6A BASEBALL: Har-Ber returns to 6A title game

Har-Ber starter Cooper Dossett celebrates Saturday, May 15, 2021, after recording a strikeout to end the top of the fifth inning of the WildcatsÕ 3-0 win over Bryant in the semifinals of the Class 6A state baseball tournament at Hunts Park in Fort Smith. Visit nwaonline.com/210516Daily/ for today's photo gallery. .(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Har-Ber starter Cooper Dossett celebrates Saturday, May 15, 2021, after recording a strikeout to end the top of the fifth inning of the WildcatsÕ 3-0 win over Bryant in the semifinals of the Class 6A state baseball tournament at Hunts Park in Fort Smith. Visit nwaonline.com/210516Daily/ for today's photo gallery. .(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)

FORT SMITH -- Make it four consecutive state finals appearances for Springdale Har-Ber.

The program returns on the strength of a combined no-hit effort from pitchers Cooper Dossett and Ross Felder in a 3-0 victory Saturday against Bryant in the semifinals of the Class 6A baseball tournament at Hunts Park.

"This is a special group," Har-Ber Coach Dustin Helmkamp said. "Even in our losses, we have battled. It is a fight for 21 outs and always to the end. I'm proud of this group."

[GALLERY: Click here for more photos » arkansasonline.com/516boys6a1/]

Dossett, a junior who is committed to the University of Arkansas, picked up the win by tossing 6 innings while allowing 7 walks and registering 10 strikeouts. Felder, a freshman, got the final three outs for a save.

Bryant (24-5) loaded the bases in the first and seventh innings, but Dossett and Felder were up to the task.

Dossett walked the first batter he faced in the game. He then hit the next one. After a sacrifice bunt, he issued another free pass. He got out of the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.

"I was a little wild in the first inning," Dossett said. "Once I locked it in, I feel like it is game over. I was mostly throwing fastballs. I wanted to challenge them until they could hit it."

Bryant (24-5) stranded a runner on third base in the sixth inning, then put two on with back-to-back walks in the seventh. That's when Felder came in for Har-Ber (25-8).

He got a strikeout for the first out, then a fly ball out. Bryant loaded the bases on a fielder's choice when a runner won the race to third base. Felder then recorded the final out of the game.

Har-Ber scored a pair of runs in the third inning. Caden Ross started the rally by reaching on an error. He came around to score on an RBI single from Fender. Walker Immel, who reached on a walk, was driven in by an RBI double from Dossett.

Conway pitchers Aiden Adams and Will Hathcote combined to allow 1 earned run on 4 walks and 7 hits with 8 strikeouts.

ROGERS 11, NORTH LITTLE ROCK 7

Rogers Coach Matt Melson believed jumping out to an early lead would take the pressure off his team and put it all on North Little Rock.

He was right.

The Mounties (22-7) built an eight-run cushion after five innings and held off the Charging Wildcats late to advance to the Class 6A state championship game to face Har-Ber. They split their two conference meetings in late April.

"We've had two tight ball games with Har-Ber. They are a talented team," Melson said. "To get a chance to compete for a state title should be fun for the kids. What I am excited about is building tradition and strong culture here."

North Little Rock, which won the Class 6A state title over Har-Ber in 2019, was once again a low-seeded team that knocked off two higher seeds to reach the semifinals. This time, Rogers' big cushion spelled doom for the Charging Wildcats (14-16).

"Some of those runs they scored were self-inflicted," North Little Rock Coach Randy Sandefur said. "Teams that as as good as Rogers, you cannot give them extra outs. Still we battled. The last two state tournaments, our kids believed. That is the fun of hanging around 16-, 17- and 18-year-old kids. They fought to the last out."

Rogers scored three runs in the second and third innings, and two in the fourth to build the 8-0 cushion. North Little Rock hurt itself in those stretches via walks and errors. The Charging Wildcats committed 6 errors, and four pitchers combined for 8 walks and 2 hit batters.

JT Melson had an RBI single in the Mounties' second-inning rally, and Eli Marcotte added an RBI sacrifice fly. Marcotte and Melson each had two hits to lead the nine-hit attack by Rogers.

Rogers starter Madden Dillon threw 5 shutout innings for the win, scattering 3 hits and walking 2 while striking out 3.

"I was proud of Madden, but he threw a lot of pitches," Melson said. "With the huge lead, that allowed him to pound the zone."

North Little Rock began to rally in the sixth with four runs to cut the deficit to 8-4. Jaylon Johnson had an RBI hit while Wesley Bird brought home a run on a bases-loaded walk. Two more runs scored on an error.

Rogers put the game out of reach with a three-run sixth, all with two outs, for an 11-4 advantage. Marcotte and Jackson Wells each had RBI hits, and another run scored on a wild pitch.

"That three-spot in the sixth was huge," Melson said.

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