Triple crown : SHADDY’S MVP PERFORMANCE SPURS BULLDOGS TO 7A TITLE THREE-PEAT
Posted on Saturday, May 17, 2008
The jubilant Bulldogs piled up behind the pitcher's mound after center fielder Franco Broyles squeezed the last out Friday afternoon at Baum Stadium.
Broyles' put-out culminated Fayetteville's 7-2 win over Springdale Har-Ber in the 7 A state championship game and touched off the celebration of the Bulldogs' threepeat and first 30-win season.
Fayetteville's fifth state title (1960, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 ) puts it in exclusive company, joining Pine Bluff as the only school to win three-straight state championships in the state's largest classification. The Zebras won four in succession from 1983 to 1986.
"Three is so important to the kids, because it puts their stamp on it," said Vance Arnold, Fayetteville coach. "Three shows that they deserve it. It caps that season - 30-3 with three state championships is just awesome."
State tournament MVP Taylor Shaddy pitched 5 1 / 3 innings to earn the decision and end his senior season with a 9-0 record. Shaddy allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks, striking out four.
He was appreciative of the award but said others were more worthy, namely Scott McFall, who pitched seven innings of relief during the Bulldogs' 6-4 win over North Little Rock last Monday in the semifinals.
"It feels great, but I really think there are more deserving people," Shaddy said of his MVP honor. "I think Scott really deserved it. He pitched a great game against North Little Rock, saved the game. He's been relieving all year and done a great job."
Shaddy outdueled fellow left hander Zack Hall (10-2 ). Shaddy was most effective against the top half of the Wildcats' order, which featured five left-handed hitters that were a combined 2 for 13.
"We had a plan against every one of them," Shaddy said. "For the most part, I executed the plan. Some of them had trouble with inside fastballs. Some of them had trouble with the curveball, so I just kept them off balance."
Shaddy's mastery of Har-Ber's left-handed hitters put the onus on the bottom half of the order to score runs. The Wildcats' last four hitters, all right handers, were a combined 4 for 12 with 2 RBIs.
"Those left-handers have done an outstanding job all year at the top of the lineup," said Mike Reagan, Har-Ber coach. "Taylor does an outstanding job of getting left-handers out. He knows how to pitch to them and he hit his spots very well. Our left-handed guys didn't get it done today, but they've been the catalyst this year as far as getting us to the state finals."
A first-pitch fastball to Har-Ber's No. 6 hitter, center fielder Aaron Bowen, was one the few mistakes Shaddy made. Bowen pounced on the pitch, parking it over the 400-foot sign in center field for a solo home run in the top of the second. Had Hall's courtesy runner not been picked off first base, Bowen's blast would have staked the Wildcats to a 2-1 lead instead of tying the game.
"That was probably the furthest ball that anyone has ever hit off of me," Shaddy said of Bowen's home run. "I left a fastball over the middle, and that's what happens when I do that."
A second mistake on the basepaths snuffed out a potential Har-Ber rally in the fifth. Gordon Miller drove Shaddy's 2-1 offering to the gap in right-center field, but Broyles' over-theshoulder catch robbed him of extra bases.
Underestimating Broyles' range, the Har-Ber runner on first had rounded second before the ball settled in Broyles' mitt. A quick relay throw from second baseman Weston Harbaugh doubled off the runner at first to conclude the unconventional 8-4-3 twin-killing.
Shaddy said he's accustomed to Broyles making big catches. His diving snag last Saturday at Little Rock's Burns Park preserved Fayetteville's 3-2 win over Van Buren in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
"Franco is the best center fielder I've ever played with," Shaddy said. "He's tracked down balls this year to save games, save innings. He does that all the time, so I was halfway expecting it."
A frustrating day of batting practice earlier in the week primed the Fayetteville hitters for Hall, as Arnold enlisted one of his former players to simulate Hall's pitches. Andrew Pitts, a left-handed pitcher for Fayetteville in the late'90 s and a volunteer assistant on the freshman and sophomore team, mystified the Bulldogs during the batting-practice session.
"He made them look silly," Arnold said. "He throws bee-bees. He's got a wicked curveball. I put him in front of the mound, so he's about 50 feet away throwing about 85 [mph ] and the kids couldn't believe it."
Fayetteville's leadoff hitter reached base in four of its six at-bats. The Bulldogs left eight men on base but were 5 of 13 with runners in scoring position. Christian Allen's 2-run single through a drawn-in infield broke open the game in the Bulldog sixth.
"We didn't even pick the ball up until it got to the outfield," Arnold said. "He smoked it so hard. It just jumped off his bat."
The hard-hit ball scored Alex Miller and Kellen Summers to give Fayetteville a 6-2 lead and prompted Hall's exit. He gave way to Houston Pruitt after failing to record an out in the sixth inning.
Allen (2 for 4 ) was one of three Fayetteville hitters to author multi-hit games. Miller was 2 for 3 with an RBI, and Shaddy was 2 for 3 with a triple. Broyles' RBI single plated Adam Baker for Fayetteville's first run. McFall and Harbaugh added sacrifice RBI flies.
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