Bees Sting North Arkansas, 13-3, in District Tourney

HIGHLIGHTS

MESQUITE, Texas – Dallas College Eastfield's No. 2 nationally-ranked baseball team cruised to a 13-3 win in six innings over North Arkansas College in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South Central District Tournament Friday.

The win sends the Harvester Bees (45-11) on to Saturday's 1 p.m. semifinals against No. 6 Dallas College Richland (38-18). The winner earns a spot in Sunday's championship round. North Arkansas (34-17) will play Dallas College Brookhaven (26-27) in Saturday's 10 a.m. elimination game.

Bees starter Jacob Prokarym (8-2) went five innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits and two walks, while fanning five in the win. Austin Noel finished it off in the sixth, allowing a hit and a walk, while recording one strikeout in his one inning of shutout relief.

Eastfield picked up a run in each of the first two innings, and then increased its lead to 5-0 in the fourth on Josh Vaughn's sacrifice fly, Garret Hendricks' RBI single to right and Payton Poole's RBI double to left.

The Pioneers, which received votes in the final NJCAA Division III rankings, scored all three of their runs in the fifth on Garrett Fitts RBI single to the right side, Will Beckham's bunt single and an error. That cut the Bees' lead to two. But Eastfield exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 12-3 lead. Hendricks had a two-run single, and Poole ripped a three-run triple left. Aubrey Whitehead's double to left scored Poole to make it a nine-run game.

River Curs drew a bases-loaded walk with one out in the sixth to end the game.

Fitts and Beckham both went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base for the Pioneers. Keaton Ford was 2-for-4 with a double.

Hendricks was 3-for-5 with three RBI and a stolen base. Poole went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Billy Spratt was 4-for-4. Michael Caputo was 2-for-2 with an RBI and two walks.

Eastfield will meet Richland in a repeat of last year's semifinal round matchup.