Seniors, youth have Alma baseball team trending up
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
It wasn’t as if the Alma Airedales lacked a past before Brian Fry’s tenure as the program’s second baseball coach since 2004.
The Airedales won the 2002 state championship and reached the 5A semifinals in 2006 and 2008.
But coming off a 0-27 season in 2019, followed up by the shortened COVID-19 cancellation a year later, the Airedales were definitely not trending in the right direction.
But since 2024, when Alma nearly doubled its win total from the previous two seasons, the Airedales are 40-41, including a 29-25 mark the last two seasons.
Alma’s 10 a.m. first-round playoff date with Valley View on Thursday means something, too. It marks the first time since 2015-16 that the program has posted back-to-back playoff teams.
“It’s really a testament to the kids working hard and coming to practice every day, and really, my first year it started with that first senior group in 2022 - (Logan) Hatcher and Logan (Taylor). They all just worked so hard,” Fry said. “They kind of set a culture, and the younger kids behind them bought in.”
Last season, Alma had to win its final four games to reach the state tournament, which they accomplished with 5A-West sweeps of Mountain Home and Harrison.
This season’s 13-12 overall mark (8-6 in the 5A-West) saw the team catch fire late by posting a 9-4 record over its final 13 games, including a season-ending sweep of Siloam Springs last week.
Paced by sophomore Carson Hamilton’s team-high five wins, and equally impressive team-best .403 batting average, 29 hits, and 22 RBIs, the future is bright.
Seven of the nine regulars will be back in 2027.
Juniors Brycen Lester (.394), Sammy Moore (.369), and Izaac Plourde (.358) have had breakout seasons, too.
“Our freshman year, we won seven games, and it shows that this year’s class and last year’s class had a huge impact on the program,” senior Logan English said. “We had seven or eight starters who were all seniors last year, and this shows the development of this program. We have a bunch of younger guys that are really good, and we’ll be good for another 5 to 10 years, at least.”
English posted a 3-3 record on the mound with a 3.28 earned run average, striking out 62 batters in 49 innings. English anchors the defense at shortstop and, with a late push, finished the regular season hitting .351 with nearly as many extra base hits (13) as singles (14).
English has hit safely in 12 of his last 15 games, boasting a .477 batting average and 16 RBIs.
Fellow senior Easton Daily was hampered early in the season with a bad back, which contributed to his 0-for-15 start at the plate.
But since April 7, a span of 12 games, Daily is 11-for-29 for a .379 batting average with two homers, two doubles, and 12 RBIs.
“It feels good to know we’re helping this team go in the right direction,” Daily said. “Winning games and being successful, it just feels good.”
“I’m really happy for the seniors,” Fry said. “They’ve been here, putting in the work and building the culture. When you look at what’s on the field, our underclassmen have really stepped up this year.”
Senior Aiden Keith notched his second victory in Alma’s playoff-clinching win over Siloam Springs last week.
“It feels great to be a part of this team and help this team,” Keith said. “The kids coming up, they’re looking good. I think the program is definitely heading in the right direction.”
Senior Braden Green, who posted a team-best .291 earned run average, got the last three outs in the team’s clinching win over Siloam Springs last week.
"Some of the ninth-grade group from last year, Hammy (Hamilton) and Eli Beller, have helped this year,” Green said. “The juniors have really stepped up; they’re going to make this a great team next year. It means a lot to be a part of this team.”