Baseball: Williams overcomes rough start to shut down Har-Ber

SPRINGDALE -- It's not often a pitcher can walk the bases loaded to begin a game and still end up with the victory.

That was the unusual route Jacob Williams took during Bentonville's 3-0 victory over Springdale Har-Ber on Tuesday in 7A-West Conference play at the Tyson Complex.

Bentonville 3, Springdale Har-Ber 1

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Springdale Har-Ber^000^000^0—^0^2^1

Williams, Kneeshaw (6) and Knight; Adams and Rasmussen. W — Williams L — Adams HR — Davis.

Williams allowed one hit in six innings and also left the bases loaded in the second inning before left-handed Ryan Kneeshaw came on in the seventh to preserve the shutout. Bryce Davis provided the offense with a two-run home run in the third inning for Bentonville, which outhit Har-Ber 4-2.

"I couldn't be more proud of Jacob," Bentonville coach Todd Abbott said. "He put himself in a bad situation, which wasn't ideal. He then settled down and made the pitches, and we played good defense behind him."

Har-Ber left eight men on base and had opportunities to take control early, but the Wildcats left the bases loaded in the first and second innings.

Williams walked the bases loaded in the first before retiring Caleb Kimbel on a line drive back to the mound. He then escaped by getting Caleb Grace on a popup to second and Jake Williams on a fly to center. Har-Ber loaded the bases again in the second before Blake Adams flew out to right field to end the inning.

Williams held Har-Ber hitless through the middle innings before the Wildcats put two runners on in the sixth and seventh innings and failed to score.

Caleb Grace had a double and Mac McCrosky a single for the Wildcats (10-3, 4-1).

"We really had a chance to put some pressure on them with bases loaded and no outs," Har-Ber coach Ron Bradley said of the Wildcats' first-inning threat. "But we don't hit a ball hard, then we loaded the bases in the second and don't hit a ball hard. They hit one ball hard (home run), and that was the difference in the game."

Justin Hines got Bentonville (6-8, 3-2) started with a single in the third. Davis, a left-handed batter, then lined a two-run home run to straight away center field. The Tigers added a third run in the inning on a double by Dustin Atkins, a stolen base, and a throwing error by catcher Lincoln Rasmussen.

Har-Ber and Bentonville will play again Thursday at the Tigers' Athletic Complex.

Fayetteville 6, Rogers High 0

Hayes Cox tossed a complete-game three-hitter to lead the Purple'Dogs to their second shutout against the Mounties in as many days.

Greydon Turner, Jeff Sincaore and Logan Carr each drove in a run for Fayetteville, which scored two runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Jackson Sloan was 2-for-3 with 3 runs.

Mason Mitchell took the loss for Rogers, allowing four runs on six hits over four innings, but just one of those runs was earned as the Mounties committed five errors. He struck out three and walked two.

Cox, a senior right-hander who has signed with Arkansas Tech, allowed three singles over seven innings. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.

Van Buren 12, Rogers Heritage 0

Ethan Holmes went 3-for-3 with a double and a home run and drove in four runs to lead the Pointers to the run-rule win in five innings.

Chase Moore also went 2-for-3, scored two runs and drove in one for Van Buren, which improved to 13-1 overall and 5-1 in the 7A-West. Trevor Johnson also tossed a perfect game over five innings. He struck out one.

Springdale High 3, Bentonville West 1

The Bulldogs got a complete-game effort from pitcher Andrew Roach and edged the Wolverines at Bob Lyall Field on Tuesday. Springdale improves to 10-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

Roach gave up just five hits and struck out five, earning his forth win of the season. Will Mueller and Tanner Sargent each knocked in a run in the win for Springdale as well.

The Bulldogs broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning and added another run in the sixth to set the final score. Hunter Mayes went 2-for-3 and drove in the lone run for West.

The second game was suspended because of storms and will resume today at West with Springdale leading 4-3 in the top of the sixth inning.

Sports on 04/05/2017

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