SPRINGDALE — Fayetteville scored only in the first two innings, but it was enough to beat Springdale Har-Ber on Thursday.
The Lady Bulldogs jumped to an 8-0 lead after two and held on for an 8-6 victory over the Lady Wildcats in 7A/6A-West Conference action. Taylor Barginear had a three-run home for Fayetteville (12-5, 5-0), which remained undefeated in league play.
Har-Ber (6-5, 3-2) had hoped to force a tie atop the league standings after starting the day one game behind the Lady Bulldogs. But Fayetteville diminished those hopes by scoring five runs in the first inning on five hits.
Barginear then connected for a three-run home run in the second inning to put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 8-0.
“We won an inning and a half and Har-Ber won the rest of it,” Fayetteville coach Jason Shirey said. “We gave them some stuff, but our kids competed their tails off the first couple of innings at the plate.”
Har-Ber settled in after Fayetteville’s early surge and chipped away to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning. Misty Hickman and Kylie Watkins hit consecutive singles with two outs before Fayetteville pitcher Ashlye Pool retired Emily Stockalper on a foul popup to end the game.
Tiffani Ray had three hits, including a two-run double, and three RBI to lead Har-Ber. Stockalper was 3-for-3 before her popup to Cortnye Pool in the seventh.
“You’re playing the best team in the conference and they put five runs up in the first inning,” Har-Ber coach Lynn Lawson said. “That’s a big hole to come out of but our kids kept fighting and fighting. If we settle in and play hard from the very first pitch, like we did toward the end, the game may have had a different ending, possibly.”
Fayetteville aided Har-Ber’s comeback with five errors in the game. The Lady Wildcats scored two runs in the second with the help of a double by Camille Burchfield and two errors by Fayetteville, including a dropped throw at first base after a squibbler on the infield. Ray then lined an RBI double in the third to cut the Fayetteville lead to 8-3.
Har-Ber added two runs in the sixth on consecutive RBI singles from Carlye Bohannan and Ray.
“I was a little concerned that we kind of sat back and got too loose,” Shirey said. “But Har-Ber’s got a good group and they competed all the way to the end.”
Fayetteville’s early surge was a contrast for its previous two conference games when the Lady Bulldogs had to come from behind to win. Fayetteville beat Rogers Heritage 15-8 after falling behind 7-2 and beat Rogers High 4-3 on a three-run home run in the fifth by Brittany Hoskins.
Fayetteville and Har-Ber will return to conference action tonight for makeup games that were rained out earlier this week. Har-Ber will play at Rogers High while Fayetteville faces Siloam Springs at home. Both games start at 5 p.m.
Fayetteville 530 000 0 — 8 10 5
Springdale Har-Ber 021 012 0 — 6 10 2
Ashley Pool and Benjumea; Stockalper and Ray. WP — Pool. LP — Stockalper. HR — Barginear.