Despite the antics coming from the visitor dugout on Monday afternoon at Jack Williams Field, the Goblins of Harrison were never rattled. In fact, the home team in their white uniforms found five reasons to quiet the opposing theorists.
Opposite conference opponent Prairie Grove, the Goblins scored in three different innings while holding off a late push from the Tigers to post a 5-3 victory and get back in the win column after an 11-game winning streak was ended on Friday.
Harrison senior Cole Keylon pitched a complete game on the mound to earn the win by only allowing five hits and striking out four batters.
The first set of visits to the batter’s box for the Goblins resulted in four-straight hits. Beck Jones was the first to reach base after hitting a grounder and beating the six-three throw. Noah Moix then laid down a successful bunt to get on base and advance Trey Richardson who was pinch running for Jones. Keylon then laid down a grounder that resulted in a force out at second to end Moix’s presence on the baseline but put runners on the corners.
With one out, Dylan Block hit a shot to leftfield that sent Keylon to second and allowed Richardson to cruise over home plate. The next hit came at the bat of Logan Plumlee when he kept the left fielder busy by sending a hard hit ball out of the infield and easily scored Keylon to give Harrison a 2-0 lead after one inning.
Defense abounded in the second inning as both teams went scoreless.
Prairie Grove left two batters stranded in the third and the Goblins went back to work on offense.
Keylon smashed a pitch into the right-field corner that gave him plenty of time to run all the way to third base for a leadoff triple. Block then earned his second RBI of the day by continuing to send one-hop drives to left field. Breckin Duck’s second trip to the plate resulted in a grounder to the third baseman. A tough throw to first sailed high and Duck picked up a RBI as Block went from first to home during the play.
Cy Madden and Sloan Barrett each earned hits in the inning but the remaining runners were left stranded as the third came to a close with Harrison leading, 4-0.
Innings four and five went quickly and Prairie Grove got a good start to the sixth inning.
The first three Tigers reached base on hits with one scoring a double to the left-field wall and another on a sacrifice fly. A fly ball and then Keylon’s third strikeout ended the top of the inning with Harrison ahead, 4-2.
Jarrett Wilson got his first hit of the game in the bottom of the sixth with a bunt and then beat the five-three throw to first. Jones was then walked and Richardson took his place at first to pinch run.
Moix kept the bunts going with his second of the game. Prairie Grove awaited the bunt to roll foul but Moix’s hit stayed in the grass to load the bases.
Keylon added the final run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right field that sent Wilson home to make it a 5-2 game.
The game ended with Keylon striking out the first batter in the top of the seventh and then Block fielding back-to-back hits at shortstop and throwing for six-three outs.
Keylon scored two runs for the Goblin offense while Richardson, Block and Wilson added one each.
Block led the RBI department with two runs batted in. Keylon, Duck and Plumlee recorded one each.
Keylon threw 95 pitches during the complete-game win while only walking one batter.
The Goblins return to action on Tax Day when they visit Farmington. The Thursday game is scheduled for first pitch at 4:30 p.m.
Harrison and Farmington are currently tied atop the 4A-1 standings with 5-0 conference records.
