Arkansas baseball commits team up, take down Northside

Fayetteville starter Jaison DeLamar celebrates Monday, March 27, 2023, after picking off a Fort Smith Northside baserunner during the third inning of the Bulldogs’ 1-0 walk-off win at Bulldog Field in Fayetteville. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for the photo gallery.

FAYETTEVILLE — Landon Schaefer couldn’t let Jaison DeLamar do all the work needed for Fayetteville to get a victory over Fort Smith Northside on Monday.

Schaefer turned his teammate’s no-hit pitching performance into a winning one as he smashed a shot into the left-center field gap and drove in David Abide from second base with the game’s only run as the Bulldogs claimed a 1-0 win against the Grizzlies to begin their 6A-West Conference series at Bulldog Field.

“(Northside pitcher) McLane Moody is one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen in my entire left, especially in this conference,” Schaefer said after his heroics. “I mean, he’s got every pitch he can throw. He got me those first three at-bats, but I couldn’t let him get the fourth.

“That was a really exciting moment for me and my team. It was a grinder of a game. I’m just glad we came out on top.”

DeLamar, Schaefer and Moody are committed to play baseball at Arkansas.

Fayetteville (7-3, 3-2) had failed to get a hit through the first six innings against Moody, and the Northside right-hander opened the seventh with an out in foul territory. Abide, however, walked on four straight pitches, and Luke Smith finally picked up the Bulldogs’ first hit with a solid single to center.

As Schaefer came to the plate, the Grizzlies (9-6, 3-2) held a meeting on the mound and elected to stay with Moody, who had already thrown 109 pitches. Schaefer then had an 0-2 count before he delivered his game-winning hit as DeLamar stood in the on-deck circle.

“I knew they were going to leave McLane in just because of the way he was throwing,” Schaefer said. “He was throwing a lot of strikes — a lot of fastballs, all pitches for strikes. I knew they trusted him to end the game.

“The first pitch, he threw me a curveball and I was really anxious. It was in the dirt, so I swung and missed. He threw me a fastball and I just missed it down the right-field line. His catcher went up to the mound and told him he wanted a fastball, so I knew it was coming. I knew I couldn’t miss it.”

DeLamar, meanwhile, needed only 84 pitches to complete a no-hitter and improve his record to 4-0 this season. The sophomore right-hander recorded 12 strikeouts and walked only 2, and Northside was never close to getting a base hit.

“In the bullpen, warming up before the game, I was feeling really good,” DeLamar said. “I came down, shoved and did my thing. I felt good the whole time.

“My slider, I could land it well from either side of the plate. My curveball was working well, and the fastball was working better than both. It landed everywhere and felt good.”

The two teams now travel to Fort Smith this afternoon to complete their series.