Goblins pick up three wins and a trophy at the Ozarks Classic Baseball Tournament!

The Harrison Goblins took home the 2022 Ozarks Classic Championship Trophy on Saturday after winning three straight games at the Equity Bank Sports Complex.

The Goblins first opponent were the Mustangs from McDonald County, Missouri. It only took three and a half innings for the Goblins to defat them by a final score of 12-2. Tournament rules dictated that a team would be declared the winner if they were ahead by 10 or more runs after 4 innings.

Some highlights of the game included Dylan Block’s two run homerun in the first inning which scored Sloan Barrett who had been walked to lead it off. That hit was followed by a double that missed going out of the park by about one foot, bouncing off the wall in right center. Other hits included a triple for Timber Crenwelge, a two RBI double by Beck Jones in the second inning, a double for Kaden Quandt, plus singles for Block and Logan Plumlee. In addition to going 2 for 2 at the plate Block pitched 4 innings giving up two runs, six hits, and three strikeouts.

In game two the Goblins faced the Woodlawn Bears of Rison, Arkansas. The scoring was slow through the first four innings. The Goblins struck first with an RBI double by Cylan Madden in the first inning to score Block who had reached on an error. In the third inning Barrett went yard with a solo shot into right center field making it 2-0. The Bears picked up a two-run homerun by Jaxon Case in fourth before the Goblins had a five hit, five run fifth inning. The bears would once again have a two-run homer in the 6^th by Owen Stover but this was matched by Jones in the bottom half to make it 9-4. In their half of the seventh the Goblins added three hits and four runs to finish off the bears 13-4 and advance to the championship. Another highlight was Madden’s pitching. Through five and a third he gave up only three hits, five walks, four runs and eight strikeouts.

For the final game the Goblins faced off against the Pea Ridge Blackhawks who had defeated Russellville and Springdale to advance to the finals. A full seven inning game that amassed 29 total runs and five pitchers for each team. Block hammered a three-run bomb in the second inning, plus a double in the seventh. Other than that, the Goblins got the job done with singles, walks, hit batters, and fielder’s choice plays. Hits in the final game came for Barrett, Block, Jones, Madden, Plumlee, Crenwelge, Quandt, and Jarrett Wilson. The Goblins threw all five of their remaining arms which included Tristan Thompson, Brody Gilliam, plus Wislon, Crenwelge, and Plumlee. A strategy that Head Coach Matt Rodden said was a strong possibility during his pregame comments. After several lead changes the Goblins were down by one going into the seventh inning. Playing as the visitors they amassed an additional four runs thanks to two hits, a fielder’s choice, and an error to make it 16-13 going into the bottom of the inning. With Plumlee on the mound the Goblins got the win thanks to a groundball to third and two strikeouts.

The Goblins are playing during their spring break this week with a game in Springdale on Thursday, a home game against Branson on Friday, which will be played at North Arkansas College, and a road game against Russellville on Saturday. Live coverage coming up on The Original KHOZ, 94.9 FM & AM 900!

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