By John R. Schirmer
News-Leader staff
FAYETTEVILLE – With the score tied at 0-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Scrapper senior Jaydon Hostetler hit the first home run of his high school career; and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Hostetler’s homer turned out to be the winning margin as the Scrappers defeated Shiloh Christian 1-0 May 17 and earned their third consecutive Class 4A championship at the University of Arkansas’s Baum-Walker Stadium.
Nashville pitcher Tristen Jamison didn’t allow a run and held the Saints to three hits while striking out eight Shiloh batters. For that, he was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
The victory marked the third time for the Scrappers to win state at the expense of Shiloh Christian. They won 4-1 in 2017 and 4-0 in 2018.
The Scrappers recorded five hits in the title game, with one each from Colton Patterson, Jamison, Landon Tollett, Casen Drummond and Hostetler.
Jamison went the distance pitching. He faced 28 batters and threw 20 first-pitch strikes.
For the game, he threw 70 strikes out of 109 pitches.
Both teams left runners stranded. Nashville had five players left on base, with seven for Shiloh.
The victory gave Nashville a 29-6 record for the season. Coach Kyle Slayton picked up his 499th career win.
He’s won four state titles, including the three at Nashville and one at Fouke.
