2021 Top 10 No. 7

Top 10 No. 7 | Pleasant Grove Hawks win state baseball title, coach gets national honor

Pleasant Grove players celebrate after beating Rusk, 2-1. to win the Class 4A state championship Thursday, June 10, 2021, in Austin. File photo by Jessica Day
Pleasant Grove players celebrate after beating Rusk, 2-1. to win the Class 4A state championship Thursday, June 10, 2021, in Austin. File photo by Jessica Day


TEXARKANA, Texas -- Pleasant Grove's 2021 baseball team will be long remembered.

Head coach Riley Fincher and the Hawks capped off their season when they earned the Class 4A state championship with a 2-1 victory over Rusk at UFCU Disch-Falk Stadium in Austin on June 10.

Pleasant Grove (35-8) clinched its third state baseball championship in school history.

Senior pitcher Coe Blain was named the game's Most Valuable Player for the Hawks. Blain pitched in relief, threw 64 pitches over 6 1-3 innings, allowed one hit, struck out four, walked three, hit one and gave up an unearned run.

"I can't say enough about Coe Blain," Pleasant Grove head coach Riley Fincher said. "Coming in in that situation, facing their five-hole hitter and striking him out to get us out of the first-inning jam, and then him pitching 6 and 1-3 of 1-hit ball -- just an infield single -- working out of jams. It was just an outstanding job he did."

The two runs the Hawks plated were atypical. Brenton Clark scored the first run on Alex Murphy's squeeze bunt. JM Long, who was the MVP of Pleasant Grove's semifinal game, scored on a pop up in foul territory to the first baseman which was about 110 feet away from the plate. The Hawks grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third.

Fincher received national recognition as the American Baseball Coaches Association named him the High School Coach of the Year. He will formally receive his award at an ABCA convention in Chicago in early 2022.

"When I received the phone call that I won the award as coach of the year, it was very humbling," Fincher said. "It's a team award and a coaching staff award. I'm fortunate that I'm the head coach here and the award falls in the hands of the head coach. It's such an honor and I'm elated to showcase our team and community."

Fincher also earned the title of Class 4A Coach of the Year as voted upon by the Texas Sportswriters Association. It was a spectacular end to a special baseball season for Fincher and the Hawks.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the Texarkana Gazette's 3-part countdown of the top local story lines of 2021 as picked by our editors. Choices were based on interest and importance -- not just in the moment, but also as to what the events might mean to the community as it moves forward. We roll out story summaries No. 6 through No. 10 today. Saturday, to greet the new year, stories No. 1 though No. 5 will be revealed. On Sunday, we'll take a look at how our online readers rank our stories. Hint: A lot differently than our editors do. That said, a tradition that spans decades continues ...


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