HAMBURG, Ark. (4/10/26) – Junior pitcher Parker O’Neal tossed a complete game and freshman Chris Barnes delivered a pinch-hit, run-scoring single in the top of the seventh inning to lift the Warren High School baseball team to a 2-1 conference win at Hamburg Friday evening.
By Dennen Cuthbertson
Saline River News Baseball Contributor
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The dramatic victory was set up in the top of the seventh when Ty Hembree was hit by a pitch with one out and then bunted into scoring position by Logan Case. Barnes was summoned off the bench for his first varsity at-bat with two outs and wasted no time as he drove the first pitch he saw into center field to score Hembree and give the Lumberjacks a 2-1 edge. O’Neal allowed a one-out single in the bottom of the frame, but a strikeout and fly out clinched the 2-1 victory.
Warren improved to 6-6 overall, but more importantly is now 3-2 in 4A-8 Conference play. Hamburg’s record is now 7-9-1 and 3-2 in conference. Each of the six teams have played each other once now with Monticello and Crossett tied atop the standings at 4-1 with Warren and Hamburg one-game behind. Star City is 1-4, while Watson Chapel is 0-5 to round out the standings.
O’Neal was able to escape danger a few times throughout the game, the first coming in the bottom of the first when the Lions loaded the bases with no outs. An out at home on a fielder’s choice, a fortuitous bounce on ball passed the catcher, and a strikeout kept the home team off the scoreboard. Hamburg loaded the bases with one out in the third frame, but a 1-2-3 double play ended the threat.
Warren finally broke through in the fourth inning when Jude Cathey and O’Neal hit back-to-back singles with two outs to bring Hembree to the plate. Hembree had a swinging bunt for an infield hit, but an errant throw trying to get him out at first base allowed Barnes, who was courtesy-running for Cathey at the time, to score the game’s first run.
The Lions had a one-out triple in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the tying run 90 feet away, but Tucker McDiarmid was able to keep the runner at third on a groundout for the second out. O’Neal was within one strike of wiggling out of the trouble again, but an RBI single tied the game at 1-1 before Barnes’s heroics in the final frame.
O’Neal allowed one run on five hits with five walks and four punchouts in the complete-game effort. Warren only recorded four hits in the contest with Barnes’s being the biggest. Cathey, O’Neal, and Hembree had the other three in the fourth inning.
The Orange and Black are scheduled to return to action Monday, April 13 with a home non-conference matchup versus Sheridan. First pitch at the Warren Sports Complex is set for 4:30 p.m.
