FAYETTEVILLE — Brett Price accounted for four runs and Fayetteville beat Rogers 6-3 in the 2013 7A state championship baseball game Friday at Baum Stadium.
Price led off the second inning with a home run to score the first run of the game and drove in another run in the fourth with a RBI triple. Price scored for the second time in the game later that inning when Fayetteville shortstop Drew Tyler drove him home with a RBI single.
The Bulldogs added another run in the fifth when Austin Allen hit a one-out triple and scored on an error.
Andy Pagnozzi started the game on the mound for the Bulldogs and earned the win by tossing 5 1/3 innings, even though all three of Rogers’ runs were charged to him. Pagnozzi struck out five batters and allowed three runs on three hits.
Pate, who is committed to Arkansas, hit the first batter he faced in relief of Pagnozzi with the bases loaded for Rogers' first run of the game. The Mounties added another pair of runs in the inning with a RBI sacrifice fly by Brett Gentz and a RBI single by Konstantin Storkov.
Despite the three-run rally Rogers (22-10) put together in the sixth, Pate, a junior, struck out two and forced a flyout in the seventh to secure the win and earn the save. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 7A baseball tournament.
D'Amico took the loss for the Mounties, surrendering three runs and two hits in three innings of work. Gentz relieved D'Amico and also allowed three runs on five hits.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 6-3 with a pair of runs in the sixth. Logan Hiatt hit a RBI double that scored Tyler and Forrest Fultz scored on a wild pitch.
Fayetteville (27-2) won its sixth state championship in program history with the victory.