CONWAY, Ark.-The game's at noon, but the stars will shine when the two dominant teams in Arkansas Senior American Legion Baseball clash today at Hendrix College.
Combined, the Texarkana Red River Credit Union Razorbacks and Bryant Black Sox hold all six of the past six American Legion AAA state championships. The two, both 3-0 in this year's title tourney that began last Friday, meet in a winner's bracket showdown to decide which will hold the clearest path to this year's title.
After a couple of good-but-not-great seasons, Razorback coach Dane Peavy said he likes his team's chances this year.
"I feel like we're back on track," he said. "We're going into Saturday's game hitting on all cylinders."
Bryant, the defending two-time state champion, is 25-7-1, Texarkana is 31-2. The two split a doubleheader on July 9.
Both teams are loaded with high school stars and college players and both have dominated in the tournament. The Black Sox have outscored opponents 46-6, including a 27-0 wipeout of host Conway in the tourney opener. The Razorbacks won their three games by a combined 35-5.
"Defensively, as a team we're playing much better, which is why you're seeing the lopsided scores," Peavy said.
Star power will abound on the mound, with both teams sending highly decorated, all-state, state-champion-winning, college-bound aces to the hill.
Bryant will likely start Zach "Panda" Jackson, an Arkansas signee who spun a complete-game shutout in the Class 7A state championship game. The 6-foot-2 Jackson was 9-1 for Bryant High this year with a 0.40 ERA. He walked 16 and struck out 89 in 70 innings, earning him a ton of accolades, including selection as a First Team Louisville Slugger High School All-American.
"We've got to be mentally prepared to meet him and face the challenge," Peavy said. "I think we will meet that challenge."
The Razorbacks will counter with Tanner Vaught, the Texarkana Gazette's player of the year who pitched Horatio to the 3A championship with a shutout win over Booneville. A Southern Arkansas signee, Vaught graduated with a 16-game unbeaten streak. He had a 0.90 ERA, allowed 40 hits, walked 21 and struck out 90 in 69 1-3 innings He was the State Finals MVP and Wendy's Player of the Year.
Jackson has pitched little this summer. His only start came Sunday in a 7-4 win over Fort Smith. He picked up the win, throwing 86 pitches in eight innings.
Vaught has won six straight for the Razorbacks, compiling a 0.90 ERA in 31 innings, striking out 31 and walking six. He is hitting .364, with 3 doubles and 4 RBI in 24 plate appearances.
Behind the plate will be Vaught's Horatio battery mate, Cole Boyd. Logan Vidrine will start at third, Riley Orr at short, Nick Myers from Nashville plays second and Will Smith will be at first. In left will be Parker Ribble, center Blake Hall and Beau Burson will handle right.
Matt Goodheart, who is hitting .518, with 12 doubles, 5 triples a homerun and 42 RBI, will get the call at designated hitter. Myers, Orr, Boyd and Hall are all hitting better than .400.
Most of the Black Sox played on the Bryant High School state championship team that is sending three players to the University of Arkansas. However, the best of those, Evan Lee, a three-sport star, chose not to play this summer. Lee was ranked No. 1 in the Prep Baseball Report Arkansas top 100 in both 2015 and 2016. Last year, he went 6-0 and hit .460 for the Black Sox.
A fourth Arkansas signee from Bryant, pitcher/outfielder Bryant Kelly, is a class of 2017 commit.
Most of the Razorbacks were starting pitchers for winning high school teams, including Ashdown standout Austin Cross, the Razorbacks' ERA leader at 0.37. Burson is second with a 0.55.
Still, Peavy said, on this day the Razorbacks will not leave their fates in the stars.
"We believe you've got to have good team chemistry to have a good team," he said. "Most of our guys have been playing together at some level for five to seven years. They know their strengths and weaknesses and they complement each other well. When you have that kind of camaraderie, it helps out a lot.
"Credit for winning kind of goes to everybody on the team. The guys do a great job of what they do, whether it's a starter or a role player, a starter on the mound or a reliever," Peavy said. "Everybody does his part."