BENTON – The Benton Panthers baseball team will be sending five players on to the next level after the quintuple signed their letters of intent this past Wednesday at Benton High School. Benton senior pitcher/infielder Peyton Pallette inked with the University of Arkansas, senior pitcher Jesse Barker with the University of Central Arkansas, new coming utility player Jackson Huskey with Ouachita Baptist University and twins Logan and Caleb Easterling both signed with Crowder College.
Peyton Pallette - University of Arkansas (Fayetteville)
Pallette signed as a pitcher for the Arkansas Razorbacks, a team that earned runner-up in the College World Series this past summer.
“I think it’s just a great school all around,” Pallette said. “The coaching staff, the players that are already there and the things they’ve done the past couple of years, it’s all the way around a great school and I can’t wait to be up there.”
“During high school throwing mid-80s to the second week in June, the coaches from Arkansas called and said, ‘Hey, where did this guy come from?’” Benton Coach Mark Balisterri said. “I said he’s been here the whole time. We just wanted to slowly move him along. His fastball got up to 91 and obviously Arkansas was interested in him.”
Pallette said he considered the University of Arkansas - Little Rock and Arkansas State, but was all Hogs when they made the call.
“When Arkansas called and they offered, that’s when I knew that’s where I wanted to go,” Pallette said.
Pallette was the third base starter for last year’s Panther 6A runner-up squad as his pitching was limited due to arm concerns. Despite pitching just 8.2 innings last year, Pallette was effective with a 1.62 ERA with 15 strikeouts vs. just five walks.
“He’s got an electric arm,” Balisterri said. “Baseball coaches say it works effortlessly. The big question is how did he sign with the University of Arkansas when he only pitched 10 innings last year? He was our closer and we did a lot of protecting him last season. He had some arm issues and we wanted to make sure he was healthy.”
Though he’ll be heading to Fayetteville next fall and plans to major in physical education, Pallette will never forget his roots in Benton.
“It’s awesome,” Pallette said. “It’s an honor to be a Benton Panther. Great coaches here, great players, all around it’s a great school and I love it here.”
“It’s a big step ahead of him because he’s going into a whole different ballgame, but he works hard,” Balisterri said. “Great kid and I know he’s going to do big things there, and I know he’s going to do big things for us this year.”
Jesse Barker - University of Central Arkansas (Conway)
It wasn’t about baseball for Jesse Barker when deciding where he was going to go to college. In fact, according to Balisterri, Barker was close to deciding not to play baseball at the next level.
“He almost made the decision to not play baseball in college, and it was all because he’s so focused on the academic side of his life and what he’s going to do in the future,” Balisterri said. “UCA was a place he liked as a baseball program. They really liked him, but the most important thing for him was academics.”
“They took education seriously, which as Coach B said was pretty serious for me,” Barker concurred. “They really help out their athletes in the classroom and I just liked the environment and culture they seem to have over there.”
After going 1-1 with a 4.77 ERA his junior season at Benton, UCA noticed Barker at a tournament in the summer.
“I went the the Extra Innings tournament this past summer and Coach (Nick) Harlan, the pitching coach for UCA, saw me and he asked me to show up to one of their camps and throw in front of the other coaches,” Barker said. “They liked what they saw and it kind of went from there.”
“He made a big jump this summer,” Balisterri said. “His fastball went from 84-85 to 86-87. He got an opportunity to play at a great school. I’ve seen that first hand (Balisterri’s son, Brooks, played at UCA). They have great coaches and I know he’s going to do great things at the University of Central Arkansas. He’s got a big year ahead of him for us.”
Barker said he’s not quite sure what he wants to study at UCA, but knows the general direction.
“I haven’t narrowed it down completely, but some type of biology, science, to hopefully get in a grad school,” he said. “Something maybe optometry, dental, vet even. Something along those lines.”
As far as his time at Benton, Barker said, “It’s great. I love the teachers, I love the school. We have lots of fun and lots of work.”
Jackson Huskey - Ouachita Baptist University (Arkadelphia)
Jackson Huskey is no stranger to Benton, but it’s been awhile.
“Growing up, we lived in Benton,” Huskey explained. “Going into fifth grade, we moved to Bentonville. I stayed in school all the way through there up until my junior year and we moved to Heber Springs. My dad got a job opportunity in Benton and now we’re back.”
“He’s kind of a new face to Benton,” Balisterri said. “He was here for awhile and his family moved away. Now he’s back again and we’re very, very excited that he’s back. The only negative thing is he waited till his senior year to come back.”
