By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
It was a tough way to lose a game, let alone end a season.
It was an even tougher way to close out a career.
Fort Smith Southside rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on Friday night to beat Cabot, 6-5, in the opening round of the 7A state tournament at Burns Park.
A pair of errors in the inning, sandwiched around an RBI double, sealed the Panthers’ fate after they had rallied for three runs in the sixth to overcome a 4-2 deficit.
“It was a roller coaster year,” said Cabot head coach Jay Fitch, whose Panthers finished the season 14-12. “The sun came up, but it was a tough way to lose.”
The Rebels had knotted the game at 5-5 on Matt Henry’s one-out double in the seventh. With two outs, Weston Burgess sent a sharp grounder to Sam Bates. The senior shortstop fielded it cleanly, but his throw one-hopped past first baseman Matt Turner. Henry never broke stride and scored easily from second as Cabot’s strange season came to an end.
“I told somebody I couldn’t remember a throwing error Sam had made all year,” Fitch said of his senior leader. “Doggone, Sam has been so good for us and I’d love to have nine of him on the field. If any other ground ball was going to be hit, I’d want it to be hit to him. He’s been rock steady all year.”
Sophomore Tyler Erickson turned in another in a series of solid performances, going the distance in the tough-luck loss.
The Panthers had taken the lead after a bizarre sequence in the sixth inning. Trailing 4-2, Drew Burks got the third of his four singles in the contest, and Bates walked. Ben Wainright’s sharp grounder to short took a bad hop for a base hit that drove in Burks. A bad throw from the center fielder moved the runners up to second and third with no outs.
Rebel pitcher John Koch struck out the next two batters. He then fanned Turner to apparently retire the side with Southside still clinging to a one-run lead. But the third strike hit the plate and bounded over the catcher’s head. Though it took Turner several seconds to realize what had happened and begin a furious race to first, Rebel catcher Matt Henry had trouble locating the ball back by the screen.
Not only was Turner safe on the play, allowing Bates to score the go-ahead run, the runner from second came all the way around to score and give Cabot the lead.
“That was a shaky way we got the lead in that inning,” Fitch said. “But I’ve told the kids that so many times in high school baseball it’s a deal not of who earns the most, but who gives the most away. They gave us something there, but we gave them a little bit more.”
Cabot wasted a couple of good opportunities to break the game open. The Panthers got off to an outstanding start against Koch, the Rebel ace. Matt Evans, Powell Bryant and Burks led off with singles to quickly put Cabot up 1-0. But Koch got the next three batters — one on a diving catch by shortstop Cameron Young on Wainright’s bid for a bloop single into shallow left.
Though the Rebels took the lead with two runs in the second, Cabot tied it on a Burks single and Bates’ RBI double in the third. Southside scored single runs in the third and fourth to take a 4-2 lead. After Bates’ double in the third, Koch retired seven straight — including four straight by strikeout. Koch finished with 12 strikeouts — four in one inning.
“We knew [Koch] was their ace and that they didn’t have much pitching after him,” Fitch said. “We wanted to jump on him early. But we didn’t do that and he settled in.”
Cabot’s other big chance came in the seventh when it placed two on with one out on singles by Evans and Burks. But Koch got the next two batters on strikes as Cabot stranded its eighth and ninth runners.
The Panthers finished with nine hits — four by Burks and two by Evans. Erickson went the distance, allowing 10 hits and three earned runs. He struck out one, walked two and hit a batter.
The Panthers’ season started strong, hit a midseason lull then finished on a high note. Cabot won its final four regular season games to earn a No. 6 seed.
“It was a tough, tough road, but the experience will be good for them next year,” Fitch said. “Young teams will break your heart. They show flashes of brilliance, then they don’t make a routine play. But I thought they matured well and came along. Seniors like Sam gave us good leadership.
“The season could have fallen apart if we hadn’t had integrity and if we hadn’t kept working hard. I’m proud of them.”
