Top-seeded Lindsey Dodgers gear up for zone tournament
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Ashley Patrick knows nabbing the top seed in the American Legion AAA Zone 1 Tournament is meaningless if his Lindsey & Associates Dodgers can't play together.
Lindsey, which hosts this year's tournament at Fayetteville High's Bulldog Field, receives a bye in the first round and will play the winner of Thursday's match between fourth-seeded Bentonville and fifth-seeded Fayetteville Basic Block Friday at 7: 30 p.m.
"The key with us right now is team unity," Patrick said. "As long as we can maintain our commitment to each other, the team and our goals, I think we will be fine.
"A lot of things can happen over the summer that can disrupt a team's momentum. You've got older kids looking ahead to their college season and so many distractions as the state tournament approaches. We've just got to focus on playing well together. We've got the potential to go a long way if we can maintain the level of focus."
Third-seeded Rogers faces sixth-seeded Fort Smith Coke Thursday at 4 p.m. The winner will play second-seeded Fort Smith Kerwins Friday at 4 p.m.
"We've got some depth in the zone this year," Patrick said. "Even in the four and five seeds, Basic Block and Bentonville have some kids with a lot of talent. It's not a topheavy zone. Just last week, Basic Block beat Rogers. You can't take anyone lightly in our zone, especially in a tournament like this. We've got too much at stake not to play our best against whoever we play."
Patrick said he will likely deploy Jordan Pratt to the hill in the tourney opener with Logan Ariola as the primary option in relief. Taylor Shaddy and Chase Huchingson furnish additional depth in relief.
"We will try to save as many as we can for the second game but we've got to focus on winning that first one," Patrick said. "The last three weeks our pitchers have thrown pretty well. The last two tournaments and in zone play, we've stepped up the consistency. That's what it's going to boil down to is can that continue.
"We've got to locate and make the hitters swing at what we want them to. To do that, we've got to get ahead in the count and I have a lot of confidence in our staff right now."
If the Dodgers (30-12, 8-2 ) are continue their current run and earn a state tournament bid, they will need Christian Allen to set the tone with his bat.
Patrick said Allen has mustered the most consistency at the plate this season. Patrick called Allen a relentless hitter with clutch capabilities in any predicament.
"It doesn't matter if runners are on, what the count is or anything, he does what we need him to do," Patrick said. "He puts the ball in play, moves runners over, knocks in guys with a key base hit. He does it all. His strikeout to plate appearance ratio is phenomenal."
The scalding bat of Cameron Walker has supplied the power in the weeks heading into the tournament. Over a three-game stretch, Walker smashed three homers, including two grand slams and two walk-off jacks. Walker has 6 homers on the year.
"Ever since the Memphis tournament, Cameron has been on fire," Patrick said. "He's been a big late addition for us. He sat out a year to play football and now he's finally worked himself back into it. He's in a rhythm now and he's seeing the ball real well. He's been a very pleasant surprise."
Garret Meyer and Aaron Bowen have also furnished power and RBIs during the stretch run.
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