C2D2BB: Redbirds soar past Neelyville to advance to semifinals

The East Carter Redbirds advance to the next round of the C2D2 tournament with a win over the Neelyville Tigers on Thursday at East Carter baseball field.

DAR/D’Courtland Christian

ELLSINORE — The No. 3 seed East Carter RedBirds took the first step on their long journey of returning to the district championship with a win in the opening round of the Class 2 District 2 tournament.

The Redbirds wouldn’t be denied at the plate as they collected multiple hits to ease past the No. 8 seed Neelyville Tigers 11-1 on Thursday at East Carter High School to advance to the semifinals. Senior Brenden Reynolds led the Redbirds from the plate with three hits in five at-bats, scoring two runs with one RBI.

“I’m feeling really good with how we opened up the tournament,” Reynolds said. “We came out and played with a lot of confidence, and now we just need to lock in for the game we have in front of us. We just need to play as a team, and we will be fine.”

Reynolds said the Redbirds' mindset for the next round is to lock in and stay sharp on defense. He said they can play with any team that steps onto the field when their defense is on point.

The Redbirds got the game rolling after a quick three-and-out from Neelyville and were eager to make some noise from the plate. A single by JJ Pflum put East Carter on the board in the bottom of the first and then added two more runs in the second after Cason Price singled.

With the Redbirds holding a 3-0 lead at the top of the third, the Tigers finally got on the board after Bradon Rideout stole for home. East Carter added one run in the third after the Neelyville Tigers committed an error, making the score 4-1.

East Carter scored five runs on two hits in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend their lead. Chayse Bradshaw drew a walk, scoring one run, Torryn Burkhart drew a walk, scoring one run, Chase Kearbey was struck by a pitch, driving in a run and Cordell Duckett grounded out, scoring two runs.

Hixon Layton opened the game for the Tigers. He surrendered nine hits and seven runs (five earned) over three innings, striking out one and walking four. Brenden Reynolds led things off on the mound for East Carter. He allowed four hits and one run (zero earned) over five innings, striking out four and walking one.

East Carter accumulated 12 hits in the game. Bradshaw and Price each drove in two runs, while Pflum collected two hits for the Redbirds in four at-bats.

Leadoff hitter Owen Conner led Neelyville with two hits in three at-bats. Though the Tigers managed to get multiple players on base, head coach David Crockett said the outcome in this matchup was their season in a nutshell.

Neelyville’s Hixon Layton powers up for a strong pitch in the opening round of the C2D2 tournament on Thursday against East Carter. DAR/D’Courtland Christian

“We never have an issue with getting players on base,” Crockett said. “Our only problem is failing to make a base hit when we need the most. It’s just the little things that we must fix. We are a young team, but we’re going to get better. We got to have some guys who are committed to it 100%.”

Redbirds head coach Ethan Boyer said he wasn’t sure how the team would perform after being rained out their last few games of the season, but he was happy with how hard everyone played, including his only senior on the squad.

“This was a good win, but we know we will have a tough game in the next round,” Boyer said. “Our plan is to try and carry some momentum into Monday. We just got to focus on what we can control and play as a team. Today, we followed Brenden's lead. He was focused, and I believe he was pretty pumped to play on his home field for his last district tournament. When he’s locked in, we just follow his lead and it helped us out today.”

Van Buren 24, Winona 5

Gage Vanlandingham drove in five runs on two hits to lead the Van Buren Bulldogs past Winona 24-5 on Thursday. Vanlandingham hit a grand slam to center field in the first inning, scoring four runs, and doubled in the first inning, scoring one.

The Van Buren Bulldogs won thanks in part to 16 runs in the first inning. Chase Carter doubled, scoring two runs, Noah Keeney doubled, scoring one run, Brady Smith drew a walk, scoring one run, Devin Dewolf drew a walk, scoring one run, Nathan Smith drew a walk, scoring one run, Vanlandingham hit a grand slam to center field, Smith hit a sacrifice fly, scoring one run, Hayes Townsley was struck by a pitch, driving in a run, Smith doubled, scoring three runs and Vanlandingham doubled, scoring one run.

Townsley earned the win for the Van Buren Bulldogs. The starting pitcher allowed two hits and five runs (four earned) over three innings, striking out four and walking four.

Van Buren collected nine hits in the game. Smith seized on their opportunities, leading Van Buren with seven runs batted in from the number nine spot in the lineup. The right-handed hitter went 1-for-2 on the day. Reed and Vanlandingham each collected two hits for the Bulldogs.

East Carter will take on Van Buren in the C2D2 semifinals on Monday at 3 p.m. at East Carter baseball field.