Fayetteville got two much-needed 7A-West Conference wins Monday and Tuesday against Fort Smith Southside to get back to 3-3 in the conference standings. But the Bulldogs had to fight perhaps harder than expected against the Grizzlies for those wins, needing a late run for a 5-4 home victory Monday before pulling away late for an 11-5 win in Fort Smith on Tuesday.

Joey Savin put himself in a hole, allowing four first-inning runs in the Monday matchup, then helped his own cause with three hits and the game-winning RBI single in the sixth inning as Fayetteville (10-8, 3-3) avoided disaster with Monday’s win.

On Tuesday, the Purple’Dogs again were in a tug of war with the Grizzlies (2-14, 0-6) before a five-run sixth helped put things out of reach.

Thomas Broyles, Fayetteville’s senior two-year starter and Dallas Baptist signee, continues to help pace the offense. Broyles is hitting just under .300 so far through 18 games but already has 22 stolen bases.

Fayetteville plays Rogers High, the 7A-West leader, in a pair of games on Monday and Tuesday.