Van Buren’s Wilkerson eager to close career with championship

Landrey Wilkerson is on his way to rain-soaked Field of Dreams. He’s carefully picking through a list of Major League Baseball players he admires (Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Francisco Lindor are among his favorites) when he’s reminded of something he read in the newspaper last week. “Man, I read that story. Peyton (Holt) is right — it (career) goes really fast,” Wilkerson said. Fast and furious is more like it. A three-year starter who took his first varsity cuts as a freshman, Wilkerson is closing in on a career that includes 107 hits — 93 over the past three seasons — and enough milestones to make anyone proud. But there’s one thing missing from Wilkerson’s trophy case. The Van Buren Pointers would like to parlay a strong April into a berth in the 6A championship game. The ride? Oh, what a sweet one. “When I came into Van Buren, (coach David Loyd) really wanted me to be great,” Wilkerson said. “Moving into my sophomore year I did good, and he’s really hard on those players who want to be good. I think that’s helped me as a person. He (Loyd) wants me to rise up and compete.” Wilkerson, who plays center field and occasionally pitches, is batting a cool .375 over the past three seasons. But this season has been a grind. The Pointers (14-9) are on the cusp of making the state tournament, though the team needs to improve on its 4-6 conference record. “It has been a weird (year),” Wilkerson said. “We have a young team. It’s hard to get those first-year starters to realize what’s going on. We’re (seniors) trying to help our younger kids get on the right track.” Wilkerson parlayed last year’s star-studded campaign (40 hits, 14 extra base hits and a .381 batting average) into a two-year scholarship offer from Crowder College. The fleet-footed center fielder hit .417 as a sophomore, then slashed 1.058 his junior season, driving in 22 runs and scoring 35 more. Wilkerson is 23-for-71 in 2019. “Last year, we had four of five seniors starting, and they had been around for a while,” Wilkerson said. “They were really competitive and wanted to win. They wanted to get better and go to work every day.” The 2018 senior class included a veteran cast of players included Evan Jones, Chase Moore, Bryson Patrick and sweet-swinging catcher Ethan Rauser. Wilkerson and fellow seniors Trevor Johnson and Seth Humphrey are doing their best to follow last season’s lead. “It really transferred over to this year with me and Trevor and Seth Humphrey, our left fielder,” Wilkerson said. “We wanted to bring that mentality over this year.” ‘Our third guy’ Wilkerson pitched some growing up. And, though he hasn’t logged a ton of innings this season, the left-hander has logged 38 1/3 innings, boasting a 4-2 record with 48 strikeouts and a sparkling 2.08 earned run average. “I pitched when I was growing up,” Wilkerson said. “I’ve been a pitcher my whole four years. My junior year, I pitched on the JV (junior varisty), trying to get ready for varsity. “I’ve really worked hard on it; I want to do anything I can to help us win.” Loyd has managed his staff well without overworking anyone. Trevor Johnson leads with 48 innings, followed by his younger brother Connor with 43. The end The Pointers, 7-2 this month, have three remaining home games, including Tuesday’s 5 p.m. date with Bentonville West. More chances to wear that Pointer green. “I take a lot of pride in it,” he said. “Ever since getting on the team as a freshman, you’re always excited about being on the high school team. It’s a great feeling to go out and play.” As far as following the MLB? Wilkerson doesn’t go to bed watching “MLB Tonight.” But he knows who Lindor, Betters and Bogarts are. “I don’t pay too much attention to MLB, but I follow a lot of baseball players online,” he said. “I really like Fransico Lindor. I like how he plays the game.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

VAN BUREN’S WILKERSON EAGER TO CLOSE CAREER WITH CHAMPIONSHIP

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 4/22/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Jamie Mitchell