No Dogs Allowed at Baum Stadium!

published Thursday, May 6, 2004

In order to comply with the Health Code of the University of Arkansas, the Pioneers found themselves in the position of Dog Catcher today in the Semi-Final Round at Mills University Studies in Little Rock. And the Pioneers did their new job well, sending the White Hall Bulldogs home to hide after a 11 - 0 run ruled defeat. In so doing they also extended their winning streak to 15 and will now journey to Baum Stadium for the third consecutive year to do battle for the 4A State Championship. Their opponent, the Sylvan Hills Bears will be returning to Baum to defend their title after defeating the Pioneers last year to claim the 2003 Championship. The Lady Pioneers will join us at Fayetteville for the 1st time since 2001 when they gained the 4A Softball title.

The Bulldogs never had a chance, facing veteran pitcher Jeremy Burba in his second outing of the tournament, they struggled to hit him at all, gathering only 5 hits in the entire game and never crossing the plate to score. Jeremy matched those hits with 5 strikeouts and 5 walks.
The Bulldog pitchers fared even worse, with control issues from the beginning of the game. Their "Ace" lasted 1 1/3 innings and was retired after 3 consecutive walks. Loaded bases were too crowded for Grant Gatlin so he cleared them off for the new pitcher with a nice long Home Run. The Pioneers totaled 7 runs in the second inning and never looked back. I know that all the Pioneers are prepared for their game Saturday. All aspects of their game are better than ever. They have waited and worked for a year for a chance to return to Baum and redeem their defeat of last year. So watch out Bears, we've got a score to settle!