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This is another story in our series spotlighting members of Arkansas baseball's highly touted 2020 signing class, which is ranked third nationally by Perfect Game. Links to previous profiles can be found below.
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Along a stretch of about 70 miles of highway in south Arkansas, three aces emerged in the Class of 2020 over the last few years.
Markevian “Tink” Hence from Watson Chapel and Nick Griffin from Monticello got the attention from pro scouts, but neither of them had quite the same level of success - especially in big games - as Sheridan’s Tyler Cacciatori.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic robbed the state from seeing an encore performance to what was a dominant junior season that included MVP honors in the Class 5A state championship game.
“I really hated not being able to play school ball because we were the reigning champs from last year and we pretty much had everybody back, so I was looking forward to going to Baum again this year,” Cacciatori said. “When that got canceled, it was upsetting.”
Instead, the next time the right-hander takes the field at Baum-Walker Stadium, he’ll be in an Arkansas uniform. He joined counterparts Hence and Griffin in the Razorbacks’ touted 2020 signing class, albeit Hence has since signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a second-round pick in this summer’s MLB Draft.
In his last full season with the Yellowjackets, Cacciatori went 8-1 with a 1.24 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 51 innings. A two-way player who manned first base when he wasn’t pitching, he also hit .393/.522/.562 with 23 RBIs and 20 runs in 2019.
He was at his best in the state tournament, winning both of his starts with 16 strikeouts and only two walks in 12 scoreless innings, while adding a triple, home run and four RBIs at the plate.
If the way he started this season was any indication, Cacciatori was well on his way to an even more dominant showing in 2020. Facing just one batter over the minimum in two innings of work, he gave up a single and struck out the other six batters.
