HORATIO - Going into last week's Class 2A South Region Baseball Tournament at Horatio, Rison Baseball Coach Josh Smeltzer said he felt his Wildcats were probably the second best team from the 8-2A conference.
It turned out that he was wrong - the 'Cats were the second best team in the region.
Smeltzer and the Wildcats continued their late-season surge by upsetting the 7-2A's no. 1 seed Dierks, 12-9, in the opening round at the regionals to earn a bid to this week's Class 2A State Tournament at Greenland.
This will be the Wildcats first state tournament appearance since 2018.
Rison followed that with a surprising 11-1 victory over second-seeded Ouachita in the regional semifinal before finally falling to top-ranked Woodlawn, 10-0, in Saturday's championship game.
The Wildcats, 15-10, are scheduled to face the Palestine-Wheatley Patriots, the no. 3 seed from the North Region, at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Greenland High School.
Palestine-Wheatley brings a 12-9 record into the state tournament after knocking off Buffalo Island Central11-4 in the North Region consolation game on Saturday. The Patriots finished third in the 6-2A conference.
The two teams do share a common opponent in that both played Woodlawn. Palestine-Wheatley fell 12-1 in their only meeting with the Bears.
Should Rison pull off the win, the 'Cats would face the winner between tournament host Greenland and Poyen at 10 a.m. Friday at Greenland. Greenland is the no. 1 seed from the West Region while Poyen is the no. 4 seed from the Central Region.
Rison struggled to get much going against Woodlawn in the South Region championship game on Saturday. The game ended in the fifth inning by the 10-run rule.
The Bears' starting pitcher, Austin Howard, turned in one of his best performances of the season in holding the Wildcats to just two hits while striking out nine over all five innings. He did not give up a wal...
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