Big inning carries Rogers past Fayetteville

After 12 days off, Rogers High got rid of the rust relatively quickly to remain undefeated in 7A-West Conference softball. The Lady Mounties bounced back from spring break, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth to get some breathing room en route to a 9-3 win over Fayetteville at Veterans Park. Leading 3-1, Rogers (4-1, 3-0 7A-West) loaded the bases to start the fourth on three consecutive singles. Mikelyn Bush followed with a sacrifice fly and lead-off hitter Cassie Gonzalez drove in two more with a triple. Jadyn Heinle then came up with another sacrifice fly to easily score Gonzalez, and the Lady Mounties were in control 7-1. Rogers coach Mike Harper said his team played a solid all-around game to get the win. Left-hander Sadie Beeman improved to 3-1 with the complete-game victory, while four Lady Mounties had two hits each. "We're a little rusty obviously," Harper said. "We took 12 days off, didn't touch a ball the whole time. It was good for our kids. They needed a break. "I was proud of the way Sadie pitched the ball. She hit her spots pretty well. Mixed her pitches up pretty well and our defense was solid behind her. We manufactured some stuff and got big hits behind that. I proud of our execution, didn't hardly miss any signs. Overall, just really good." Gonzalez went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs, while Sarah Hulsey was 2-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and two RBIs. Beeman, Courtney Storey and Allyn Hensley also had two hits each. Storey and Heinle scored two runs each. Beeman allowed three runs on five hits, struck out five, walked one and hit two batters. Fayetteville (3-6, 0-3) got a solo home run by Morgan Stratton to get within 3-1 in the top of the fourth. Kapriel Bowen drove in the other two runs with a single up the middle off Beeman's glove in the fifth. Fayetteville coach Jason Shirey said his young team is making strides. "We continue to show progress in terms of making plays maybe we didn't make last year and a couple times this year we haven't made," Shirey said. "We've got some young kids in key spots and you see moments of great and then moments of you're shaking your head a little bit. It's a learning process. "Rogers is a good hitting team. Their pitcher, she keeps the ball in the yard and they played defense behind her."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Fayetteville High School Athletics

BIG INNING CARRIES ROGERS PAST FAYETTEVILLE

PAUL BOYD

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 3/29/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Fayetteville High School Athletics