South Arkansas College’s busy start to the season continues with five games over the next four days.
SouthArk hits the road today for a doubleheader at Bossier Parish (La.) Community College with the action set to start at 1 p.m.
The Stars (4-0) and Cavaliers (0-0) will then wrap up their series on Friday afternoon in SouthArk’s home opener with a 2 p.m. start.
After taking Saturday off, the Stars hit the road Sunday to face Arkansas State-Three Rivers, a future Region 2 foe, in a doubleheader with a 1 p.m. start.
In their first four games, SouthArk, which is ranked No. 11 in the first Division II poll, has come out swinging in a literal fashion, scoring 46 runs in four games.
The Stars swept a doubleheader against North Arkansas College on Sunday by scores of 9-2 and 14-6 before taking a pair of games from Southeast Arkansas College on Tuesday by scores of 12-6 and 11-4.
“The final scores don’t really indicate how close the games were,” SouthArk coach Cannon Lester said. “Most of them were pretty close, and we blew them open late. I think it’s always good to play some close games early, and we didn’t panic. I think in the first game, we were down 2-0 early for a couple of innings and finally blew it open.
“Last night, it was like 4-4 through the seventh or eighth, then we blew it open late. It’s been closer than the final scores have indicated, but we did a good job of staying in the game and attacking hitters. We got some offense going early and got some offense going late. If we could find it in the middle, I would be happy, but starting fast and finishing strong is always a good recipe for success too.”
In Tuesday’s sweep, the Stars banged out 22 hits with eight going for extra bases.
In the opener, Gabe Kuttenkuler drove in five runs and Gavin Murphy homered with three pitchers collaborating on a six-hitter.
SouthArk scored six runs in the first to take an early lead before tacking on three runs in the sixth and seventh innings to hold off the Sharks.
Alex Showalter and Murphy each drove in two runs in the win, while Kyle Tolley and Tanner Powell each had one RBI.
Will Turner won his first start for the Stars, allowing five hits and three runs with two being earned in four innings of work. He walked one and struck out three.
Austin Hillebrandt worked 1 2/3 innings in relief, allowing three runs with three walks and three strikeouts. He gave up one hit.
Colin Reed got his first save with 1 1/3 scoreless frames. He allowed no hits, issued no walks and didn’t register any strikeouts.
In the nightcap, the Stars broke a 4-4 tie with a run in the eighth before breaking the game open with six runs in the ninth to finish the sweep.
Dawson Szymanski followed Kuttenkuler’s lead in the opener by driving in five runs for the Stars while belting a grand slam in the ninth for his second home run of the season.
Kuttenkuler continued to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with two walks and an RBI in Game 2. Overall, the freshman went 5-for-7 with six RBIs in the two games.
SouthArk had 13 hits in Game 2 with Jacob Ambriz going 2-for-3 while scoring two runs.
Tolley, Powell, Murphy, Justin Szymanski, Chase Irby and Yadi Canales each had one hit with Powell and Murphy hitting doubles and Irby had a triple.
Powell drove in two runs with Irby, Murphy and Szymanski adding one RBI apiece. Tolley also stole four bases in the two games.
Kelvin Battles picked up the win in relief, racking up four strikeouts in two scoreless frames. He allowed one hit and issued one walk. Luke Eaton picked up his first save with two scoreless innings of work. He walked one and struck out one while giving up one hit.
Connor Pierce, the Game 2 starter, went 1 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and one hit with one walk and four strikeouts.
Grey Fisher went 3 1/3 innings in relief, allowing two runs and two hits. He walked three and struck out two.
The early games have given Lester an opportunity to showcase the pitching depth the Stars have.
“I’ve been really excited about our pitchers,” Lester said. “We’ve thrown 13 pitchers so far in four games, and I thought all of them have had some good stuff. Honestly, besides one or two, they’ve all thrown the ball really well.
