CLASS 6A BASEBALL

Har-Ber carves out room to breathe

Springdale Har-Ber celebrates after defeating Fayetteville on Friday in the Class 6A state baseball tournament at Veterans Park in Rogers. The Wildcats face Cabot in the semifinals today.
Springdale Har-Ber celebrates after defeating Fayetteville on Friday in the Class 6A state baseball tournament at Veterans Park in Rogers. The Wildcats face Cabot in the semifinals today.

ROGERS -- Springdale Har-Ber right-hander Landon McAllister got just enough support from his teammates nine days earlier to defeat Fayetteville.

The Wildcats gave him a lot more Friday afternoon in their 12-1 victory over the Bulldogs to advance to the Class 6A state baseball semifinals at Veterans Park.

Har-Ber (24-7) will face Cabot (23-5) at 2:30 p.m. today in the semifinals.

McAllister, a Connors State signee, acknowledged pitching with a big lead is less stressful, but he also said his team was confident thanks to the earlier victory.

"It's pretty aggravating when I have to keep grinding," said McAllister, who beat Fayetteville 2-1 on May 1. "I love just getting a lead and pitching with a lead. It's great.

"We changed a few things on a couple guys, but not a lot. It just all worked out."

His teammates got rolling with a six-run top of the second against Fayetteville starter Ethan Trivitt.

Leadoff man Hunter Wood and Kirby Jenkins drove in two runs each in the inning, while Clay Burtrum added an RBI single for a 6-0 lead.

The parade continued to the tune of 11 hits over five innings. University of Arkansas signee Blake Adams punctuated it with a long two-run home run in the top of the fifth.

Wood finished 3 for 4 with a double, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Adams, Burtrum and Charlie Acuff added two hits each. Jenkins also drove in three runs.

Har-Ber Coach Ron Bradley said his team has come around offensively over the past couple of weeks. He said changing some routines has really paid off.

"We spent a lot of time hitting the curveball off the machine," Bradley said. "We went away from it, and it's really been bothering us. The last two weeks it just seems like we're seeing the ball better. We're getting better cuts.

"It just seemed like today every time we needed a big hit, we came through. We had a tendency in the past to leave a lot of runners on. Today we were able to separate ourselves, and Landon did a great job. Just a good performance all the way around."

McAllister allowed a run on 4 hits, struck out 3 and walked 3 over 5 innings to get the win.

Jeff Sinacore went 2 for 2 with a solo home run for Fayetteville.

CABOT 6, ROGERS 3

The Panthers took advantage of a Rogers' miscue to score two runs and snap a 3-3 tie, and the Cabot pitchers did the rest to advance to the semifinals.

Rogers (17-13) tied the game 3-3 with two runs in the top of the third, but Cabot came right back.

The Mountaineers could have been out of the inning without allowing a run, but shortstop Sal Jacobo couldn't field a potential inning-ending double play ball. Zack Slunder gave Cabot the lead with an RBI bloop single, and Kyle Carmack pushed the lead to 5-3 with a sacrifice fly.

Blayse Quarnstrom added an RBI single in the fourth for a 6-3 Cabot lead.

Senior left-hander Zack Morris, an Arkansas commitment, made that lead stand up with the help of two relievers. Morris worked out of a pair of bases-loaded, nobody-out situations in the fourth and fifth innings unscathed.

Morris earned the victory, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits over 5 innings. He struck out four but walked six. Brayden Morse and Zach Graham each followed with a scoreless inning to close out the win.

Jackson Olivi went 3 for 4 and scored a run for Cabot, while Slunder and Austin Scritchfield added two hits and an RBI each.

Jay Watson went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks, drove in a run and scored twice for Rogers.

NORTH LITTLE ROCK 9, BRYANT 6 (10)

The third time was the charm as the Charging Wildcats claimed a 10-inning victory to advance to the semifinals.

North Little Rock (13-18) grabbed an early lead and survived a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Bryant (27-5) after two previous losses in 6A-Central Conference play.

Alex Cauley's two-run bloop single in the top of the 10th inning provided the cushion for the Charging Wildcats. Prior to Cauley's single, North Little Rock scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch.

Bryant trailed 2-0 and 4-2 before rallying to tie the game at 6-6 in the seventh inning on Cade Drennan's RBI double down the left-field line. The Hornets loaded the bases with no outs, but North Little Rock reliever Cole Kimrey worked out of the jam with two popups and a strikeout.

Cauley was 3 for 6 with 3 RBI for North Little Rock

Logan Grant and Drennan were each 2 for 4 for Bryant.

BENTONVILLE WEST 7, BENTONVILLE 4

The Wolverines scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to advance to today's semifinals.

Bentonville West (20-10) led 2-0 on a home run from catcher Zach Trammell before Bentonville (16-13) scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning. Levi Bennett's two-run single highlighted the inning for the Tigers.

Bentonville West had the answer in the bottom of the sixth, scoring two runs on an error and adding two more on a sacrifice fly and Trammell's RBI single.

Trammel was 2-for-4 for West with three RBIs. Will Jarrett was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and John McElroy was 2-for-3.

Bennett was 2 for 4 for Bentonville.

Hunter Mayes earned the win, pitching 21/3 innings and allowing just 2 hits with 2 strikeouts. Payton Allen took the loss for Bentonville in relief of starter Devin Hearn.

CLASS 4A BASEBALL

VALLEY VIEW 4, HARRISON 3

The Valley View Blazers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to edge the Harrison Goblins on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning in Batesville.

The Goblins took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a solo home run by Dylan Block and a two-run home run by Carson Journagan. Valley View scored one in the bottom of the second and two more in the bottom of the sixth to tie the score at 3-3. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Austin Shipman walked. He scored with two outs on a single by Connor Watson to win the game for the Blazers.

NASHVILLE 3, MORRILTON 2

The Nashville Scrappers scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and nudge past the Morrilton Devil Dogs.

Morrilton pulled even at 2-2 in the top of the sixth, but Nashville's Landon Tollett led off the bottom of the sixth with a double. One out later, pinch runner Tyler Beene scored on an error for the game winner.

SHILOH CHRISTIAN 9, BATESVILLE 2

The score was tied 0-0 until the bottom of the fifth when the Shiloh Christian Saints put up 9 runs on 4 walks and 4 hits, including a two-run home run by Walker Williams. The Saints only had one other hit.

The first 15 Pioneer batters went down in order until John Todd Stalker and Hayden Childers each walked to lead off the top of the sixth. Both scored on a two-out single by Rhett Crafton, the Pioneers' only hit of the night.

POTTSVILLE 16, BROOKLAND 4

The Pottsville Apaches pounded out 10 hits and also received 12 walks in upending the Brookland Bearcats.

It was 1-1 after an inning, but when Konner Carpenter started the top of the second with a solo home run, the Apaches began to roll. They scored four in the second, three in the fourth, one in the fifth and capped it off with seven runs in the top of the sixth. Ben Jones hit a solo home run for the Apaches in the top of the fifth.

-- Scott McDonald

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF

Landon McAllister allowed 1 run on 4 hits, struck out 3 and walked 3 over 5 innings to pitch Springdale Har-Ber past Fayetteville 12-1 on Friday during the Class 6A state baseball tournament in Rogers.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette

Springdale Har-Ber players celebrate Friday after defeating Fayetteville 12-1 in five innings at Veterans Park in Rogers.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette

Clay Burtrum, Springdale Har-Ber right fielder, hits a single in the second inning against Fayetteville on Friday during the Class 6A state baseball tournament at Veterans Park in Rogers.

Sports on 05/11/2019

Upcoming Events