Fayetteville wins wild one

An ejection, a broken leg and Cody Smith's RBI double was the difference in Fayetteville's 5-2 win over Rogers High at Bentonville West on Friday. The Purple'Dogs (18-13) advance to the 7A state semifinals and will play Springdale Har-Ber today at noon at Bentonville High. Smith was 3-for-3 and his slicing hit to right field broke a 2-2 tie to highlight a three-run sixth inning. Smith's hit should have been a two-run triple, but Smith had to go back to second base when pinch runner Teddy Asp was held up at third. A throw to second base allowed Asp to score to make it 4-2. Jackson Sloan looped a Texas Leaguer into short right-center field to score Smith for the final run. "We were fortunate to get the big inning because we really didn't sting the ball very well there," said Fayetteville coach Scott Gallagher. "To have (Smith) have success on the big stage here, you couldn't ask for anything more than that. He put in the time and the effort and it paid off." Barrett Baninster, who scored the winning run, reach on an leadoff error. That, along with the throw that allowed Asp to score, was difficult for Rogers High coach Matt Melson to swallow. "It's kind of tough to take right now, but we battled," Melson said. "We made some unforced errors there in the sixth that got to us. That's what happens in these games. The team that makes the fewest mistakes wins and they did that." The Mounties (16-12) took a 2-0 lead when Grayson Lee and Jeb Sample drove in runs in the top of the third. However, Lee tried to score on Sample's hit to right and was ejected after running into Fayetteville catcher Alex Blagg. That caused a shake-up in Rogers' outfield because Lee plays centerfield. That defensive switch allowed Smith to reach on what was ruled a double in the bottom of the third before later scoring on Quin Rudzinski's single. The next inning, Banister reached when his pop-up to left field was dropped. He later scored on an single by Smith to tie it at 2-2. The left fielder was inserted into the game after Lee's ejection and he collided with freshman shortstop Sal Jacobo in foul territory, which reportedly broke Jacobo's right leg. In other words, the ejection led to more issues than Rogers simply losing its best hitter in Lee, who had two hits. "I didn't think it was the right call," Melson said. "There was nothing malicious about the play. If it was malicious, get the kid out of the game, but there's not a less malicious kid in the world than Grayson Lee." Fayetteville starter Miller Pleimann struck out nine and allowed two earned runs on six hits in 5 2/3s innings before being relieved by Greydon Turner, who retired the final four batters in order to record the win.

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FAYETTEVILLE WINS WILD ONE

MIKE CAPSHAW

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 5/13/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Fayetteville High School Athletics