When the Benton High School Tigers baseball team begins District 1-4A play today against Minden, they will do so with an 8-8 record.
The 8-8 record may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but Benton has won four consecutive games to get to 8-8.
And just a year ago, the Tigers started 2-6 before winning four consecutive games to get to 6-6.
That season finished OK for the Tigers. Benton was the state runner-up in Class 3A last season.
Deja' vu?
"It's kind of a team that is a mirror image of last year," Tigers coach Greg Bryant says. "Last year we started off struggling. We started out 2-6 and evened up at 6-6 and then we went on that little string to where we lost to Captain Shreve to end the year and then started the playoffs.
"So far, this is kind of a mirror image. We started off 4-8 and won our last four to get to even. Hopefully we can continue that when we move into district."
There were a couple of reasons for the Tigers' slow start.
One was the early nondistrict schedule Benton played. The competition was good for getting a team ready for district, but not so good for the record.
"The schedule kind of bit us in the butt early. Most of our losses are to 5A schools. We've got a loss to Neville who is No. 1. We've played decent baseball all year long. We just had some bad breaks, kind of snake-bit at the plate. It's starting to come around here and there," Bryant says.
The second reason for the slow start came at the plate. The Tigers were swinging some cold bats to start the season.
That has begun to change some for Benton in recent weeks.
"We were struggling as a team at the beginning of the season," Benton's Jamie Gilley says. "I feel like right now, we're starting to hit the ball better. We're playing as a team a lot better.
"Balls are starting to fall our way now."
The Tigers have been led at the plate by sophomore outfielder Justin Norris.
His batting average is hovering around the .490 mark.
