With time running out on the 2025 regular season, the Greenwood Bulldogs baseball team is presently in second place in the 5A West conference race with an 8-4 record, tied with the Harrison Goblins. The Russellville Cyclones are two games ahead at 10-2 and have clinched the league title, with Farmington and Van Buren battling for fourth and fifth place.
Only the top four teams in the league standings will move on to postseason play. Greenwood has two conference games left to play, both against Farmington next Monday and Tuesday. Over the past two weeks the Diamond Dogs have gone 3-1 against league opponents Siloam Springs and Harrison. They also recently notched a non-conference win over Rogers-Heritage. The 5A state tournament at Benton will be held on May 15-17.
Siloam Springs (2)
On Monday, April 21st, the Bulldogs hosted the Panthers in 5A West conference play and secured a 15-1 five-inning victory, the first of back-to-back wins over Siloam Springs. The following day the Panthers hosted the Bulldogs, who also won that game, 9-0. Altogether, Greenwood outscored Siloam Springs 24-1 in the two contests, more importantly, boosting their standing in the league race.
In game one, a seven-run first inning was followed by five runs in the second frame and three more in the third. The Panthers scored their lone run in the top of the fourth inning before the game was called after 4½ frames. The GHS starting pitcher was Mason Moore, who went four innings, allowing just two hits and zero runs. The Bulldogs made two errors which led to an unearned run. Scott Holland pitched a scoreless fifth frame for Greenwood.
With the sticks, the Bulldogs pounded out 11 hits and benefitted from four walks and a Panthers’ error that led to 12 earned runs and three unearned. Zack Zitzmann led the way with three hits and two RBIs. Jayden Campbell had two knocks with three runs driven in. Ty Holt, Jaxon Cole, Cooper Webb, Wyatt Frye, and Cayden Mendenhall all had solo hits while Holt, Cole, Aaron Taylor, Frye, and Mendenhall (2) had RBIs.
In game two, another quick start led to a 9-0 shutout in seven innings, a win for GHS starter Aaron Taylor, who went the distance on 92 pitches, 65 of them strikes. He also fanned 10 enemy hitters. The Bulldogs scored three times in the first inning, once in the third, twice more in the fourth, and three additional runs in the sixth inning. They did so on eight hits while taking advantage of six Siloam Springs walks and four Panthers’ errors. Two GHS runs were unearned.
Ty Holt and Cooper Webb were the only Bulldogs with multiple hits. Holt had a double and homerun with three RBIs. Webb had two singles in four at-bats with an RBI. Jayden Campbell, Zack Zitzmann, Jaxon Cole, and Wyatt Frye had solo hits. Cole’s knock was a double that led to two RBIs. Aaron Taylor and Cooper Webb also drove home single runs.
Harrison (2)
After Greenwood’s scheduled trip to Bryant on April 24th was cancelled due to inclement weather, the Bulldogs next took the field this past Monday at Harrison, dropping the conference contest by a score of 10-5. But the next day, back in Greenwood, the Diamond Dogs rolled to a 4-0 shutout victory to maintain their share of second place in the league race.
In Monday’s loss, the Bulldogs sent starter Mason Moore (4 innings) to the hill, backed up by reliever Jake Gigerich, who pitched the final two frames. Moore was touched up for nine hits and nine runs, all earned. After Greenwood took a 1-0 first inning lead, the home team plated five runs in the second, another in the third, three more in the fifth, and one run in the sixth. The Bulldogs added two more runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.
GHS bats generated six total hits, led by Ty Holt with two knocks and an RBI. Zack Zitzmann, Jaxon Cole, Aaron Taylor, and Scott Holland all had solo hits. Zitzmann (2) and Cole also had RBIs. Goblins’ starting pitcher Geren Crockett issued five walks and the Harrison defense made two errors behind him, leading to an unearned GHS run.
But on Tuesday the Diamond Dogs rallied in game two for the shutout victory, 4-0, behind lefty starter Aaron Taylor, who went the distance on 101 pitches, 69 of them for strikes with eight Ks. Taylor kept the Harrison bats in check throughout the game, limiting the Goblins to just two hits while issuing four walks, pitching around a Greenwood error. The Bulldogs scored a run in the bottom of the first inning before adding three more runs in the sixth.
The GHS offense was very efficient, scoring four runs on as many hits against two opposition pitchers, who issued four walks and gave up three earned runs and one unearned. Zack Zitzmann, Jaxon Cole, Cooper Webb, and Wyatt Frye had the four GHS hits, all singles. Cole and Cooper Webb (2) had Greenwood’s three RBIs.
After the game, GHS Head Coach Brandon Brewer offered these comments about the victory. “That proved that we have what it takes,” he said. “We can be resilient. We’re playing in the right mindset right now, and we’re just grinding. Down the stretch is when [we] want to play [our] best ball. I could tell by how we were feeling pre-game that they were going to come out and play a great game.”
Rogers-Heritage
Two days later, this past Thursday in Northwest Arkansas, the Greenwood bats exploded for nine hits and 16 runs in a 16-4 non-conference victory over Class 6A Rogers-Heritage. The War Eagles fell behind 10-0 before scoring once in the fourth and three times in the bottom of the seventh. Greenwood scored twice in the top of the first and seven times in the third. They added a solo tally in the fourth and their last six runs in the top of the seventh.
The Bulldogs sent Cooper Webb to the mound for five frames of solid work, allowing just one run on five hits, despite issuing six free passes. Reliever Lawson Leath covered the final two frames and gave up two earned runs on three hits and a walk. The GHS defense made three errors in the game, but only one unearned run was allowed.
With the bats the Bulldogs got multi-hit performances from two players – Scott Holland and Ty Holt – the #2 and #3 hitters in their lineup. Holt had two hits, including a double and three RBIs to lead the team offensively, while teammates Jaxon Cole, Zack Zitzmann, and Lawson Leath also had doubles. Jayden Campbell and Cooper Webb both added singles and solo RBIs. Holland’s game resume included two hits, three runs scored, and an RBI. Leath had two RBIs while Cooper Webb and Wyatt Frye also drove home a run each.