Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Records Set

Records meant nothing to the 1998 Prescott Curley Wolf baseball team.

This crew spent its 13-5 season rewriting the school's record books.

According to Coach Steve Crow, this was the third consecutive year the Wolves posted 10 or more wins on a season.

The year began with Prescott going 9-0 for the best start ever. At this point of the season, the Wolves earned a ranking of No. 3 in class AA statewide. This is also the third year in a row the team has managed a top 10 ranking, staying there for four weeks this time.

The first annual Prescott Invitational Baseball Tournament saw the trophy stay at home, with the Wolves finishing third in the regular season in District 7-AA action.

They also were third in the district 7AA tournament, the third year in a row to reach the semifinal round of this tourney, and the fifth time in the last seven years.

In the first ever class AA Region 4 Tournament, the Wolves reached the semifinals, losing to the top ranked class AA team in the state league foe De Queen. Had the Wolves made it to the finals, they would have continued their season with a trip to the state tilt.

The seniors for this year's team won more games in their three-year career than any other group before them 40.

Five members of the squad were named All District, with one being All State and one being an All Star. The team broke seven season school records as well as seven career school records.

Season highlights include a win over the Dierks Outlaws, the team finishing second in the 7A West to the state's top class A team, Horatio.

The Wolves also beat arch-rival Hope with a nine-run sixth to overcome a 9-3 score at the time.

For the first time, the Wolves posted a win over the Fountain Lake Cobras, a perennial power in the conference and whipped Nashville 14-3. The Scrappers finished second in the district tourney as well.

Fouke lost to the Wolves twice by identical scores of 6-2; with Lake Village, the No. 2 seed team in the 8AA being victimized in the first round of the first ever regional tourney.

Al Formby boasts the new school record for wins in a season for a pitcher with 10. This broke Ross Cowling's 1997 record of nine.

Al Johnston broke Jerome Fulks' record of most runs scored in a single season. Fulks scored 27 times in 1996, with Johnston circling the bases 34 times this year.

Ben Jones moved to third on the list with 26 runs scored, with Heath Ingram climbing to fourth with 25 and Jarrod Yates reaching fifth with 24.

Ingram recorded the most hits in a season with 30, breaking Montra Montgomery's record of 27, set in 1996. Yates moved to second on the list with 27, while Johnston is now fourth with 25.

In the home run department, Ben Jones is the new king. He took six pitches out of the park during the year. The old record of five has three players tied for second. This includes Johnston who hit numbers four and five against Lake Village in the regional tourney. Yates is one of those tied in third with three.

Jones is also king of the hill when it comes to walks. He was issued 17 free rides during the year. Four players are in second place with 16.

Yates now owns the RBI title, as he drove in 32 this year. Johnston set the record last year with 24. Johnston is still second, but the new mark is 27.

Yates also can boast the best batting average for a Wolf at .563. The old record was set in 1991 by Jason Patrick at .529.

Ingram is third on the list with a .508 average, while Johston is fifth with a .455 mark at the plate.

Johnston is now third on the list for most doubles in a season with six.

Yates, not surprisingly, is third on the list for on base percentage, reaching .696 percent of the time. Ingram is fifth on this list with a .653 average.

In the school record department, Jones and Johnston tied for most runs scored with 65 overall. The old record was set by Jamie Williams from 1995-97, at 43. Yates is fourth on the list with 39.

Jones and Johnston, again, are tops for most hits with 57 each. Robert Poole had the old record with 45, from 1992-94. Yates is the new No. 2, smacking 46 hits this year.

Johnston is alone atop the most doubles category as he belted 17 in the last three years. Poole also had the old record here with 14. Yates is in fourth place with nine.

This stat won't surprise anyone, but Johnston hit the most homers during his career, sending 10 over the fences. Braden Bradley was the old No. 1 with six, from 1991-93.

Jones is now in second with eight, while Yates if fifth with four.

Unsurprisingly Jones is the leader for most walks in a career with 47. This broke Bradley's record of 36. Johnston is now second as he was issued 39 free passes as a Wolf.

Johnston broke his own record of most RBIs in a career with 65. His former mark was 38, set in 1996-97. Yates is now second with 49, while Jones is third with 42.

The overall highest batting average belongs to Ingram with a .508 mark. Jason Patrick had the old record at .433 from 1991-92. Yates, with a .434 average, is second, while Johnston, .410, is fifth.

"The Wolves had another good season this year," Crow said. "This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication by the players.

"We got off to a very good start early in the season. For some unexplainable reason, our bats cooled off in the last half of the year, which ended up costing us some wins we needed."

Crow said this crew was hungry to return to the state tourney after being there the last two years running, but one bad game in the district tourney stopped this from happening.

Had the Wolves been able to whip arch-rival De Queen in the regional tourney, they would have made the trip for the third year in a row. However, the Leopards proved to be more than the Wolves could handle at the time against the top class AA team in the state.

Prescott, he said, plays in the toughest baseball division in the state, as the 7AA is in all other sports.

All four 7AA schools posted regional wins over 8AA opponents in the opening round, setting up an all 7AA finals.

"For some reason, probably money," he said, "the administrators and Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) decided to have a regional tournament this year instead of taking the district champions and district runners-up to the state tournament as they had in previous years.

"But, unlike in basketball, which is very unfair, only two teams advanced from the regional tournament to the state tournament instead of four. If you are going to send four in one sport," he continued, "you need to send four in all sports. This team deserved better."

The 11 seniors who ended their careers this year played a big part in supporting the state tourney teams of the past tw