SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber had already lost three runners between third base and home plate Tuesday afternoon, and coach Dustin Helmkamp wasn't ready to lose another one.
A rare Bentonville West miscue, however, provided the Wildcats with the break they needed. An errant throw allowed Drue McClendon to score the lone run in the bottom of the sixth inning and give Har-Ber a 1-0 victory over West during 6A-West Conference baseball action at Arvest Ballpark.
Cooper Dossett's two-out single to left allowed McClendon to go to third, but Helmkamp held him there for a moment. The throw to the plate, however, went all the way to the backstop and allowed McClendon to score.
"We're just trying to draw a throw there and hope that something would happen like that," Helmkamp said. "You never know what will happen, but you do want to draw the throw. Sure enough, we were fortunate. That kid did a great job (Monday) night of throwing a player out, and he was right on the money.
"We weren't going to test him again. Sometimes you catch some breaks, and we caught one there."
Har-Ber (16-4, 9-3 6A-West) had other chances to score, but West's defense came up with defensive plays when it needed them. That included earlier in the sixth inning when McClendon hit a grounder to shortstop, and Luke Schonauer fielded the ball and caught Brock Kimbel in a rundown between third and home.
The defensive play of the game, however, probably belonged to Wolverines' third baseman Aaron Arnold. Har-Ber had runners on second and third with two out in the fourth inning when Arnold dove for Dossett's grounder and threw to first from his backside to end the inning.
"He plays that bag well," West coach Chip Durham said of Arnold. "We hadn't been playing him over there because he's been throwing a lot of pitches. It's tough on his arm over there, but we have him coming out of the pen now. We have him playing over at third, but he's solid there. He made some big plays and kept us in the game."
Har-Ber showed its defensive prowess when it needed. West (3-9) had runners on first and second when Wildcats shortstop Kaleb Kellar dove into the hole and kept Cole Kitchens grounder from going into the outfield, then he rose to his feet and threw home just in time to get JJ Viera out at the plate and end the inning.
The Wolverines had a chance in the seventh to score when Arnold walked, took second on a passed ball and third when D Peters ran to first when a swinging third strike went to the backstop. Miles Holmquist then hit a fly to shallow center, where Will Immel raced in and made the catch to end the game.
"Both clubs played great defensively," Helmkamp said. "We ran ourselves into a couple of outs, but at the same token they made some plays. It was a great defensive game by both squads, and a great pitched game by both squads."