“KJ (Kelvin Battles) came in in a tough spot in a tie game, and he can get erratic sometimes, but he dominated. He threw really well. Colin Reed, our new transfer from SAU, has obviously thrown the ball really well. Luke Eaton didn’t get to throw the ball all fall, so you forget about him. Luke came in with first and second and nobody out, gets a big double play and then closes it out in the ninth. The bigger the moment, the more he’s been good.
“Connor Pierce didn’t have a great outing, but that was his first start in college. I thought Will Turner threw the ball really good, and Ryan Ursery dominated in his start. (John) Demcher was really tough in his, and we got some good relief in that first game. Jack Moody was unhittable in his stint.
“We saw a lot of different guys. To throw 13 and feel pretty good about them, that’s exciting. We’ve never had that. Collin McKenzie hasn’t thrown yet, and he’ll probably throw against Bossier. Bryce Lopez, a big reliever for us, will probably be back in three or four weeks. I think the depth is what we were hoping it was going to be. That’s probably been the most exciting thing on the mound.”
SouthArk has had to contend with injuries early on, but Irby has filled in by getting off to a sizzling start, going 8-for-13 with four RBIs and eight runs scored along with three straight multi-hit games before going 1-for-3 in Game 2 against Southeast Arkansas College.
“It’s been huge,” Lester said. “Chase has been the biggest one. He hadn’t been cleared in three months, but he got cleared from his wrist injury the day before we played. He hasn’t played great in the field, but he’s a really good defender, and that’s why we plugged him in there instead of someone else. He’s just barreled balls. He’s hitting .615 and it’s even better than that. He’s smoking balls, even when he’s making outs, he’s smoking them. He’s been great. It’s one of those things with him that he should be hitting in our three, four or five hole, but I don’t want to mess with it because it’s too good right now.”
Brett Foss didn’t make the trip to Benton for the North Arkansas College games due to being sick, which prompted Lester to start John Demcher in the season opener.
“We really didn’t want to start Demcher in Game 1 because I think that’s a lot of pressure,” Lester said. “He came out and walked the first two and we made an error behind them and they scored a run, but all of a sudden, he settles down and we got three good innings.”
The Stars showed their depth behind the plate by playing three catchers in Game 2 against Southeast Arkansas College.
“We had a lot of guys step up. We started Justin Szymanski yesterday at first base. Yadi Canales got his first start. We played three catchers yesterday,” Lester said. “It’s so nice having that depth that we have right now. You can do a lot of different things.”
Lester said freshman infielder Kenner Lauterbach may try to play in the games against Bossier Parish.
“I think Kenner might give it a go,” Lester said. “If he doesn’t play this weekend, he’ll probably get to play the next weekend. We think he solidifies our defense in the middle. We’re going to slide him in the middle of the lineup. He’s not a power threat, but he puts the ball in play. He’s going to find a lot of RBIs, a lot of barrels, score a lot of runs. We like our offense and defense with him in it.”
Lester said the rotation for the games against the Cavaliers likely will have Foss pitching today’s opener with Demcher to follow in Game 2 and Ursery to pitch Friday’s home opener.
“We played them in the fall and we ended up tying them. It was a really good game,” Lester said of the Cavaliers. “I think both teams are going to hit a little bit. They’ve got some good, young arms. We’re excited to play them. They see some good competition. I think they’ll definitely be the best team we’ve played so far. We’ll get to see where we’re at.”
Lester said Turner would likely start Game 1 against ASU-Three Rivers on Sunday with Pierce a potential choice for Game 2.
“We played them in the fall, so we got to see what they’re like,” Lester said. “A tough team with old-school coaching. They’re going to play the game right. Hopefully our depth on the mound can take us over the top.
“Hopefully we get some good innings on Thursday so we don’t have to roll through a bunch of arms. I probably over-scheduled a little bit early, a little overzealous. That can take its toll on anybody, especially early, but we’ve done a pretty good job of weathering the storm.”