Huskey spent his junior season at Heber Springs, also the Panthers, where he hit .362 with a team-leading two home runs and 26 runs, adding five doubles, a triple and 13 RBIs. Huskey also led Heber with 13 stolen bases.
Huskey doesn’t claim a certain position, as he will play anywhere, but there is one aspect of the game he’s sure of.
“I hit the ball, that’s what I do,” Huskey said. “I hit the ball well.
“Growing up, I’ve always played second and now I’ve gotten to where I’m a pretty good role player in the field. I’ll play in the outfield if they need me, I’ll play in the infield. Wherever coach needs me.”
Huskey was really good on the mound last season, too, with a 1.72 ERA in 20.1 innings, striking out 24 vs. eight walks.
“I really can’t tell you about him as a player because I haven’t seen him on the field,” Balisterri said of Huskey. “But I can tell you how he practices. We’re in for a treat to get to watch him play this year.
“I did get an opportunity to coach his dad. I’m sorry Brett (Jackson’s dad), but I think he might have you a little bit,” Balisterri joked.
Planning to study business marketing, Huskey got hooked up with OBU this past summer.
“The new assistant is Tanner Rockwell and he coached me this summer,” Huskey explained. “He got the job at the end of the summer and he talked to me and said why don’t you come down. I met with all the coaches and I like Coach (Luke) Howard, the head coach. Tanner, I have a really good relationship with him already. I just really liked it there. It fit. It’s really close to home and I’m a homebody. I just enjoyed it.”
“He’s a great young man and he’s going to be a great player for us,” Balisterri said. “He’s going to be a leader.”
Caleb and Logan Easterling - Crowder College (Neosho, Mo.)
Though Balisterri may not know which Easterling he’s talking to at times, there’s no doubt what twin brothers Logan and Caleb mean to the Panthers.
“If they’re standing there next to each other, I can tell who they are, but if they’re not next to each other, I usually call Caleb Logan and Logan Caleb, and I’ve been around them for four years,” Balisterri said.
Though the twins decided to go to Crowder, they said it wasn’t necessarily a package deal.
“Not really,” Logan said. “Of course our parents wanted us to, but we didn’t really care either way. If one of us got offered by somebody else, we weren’t going to be too messed up about it. Of course, we always like going together.”
“Crowder has always had a really good baseball program,” Caleb added. “It’s a small school but I really loved the campus when we went and visited, and when they offered us I just felt like it was meant to be. They have a really great coaching staff. I’ve known many of the players that have gone through there and they say it’s a really great program.”
Logan has been Benton’s starting catcher for the past two seasons and last year led the team with a .376 average from the leadoff spot and also led the Panthers with 34 runs and eight doubles. Logan added five home runs and 22 RBIs while earning All-Conference honors.
“Logan has had a tremendous career for the Benton Panthers,” Balisterri said. “He was All-State as a sophomore and led our team in hitting the last two years. Led our team in home runs and almost led our team in every category.”
And Logan also provides leadership from the catching position.
“He’s been a great catcher,” Balisterri said. “He was voted the No. 1 catcher in our conference last year. He’s just a great kid, works hard, he’s a leader. We just don’t have enough coaches to coach every single position in a single practice. I can take him and say, ‘Take the catchers, you know the drills we need to do.’ He takes them and works them hard, he works hard himself.”
Caleb batted .232 with two doubles, a homer, 16 runs and 18 RBIs last year.
“He’s a great young man,” Balisterri said of Caleb. “He came a long ways for us last year and did a great job. He was one of the best hitters in our conference and definitely one of the best hitters on our team. He made a big impact for us his junior season.
“He’s a hard worker, can play multiple positions and is a guy we’ve got to have in our lineup. You can’t have too many of those guys. He’s going to have a great career at Crowder, one of the premier junior colleges in the nation.”
After falling to Greenwood in the 6A title game last year, the Easterling brothers expect another trip to Fayetteville this upcoming year.
“I want to get back to Baum,” Logan said. “What other expectation is there? We want to win it this time. We’ve been there and know what it feels like to lose and we don’t want to lose again.”
“We’re going all the way,” Caleb added.
Balisterri said the brothers are close, but may not be as close after their time at Crowder.
“Sometimes twins want to split up when they go off to college, but these two guys are pretty close and they’re going to get to spend two more years together,” Balisterri said. “They might not be real close after these next two years,” he joked.