All-Stars coach says depth is the difference
Posted on Thursday, July 3, 2008
BENTONVILLE - When Northwest Arkansas All-Stars manager Scott Burnett and his coaching staff of David DeBoard and J. R. Cooper looked at their team's finished roster, one word came to mind.
Depth.
The NWA 17-18 All-Stars' roster features 17 of the best players from the Northwest Arkansas Senior Babe Ruth League, including five from Benton County.
The All-Stars will play this weekend in the North Arkansas 16-18 Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament in Green Forest.
The winner of the double-elimination tournament advances to the Southwest Regional Tournament, hosted by Union County in El Dorado.
The NWA All-Stars are the defending state champions and advanced to last year's regional tournament in Denham Springs, La., where they went 2-2 despite having only 12 of their original 16 players.
Burnett and his staff feel like they've solved the depth issue with this team, which begins play Saturday at 2 p.m. against the winner of Friday's game between Jonesboro and Boone County. The tournament lasts through Monday or Tuesday, if necessary.
"From what we've seen here, we definitely think we're much stronger and have more depth all the way around," Burnett said. "We're looking forward to getting them on the field this weekend."
Two players on last year's team return in Springdale Tyson players Brad Rogers and Joseph Boone, who both played at Greenland High School.
The team features two All-State players from the high school season including Randon Webb, who was All-State for Pea Ridge High School and played SBR for Rogers Backyard Burger.
Also on the team from Benton County are Gravette players Dillon Pruitt and Hayden McAfee and Gentry's Matt Pierce.
The other All-State player is Lincoln shortstop Seth Pitts, who played the Senior Babe Ruth season for Backyard Burger.
Backyard Burger, which won the West Division regular season championship, has five players on the roster. League Tournament champion Springdale Tyson, which was managed by Burnett, also has five players.
Burnett said his main pitching rotation will consist of Rogers, Trevor Mitchell (Greenland ), Cody Smith (Lincoln ) and Jacob Crayne (Har-Ber ).
"Comparing last year to this year, we've got more depth," Burnett said. "We've got five or six legitimate No. 1 starters."
Michael Upton (Springdale High ) also has been impressive in practice but will see most of his playing time as an infielder.
"Springdale High didn't win a ballgame during the high school season but (Upton ) was just as good as anybody in the city of Springdale," Burnett said. "It still befuddles everybody that watches him play why he hasn't gotten a scholarship to college baseball somewhere. He's superb on the infield."
NOTES: DeBoard managed Rogers Zero Mountain this past SBR season. Cooper, a volunteer assistant at Pea Ridge, is a former Arkansas State standout and is in the ASU Hall of Fame. He played minor league baseball for several years in the Royals organization. … Gravette standout pitcher Ethan McKinzie will not play on the team due to other commitments. McKinzie originally had committed to play. … Backyard Burger players Daniel Middleton (Siloam Springs ) and Dustin Woodward (Pea Ridge High School ) and Springdale Tyson player Cory Ford declined to play on the All-Star team. … The NWA All-Stars won all three of their games at last year's state tournament, beating Jonesboro 3-2 and Huntsville 7-6 and 10-2. The All-Stars beat South Arkansas state champion Lonoke 7-1 at the Southwest Regional in Denham Springs, La., but finished 2-2 and in fourth place at the tournament.
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