Late-season sweeps, help from others led Alma to the playoffs
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Alma baseball coach Brian Fry isn’t unlike other coaches who wear many hats during a regular school day.
Morning bus duty, math teacher, scheduling final exams, and father-figure.
But this week, Fry wore other hats, too.
The Airedales’ baseball coach saw his team go from sixth place to third place in the 5A-West standings in a span of a few hours.
To reach the playoffs, Alma (16-12) had to beat Harrison twice. And, while boasting 16 or more wins for the first time in 17 years was a nice tribute to the senior class, the Airedales still needed help to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Alma needed Farmington to lose its final two games, with Russellville banking the Cardinals, 10-0, and then Greenwood shutting out Farmington, 2-0.
Tuesday night, Mountain Home snapped an 11-game conference losing streak by holding off Van Buren, 4-1. By 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Alma was officially back in postseason as the No. 3 seed.
Harrison, which finished 18-9 overall, lost five of its final six conference games to miss the playoffs.
“I have never in my career had a week like I just had,” Fry said. “Two weeks, because we knew we had to sweep Mountain Home to have a fighting chance. But, having to win our last four games, (needing) Mountain Home to beat Van Buren, and Russellville and Greenwood to beat Farmington (or, if Farmington won, they could only win by one run).
“That chance of a four-way tie scenario was even crazier, but luckily didn’t come to that.”
Fry and assistant coach Josh Driscoll chose to block out the noise from the team’s bus as it descended Interstate 49.
Twenty-three years ago, when the Airedales put together their first and only state championship run, there were no smartphones, and YouTube was still in its infancy. Tuesday and Wednesday, however, players were glued to Mountain Home, Russellville, and Greenwood’s livestream feeds.
“I thought I was going to have a heart attack,” Fry said. “(But) I knew something was happening good when I heard them (players) cheering.”
Alma’s playoff run is reminiscent of its 2016 postseason blitz, where Alma won five of six games to finish fourth in the blended 7A/6A-Central conference race that included longtime baseball players Bryant and Conway, and some of the regular 5A-West foes like Greenwood, Van Buren, and Russellville.
“Getting back to postseason play does so many things,” Fry said. “(It) gets excitement back in the program, team growth/unity, and community involvement. It’s so rewarding to see the players reach that common goal of postseason play. It’s going to be a fun week of practice.”
Alma’s seven seniors—Camden Curd, Brayden Driscoll, Cash Wilson, Eli Risley, Sheppard Osborn, Michael Taylor, and Piercen Howell—have been instrumental in the team’s rise from the ashes. Just two years ago, the Airedales finished 7-21.
“These seniors have led the right way,” Fry said. “They didn’t ask other players to do things they wouldn’t have done. They were the first ones to pick up a rake, tarp the mound, and set up for practice, and that gave them the right to get onto other players who were lacking. It got to a point where everyone understood and respected each other. They worked their tails off to help change culture and, in turn, brought back high expectations.”
Howell grinded out 4 ⅔ innings during Alma’s 12-3 win over Harrison. A day later, Wilson was magnificent, tossing a one-hitter in the Airedales’ 4-0 win over the Goblins.