ROGERS -- Harrison coach Greg Crow was pleased to see his team's offense finally warm up on a chilly Thursday afternoon at Veterans Park.
The Goblins broke open a close game with a 10-run top of the sixth inning en route to an 18-7 run-rule win over Rogers Heritage in the Best Sports Classic.
"We had three hits total in our first two games," Crow said. "We hadn't hit the ball at all. We're still young and trying to figure out how to win. I thought our pitcher did a good job. Overall, I was pleased with it.
"We've only got three seniors out there on the field right now. One guy hits and all of a sudden everybody goes 'Wow, this is fun.' I was proud of our kids. We had been struggling offensively. Even in our benefit game, we didn't score."
Harrison (2-1) had scored only one run in its first three games, including a benefit game. But broke loose offensively, aided by seven Heritage errors. Heritage pitchers also hit five batters and walked seven.
The Goblins led only 8-7 after five innings, but sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs only five hits in the inning. Journagan had two hits in the inning -- a double and a two-run home run.
Senior Carson Journagan led the Harrison offense, going 3-for-5 with a home run and two doubles. He drove in four runs and also scored three times. Breckin Duck added two hits and drove in a run, while also picking up the victory on the mound.
Duck pitched the first four innings, allowing seven runs (five earned) on six hits. Tanner Taylor came on and pitched two hitless innings.
Heritage (2-1) took advantage of a two-out Harrison error to score two runs and get within 8-7 in the fourth, after the Goblins turned a 5-2 deficit into a 7-5 advantage with a five-run top of the third.
Vance Tobol went 2-for-3 with a triple and a home run and drove in three runs for the War Eagles.
Harrison 18, Rogers Heritage 7
Harrison^115^10(10)^--^18^9^2
Heritage^230^200^--^7^6^7
Duck, Taylor (5) and Taylor; Cameron, Berens (3), Richardson (6), Renfrow (6), Tobol (6) and Lewellyn, Bowman (6). W-Duck. L-Cameron. HRs-Harrison, Journagan. Rogers Heritage, Tobol.
Rogers High 8, Siloam Springs 5
The Mounties broke the game open with a four-run bottom of the sixth and held off a late Panther rally to earn the victory at the Best Sports Classic.
Rogers (2-0) led only 4-3 going into the bottom of the sixth, but Marc Sussman's two-run double pushed the lead to 6-3 and Kaden Seldomridge added an RBI-single as part of the four-run inning for an 8-3 advantage.
Siloam Springs scored twice in the top of the seventh aided by a Rogers error, but the Mounties managed to close out the win.
Jay Watson, McKaden Templeton, and Seldomridge had two hits each for Rogers. Tanner Strickland drove in three runs.
Watson picked up the win in relief, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over five innings of work. He struck out seven and walked one.
Isaac Price went 3-for-4 and drove in a run for Siloam Springs (1-4).
Springdale Har-Ber 13, Alma 3
The Wildcats scored 11 runs in the second inning and run-ruled Alma on Thursday in the Best Sports Classic.
Hunter Wood was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs for Har-Ber. Kirby Jenkins, Holt Ross and Walker Immel all had doubles for the Wildcats (6-1).
Sports on 03/08/2019