By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Beebe coach Mark Crafton has all the tools necessary to help the Badgers repeat as 5A state baseball champs, including most of the personnel from the 2010 title-winning team and a deep pitching staff.
The Badgers beat Harrison 17-5 in the first round Friday.
It’s staff includes senior Griffin Glaude, last year’s state tournament MVP. The Badgers (23-4) also have momentum from their run through the 5A-East Conference.
Beebe went 13-1 on its way to claiming the school’s first conference championship in baseball.
But for Crafton, there’s one intangible that remains to be seen.
“Along with our play, we have to have a little bit of luck on our side,” Crafton said. “With a lot of the guys from our team last year back from playing in the state championship last year, hopefully that will carry over for us.
“We think our chances are good, but a lot will have to fall into place for us.”
The luck factor will come into play well before the championship is decided.
Beebe was stuck in the tough lower half of the 5A state tournament bracket held at Rogers High School. Provided the Badgers got by first-round opponent Harrison, the No. 4 seed out of the 5A West, on Friday, they will face the winner of Friday’s game between Southwest No. 2 seed Arkadelphia and Southeast No. 3 seed Sylvan Hills.
The second-round game is scheduled for noon.
“The second round will be a tough opponent if we are lucky enough to get through the first game,” Crafton said. “Arkadelphia has a stud pitcher/hitter, and Sylvan Hills has got tradition.”
The Badgers were unbeaten in conference until their East finale against Greene County Tech. With the No. 1 seed already clinched, Beebe experienced a letdown in the first game of the doubleheader and lost, but recovered to run rule the Eagles in the second game.
Beebe finished second to Monticello in the 5A-Southeast standings last year before getting revenge against the Billies in the championship.
But the top-heavy Southeast Conference has fewer challenging opponents compared to the East, which also features Batesville, Greene County Tech and Nettleton.
“I think the East from top to bottom is a tougher conference,” Crafton said. “There are a lot of good, quality teams, whereas in the Southeast, there were four strong teams at the top and four weak teams at the bottom.
“On average, the top seven teams are pretty good in the East. We had some blowout conference games last year. This year, there were a lot of two-, three-run games. It was usually a lot closer.”
Glaude leads the pitching staff, which has a mix of experience and young talent. Directly behind Glaude is senior left-hander Bryson Scott. Sophomore Brandon Staine is the youngest of the Badger pitchers, followed by senior Dillon Lindsey and junior lefty Jacob Jones.
Glaude also leads the Badgers with a .467 batting average but Crafton said the hitting overall has been sporadic. The leadoff through No. 5 spots are solid, and he said there is the occasional hit from the bottom of the order.
