By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville continued its impressive run through its non-conference schedule Monday with an easy 16-6 victory over Little Rock Parkview at Dupree Park.
The Red Devils ended the matter in six innings, but the Patriots put up a fight before giving way in the bottom of the sixth.
Jacksonville led 11-0 going into the fifth inning and needed only to finish the inning with one run allowed to end the game in five. Parkview, though, finally began putting the ball in play and Jacksonville, which had substituted in several positions, committed four errors in the top of the frame.
Errors at shortstop, third base and first base on consecutive at bats led to two Patriot runs. Two batters later with two outs, Parkview’s Ben Anderson got the first hit of the inning, a single to left field. Due to another error in left, the ball rolled to the fence, leaving Anderson on third and scoring two more Patriot runs to make it 11-4 and extending the game.
Jacksonville answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Adam Ussery led off the inning with a double to left field. Two batters later, Cameron Hood hit a two-RBI home run over the fence in left-center to give Jacksonville a nine-run lead.
Parkview got three hits in the sixth inning and added two more runs, but the Red Devils ended it with three in the bottom of the sixth.
Zach Thomas and Tirrell Brown hit back-to-back infield singles and advanced a base on a passed ball. Clayton Fenton then hit a deep fly ball to left field that scored Thomas, and Chris Noble singled to center to score Brown. Noble stole second base and moved to third on a passed ball during Ussery’s at bat. Ussery walked and Noble scored on a wild pitch with Blake Mattison at the plate to end the game.
Mattison started the game with a double to left field in the bottom of the first. He moved to third when Jason Regnas reached on an error at second base, and scored on a balk. Two more infield errors brought Regnas home and gave Jacksonville a 2-0 lead.
The mistakes kept piling up for the Patriots in the second inning. Tommy Sanders reached on an error at short to start the inning. Ussery walked with one out and both runners scored on another double by Mattison. Mattison then scored via another error at shortstop.
Leading 5-0, Jacksonville posted six runs in the third on the strength of three hits, two walks and two more Parkview errors.
Thomas led off with a walk and Brown reached on an error at second base. Sanders hit a sacrifice grounder that scored Thomas and another groundout moved Brown to third. Brown scored on another Balk before Ussery doubled to right field. Mattison then singled to drive in Ussery and advanced to third on an error in right. Regnas walked and Hood reached on an error in centerfield that also allowed Mattison and Regnas to score to score. Caleb Mitchell then singled to right field to drive in Hood and make it 11-0. Jacksonville got its 16 runs on nine hits, four walks and eight Parkview errors.
Jacksonville gave up six hits and four errors, all four in the fifth inning. Mattison went 3 for 4 with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored. Ussery got two hits, both doubles, walked twice and scored three runs. The win lifted Jacksonville’s record to 8-14 overall. The will finish the second Friday at home against Forrest City.
