Jones, Hope take All-State for Benton

Benton seniors Jake Jones and Logan Hope capped their careers with All-State honors, while seniors Justin Mitchem and Seth Mejia, and sophomores Elias Payne and Mason McDaniel took All-Conference.

Jones would also earn All-State Tournament Team honors after throwing a no-hitter in the first round of the 5A State Tournament, after also earning his second All-State honor. Jones went 11-0 his senior season with a 1.02 ERA, 0.93 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched), striking out 90 in a team-leading 55 innings. 

Jones, who signed with UCA, capped an incredible Panther career in which he went 23-2 with a 1.41 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 233 strikeouts in 143.2 innings pitched while throwing 2,397 total pitches. In two state tournament games his junior and senior seasons, Jones did not give up a run and just one hit in 14 innings, walking four and striking out 25. 

“I said at our banquet last year, if this kid could repeat the same year he had last year (5-0, 1.01 ERA), it’s going to be tough,” Balisterri said. “Somehow he bettered what he did his junior year. He threw almost 2,400 pitches in his career and was 23-2 at Benton, throwing two no-hitters. He’s definitely going to go down as one of the top two or three pitchers to ever pitch at Benton. We’ve always called him a bulldog, and man he’s a bulldog.”

Jones was no slouch at the plate, either, batting .288 with five doubles and three home runs his senior season, knocking in a team-leading 17 RBIs. 

“Offensively he’s always been productive,” the Coach said. “Always a threat when he’s at the plate. Led the team in home runs. He’s just an all-around player, and he was great defensively at first base. He could have played anywhere.”

While Hope dominated on the mound again serving as the Panthers closer his senior year, he came out of nowhere at the plate where he started the season batting ninth. After hitting .259 his junior season, Hope led the Panthers with a .364 average and 18 runs, adding five doubles. 

“Logan started out the year batting in our 9-hole and he was doing good,” Balisterri explained. “He kept getting better and better and the next thing you know he’s leading the team hitting. Leading the team in several different offensive categories. 

“We left him down in the lineup but it just got to a point where we just had to have him getting more at-bats. We ended up moving him to the 4-hole and he just continued to get better. Just had a great year offensively.”

Hope, who may sign with a Division I college soon, according to Balisterri, brought the defense, too. 

“Defensively he’s been our strong point on defense anchoring that shortstop position for the last two years and just did a super job,” the Coach said. “He’s really an athletic kid and we knew was a special player going into his junior year.”

But it was on the mound where Hope really shined. After posting a 1.45 ERA and 0.83 WHIP with 26 strikeouts in 19.1 innings his junior year, Hope was even more dominant his senior season. Hope had an 0.52 ERA, 0.48 WHIP, giving up just two runs in 27 innings where he struck out 31 and walked just four. A reliever all season, Hope started in the state quarterfinals giving up just one run on four hits and no walks, striking out seven in six innings in a 1-0 loss to Valley View.  

“His pitching was just phenomenal,” Balisterri beamed. “Stats speaks for itself. He only gave up two runs all year long and capped the year with one of the best pitching performances on the team in the quarterfinals against Valley View, probably the best-hitting team in the state, and he shut them down. His future looks bright.”

ALL-CONFERENCE

Mejia was second on the squad to Jones in innings pitched with 49.1, posting a 3.41 ERA with 53 strikeouts. At the plate, he had two home runs and 10 RBIs. Mejia will start his college career at Metropolitan (formerly Maple Woods) Community College in Kansas City, Missouri. 

“Seth is a great guy,” Balisterri said. “He’s what a coach wants out of a player. He’s there every day with a smile on his face, willing to work hard and do whatever it takes to help his team win. He could play anywhere on the infield.”

Mitchem got his chance his senior season and made the most of it, batting .254 with three doubles and 11 RBIs. He will be playing college ball at National Park College in Hot Springs.  

“He did a great job in the outfield for us and came up with some big hits game after game,” the Coach said. “He just kept getting better and better. He was a guy that had been waiting for his senior year to get on the field and be an everyday guy. He did a great job. Looking forward to what he does at National Park.”

Missing roughly a third of the season due to injury, Payne propelled the Panthers at the leadoff spot hitting .308 his sophomore season, adding two doubles, a triple, 12 runs and five RBIs while playing an excellent centerfield. 

“Elias got a slow start because he missed the first four weeks of the season,” Balisterri said. “When we inserted him, he immediately made an impact on our team. He gave us a true leadoff guy we didn’t have. He was consistent all year long. He was just a force. Outstanding athlete and one of the best outfielders in the state, I think. He does a great job.”

Not only was McDaniel good at the plate his sophomore season batting .262 with a home run and 13 RBIs, he caught some serious talent as a youngster behind the plate. 

“People don’t realize he’s just a sophomore,” Balisterri said. “For him to handle the pitching staff we had like he handled it is just off the charts. He was handling three Division I pitchers and two other pitchers going JUCO, all throwing in the mid- to upper-80s. He handled those pitchers all year long, and he didn’t do anything but get better and better. He ended up being a big force in our lineup offensively, too.” 

Balisterri also credited his assistant coaches adding to Benton’s success, former Benton All-State selection Drew Harris and Kelby Moser, who was a student assistant when Balisterri’s son, Brooks, played at UCA.

“Those two guys are top-notch,” Balisterri said. “They’re not only top-notch coaches, but they’re top-notch young men. I had the pleasure to coach Drew Harris. When we had a chance to hire him, it was big for us.”

Balisterri, who has 584 career wins since beginning at Benton in the early 1990s, spoke about Moser. 

“I got to watching him because he told me he wanted to be a coach,” Balisterri said. “I could just tell by the way he carried himself the confidence in what he was doing and very knowledgeable. I put his name in my notes and his AD at Little Rock Christian told me we’re stealing one of the better young coaches in the state. After one year with him, that’s 100 percent what happened. 

“These two guys keep me young. I’ve not only got two really good young coaches, but I’ve got two really good close friends now. They’re a lot younger than me, but they don’t treat me like I’m some old guy.” 

While Benton’s pitching was dynamite this season, it was the offense that struggled, ultimately leading to the Panthers exit at state. 

“I was very proud of our guys this year,” Balisterri said. “We knew what our strengths and our weaknesses were. Unfortunately our weakness kept us from winning the state championship. As far as this group of guys, they were great. Can’t wait ’til next year already.”