By TODD TRAUB
Leader sports editor
A complete game by starter Will Harris and some late offensive punch lifted the North Little Rock Colts past Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet in an elimination game at the Senior Legion Zone 3 District Tournament in North Little Rock on Saturday.
Harris pitched nine innings and North Little Rock hit two home runs on its way to 10-3 victory that knocked Jacksonville out of the tournament at Vince De Salvo Stadium in Burns Park.
“You better have some workhorses; you better have some guys with some guts,” North Little Rock coach Drew Rogers said of the nine-inning victory won in 95-degree heat and humidity.
Harris scattered 10 hits, walked one and struck out six, holding Gwatney scoreless after the fifth inning. Rogers said he was only hoping for five or six innings from Harris, but felt Harris was getting stronger as the game went on.
“He’s a horse, he’s been doing it all year,” Rogers said.
The Colts scored six runs in their final four at-bats and Cody Ward and Derek Houser homered in North Little Rock’s three-run fifth.
“That’s just what we’ve been working for this whole tournament,” Rogers said. “If these guys come out thinking about our approach at the plate they’ll be successful.”
Arm-weary Jacksonville used four pitchers, with starter Jared Toney taking the loss as he gave up four runs, three earned, in 3 1/3 innings.
“We got as far down as we could go, really,” Jacksonville coach Bob Hickingbotham said of his pitching staff. “We just didn’t get it done, that’s as simple as it is.”
Jesse Harbin doubled and scored on A.J. Allen’s single in the Jacksonville first. North Little Rock tied it in the bottom of the inning when John Edwards walked andscored on Ward’s single to right.
Jacksonville left fielder Xavier Brown hit a two-out single in the second, reached third on D’Vone McClure’s double to left and scored to make it 2-1 when Edwards mishandled the throw in to shortstop for an error.
North Little Rock had the bases loaded in the third, but Alex Gosser lined to first baseman Caleb Mitchell, who doubled off base runner Tyson Tacket to end the inning.
Nick Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to lead off the Jacksonville fourth and McClure was safe on a bunt up the line when he avoided first baseman Zach Ketchum’s tag.
Brown then popped up a bunt attempt and was between Houser, the catcher, and Ketchum as they tried to make the catch, with the ball coming down to hit Brown in foul ground.
Rogers argued without success for an interference call, but, after a long at-bat, Brown struck out and Houser threw out Rodriguez as he strayed too far off second. McClure then grounded out to end the threat.
“You get out of that with one or less runs, that’s really, really good,” Rogers said.
The missed scoring chance proved critical for Jacksonville.
Toney walked the bases full and Harbin came in from shortstop to relieve him with one out in the North Little Rock fourth.
Ketchum greeted Harbin with a two-run double to left and Edwards added an RBI groundout to make it 4-2.
Harbin singled and scored on Brooks Howard’s fielding error at third in the Jacksonville fifth, but North Little Rock came back with another three-run inning.
Ward, the designated hitter, hit his leadoff home run over the right-field wall and Houser hit a two-run shot to left that made it 7-3.
Houser hit a two-run double in the North Little Rock seventh and Cormier added an RBI single, and Ward singled and scored on a passed ball in the eighth to make it 10-3.
“We hit the ball decent in the last two or three innings,” Hickingbotham said. “We just couldn’t get two together.”
