigers' first baseman just inside the foul line. Rowe advanced when he beat out a fielder's choice throw to second base. He later scored after a pair of pickoff attempts to first base resulted in throwing errors by Wade.
In the third, Tanner Broyles legged out an infield single to begin a six-run inning. Rowe drove in two runs on a line drive to third base and Jackson Knight followed by driving a two-run double into the wind and off of the left-field fence. Knight finished with two hits.
"Jackson didn't play at all last year. He got a few at-bats, and that's about it," Hardcastle said. "He's a guy who played football the last couple of years and it's helped his quickness and his footwork. He's come in and did a great job."
Pool, Isaac Price and Broyles each drove in a run to round out the scoring in the third to spot the Panthers an 8-0 lead. The only issue with the big inning was Panthers starter Baron Meek, a junior right-hander, had cooled off as the sun began to set and temperatures started falling during the inning. He opened the bottom of the third with a walk and a hit batsmen before Wade and Couper Allen followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to end Meek's outing early.
"That was a long inning for him," Hardcastle said. "I think staying in the dugout so long cooled him off and then he got a little tired there, but we were going to try to keep him under 50 (pitches) anyway with it being his first outing and he threw 52, so that was a decent start for him."
Rowe, a senior right-hander, entered in relief and sandwiched a fly out and a strikeout around a walk to escape the inning without any further damage. He pitched into the fifth inning without allowing a run while scattering two hits. Broyles, a sophomore right-handed pitcher, finished off the final 2.2 innings by allowing just one hit to preserve the victory.
"All three of them, it was their first time to pitch in varsity," Hardcastle said. "So we were very, very pleased with their effort today."
The Panthers' offense provided the pitchers with plenty of cushion by putting up five more runs in the top of the seventh inning. Pool and Chance Hillburn each drove in runs while the other three scored on an error, a wild pitch and a passed ball.
"We didn't know what to expect," Hardcastle said. "With the rain, we hadn't been outside a whole lot, but the guys came out swinging and they were ready to go."
Siloam Springs was scheduled to play at Gravette on Tuesday. Results were not available at presstime. The Panthers are scheduled to return to action Thursday at home against Providence Academy.
Siloam Springs 13, Prairie Grove 2
Siloam Springs^017^000^5^--^13^10^0
Prairie Grove^002^000^0^2^7^9
Meek, Rowe (3), Broyles (5) and Pool. Wade, Caswell (3), Higgins (3), Heltemes (7) and Allen. W - Meek, 1-0. L - Wade, 0-1.
Sports on 02/28/2018