By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot-Centennial Bank Junior American Legion team saw its season come to an end on Saturday at Hendrix College after two games in the state tournament. Cabot got an unlucky draw, or rather an unlucky schedule change, which aided its quick exit from the playoffs.
The two losses were 10-2 to Sheridan in the first round on Friday, and then 11-3 to Texarkana in game two. Cabot’s first game was scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday but Sheridan requested the game be moved from the opener until after the first three games were played because some of its players wanted to participate in a 7-on-7-football meet with the Yellowjacket High School team.
That request was granted, and then a rain delay pushed the Cabot-Sheridan starting time back to about 10 p.m. The game ended at approximately 12:30 a.m. Saturday, and the loser was scheduled to play at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Cabot coach Cody Perrin requested his team’s next game be moved to a later time to avoid such a quick turnaround, but that was denied.
“I asked if something could be done because of the turnaround involved,” said Perrin. “I was basically told, well that’s just baseball. I said I didn’t think my parents were going to like that answer, but it’s what we had to deal with.”
Cabot won the Zone 3 tournament despite being made up entirely of 15-year olds in a 17-under league, but that disadvantage caught up to them in the state tournament. Sheridan’s junior team consisted of six players from the Class 6A high school state championship squad.
In that game, Sheridan scored three runs, one in the first and two in the second, before Cabot got on the board. Jake Moudy drew a two-out walk and scored after a base hit by leadoff hitter Graham Turner.
Moudy also scored Cabot’s other run. He led off the fifth inning with a single, reached third on two passed balls and scored on another base hit by Turner.
Turner went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and one walk to lead Cabot offensively. Tanner Wilson, Mason Griffin, Jackson Olivi and Moudy had the other hits for Cabot.
Cabot (13-14) led briefly against Texarkana after scoring three runs in the top of the second inning, but the Razorbacks posted a five spot in the bottom of the same frame and led the rest of the way.
Olivi drew a leadoff walk in the second inning to get Cabot’s rally started. Blayse Quarnstrom then hit a hard shot to shortstop that was flubbed. Blake Buffalo followed that with a two-RBI double to straightaway center field that gave the Centennial Bank team a 2-1 lead. Buffalo moved to third on a groundout by Brock Martin, and then scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by Moudy.
Texarkana’s five second-inning runs came on four singles and two walks. The Hogs added another run on two singles and a walk in the third inning, two runs on two errors and a walk in the fourth, and two more on two singles and a double in the sixth. “You could just sort of tell after that second inning we didn’t have much left,” Perrin said. “We kicked the ball around a couple times and good teams take advantage of that. But I’m proud of the season we had. Our whole team is going to be sophomores, and they’re out there competing with teams much older. And from our perspective, those are the teams you want to play because that’s what makes you better. We got a good look at some very talented teams and it gives us an idea of where we need to be for the future.”