FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.-Nashville has found its home away from home in the playoffs: The University of Arkansas' Baum Stadium.
The Scrappers look to claim their third straight title today against the same team the previous two championship have come against: Shiloh Christian.
"I told the guys, 'Shiloh reminds me of our team last year: they've got about six new faces on the field,'" Nashville coach Kyle Slayton said. "They're young, probably younger than we were last year. We've got six returners, but we've still got four sophomore starters out there. We're young, too, but we've got that nucleus of guys who've been here."
Six starters from last year's 4-0 championship win over the Saints are back for the Scrappers. Nashville and SC meet at 12:30 p.m. in the 4A state final.
Tristen Jamison will toe the rubber for the Scrappers, and Colton Patterson will be behind the plate to complete the senior battery.
Sophomore Ty Gordon starts at first base, senior Jaydon Hostetler-the relief pitcher is needed-will be at second base, and sophomores Austin Hanson and Caiden Erwin will start at shortstop and third, respectively.
The outfield will feature senior Cason Drummond in left, junior Aaron Lott-the team's leadoff man-in center, and sophomore Will Pope in right. Depending on who the Saints' starting pitcher is, either sophomore Landon Tollett or junior Ryan Brown will be the designated hitter.
"Gordon is an Arkansas State commit," Slayton said. "It's been really impressive what he's done at the plate. Caiden Erwin will be another real good player before he gets out of here. Patterson has caught every game for us over the last two years, and he didn't have a great regular season but hit about .800 in the regional tournament."
Gordon leads the team with a .524 batting average, 15 doubles, 11 home runs and 51 RBI. Jamison bats .421 with seven doubles, six homers and a team-leading 52 RBI.
Drummond owns a .341 batting average with eight doubles and 22 RBI, and Lott is two runs shy of breaking the school record for runs scored in a season with his 49. Lott bats .323 with six doubles and four triples.
Jamison is 9-3 on the year with 66 1-3 innings pitched. He has a 1.89 ERA and 83 strikeouts, and Hostetler is 7-1 with 42 1-3 innings of work. He has 44 strikeouts and a 3.30 ERA.
"This maybe the best offensive team I've had since being at Nashville; I haven't checked on those numbers, precisely, but we're hitting .335 as a team," Slayton said. "We've always relied on pitching and defense, but we've put up some really good numbers on the offense side. We have had some shootouts, especially lately."
The Scrappers beat Monticello, 19-18, in the regional semifinals, claimed the regional title with an 11-9 win over Malvern, and in the state tournament have eliminated Morrilton, 3-2, and Valley View, 10-8.
"I can kind of see those types of runs being scored when you're in the third game of a tournament, and you're down to your third and fourth pitchers," the Nashville coach said. "But there was one game last week, I had all nine guys in the lineup carrying a batting average of .300 or better; I can't remember the last time I had those type of numbers in the lineup."