ROGERS -- Rogers High finally played at home for the first time this season and the Lady Mounties responded by putting on a hitting clinic.
Rogers used a 14-hit attack and a solid pitching performance by Haylee Zimmerman to defeat Siloam Springs 13-3 in a 7A/6A-West Conference softball game at Veterans Park. Rogers, which has had two snow outs and a rainout in three previously scheduled home games, got hits from eight of the nine batters in the order and ended the game on the 10-run rule with six runs in the fifth.
7A/6A-West Conference
Rogers High 13, Siloam Springs 3
Siloam^200^01^ — ^3^6^6
Rogers^214^06^ — ^13^14^1
Zimmerman and Kinney; Spry and Curtis. W — Zimmerman. L — Spry. HRs — None.
Rogers also took advantage of six Siloam Springs errors, including three in the fifth as the Lady Mounties scored all six runs with two outs.
"We hit the ball decently, but Siloam also made some errors and that made us look a little better," Rogers coach Mike Harper said. "It was nice to see us finish the game there in the last inning."
Siloam Springs grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first but the Lady Mounties responded with seven unanswered runs to take control.
Leadoff batter Jennifer Gonzalez and No. 8 hitter Emily Kinney had three hits each. Callie King and Maddie Massanelli had two singles and two RBIs each.
The home opener was just the third game back for Massanelli after the sophomore suffered a stress fracture in her foot. She had three hits in the Lady Mounties (5-8, 3-2 7A/6A-West) 6-4 conference win at Springdale Har-Ber on Tuesday.
"Having Maddie Massanelli back really helps us a lot," Harper said. "That makes a difference in our lineup, it give us another bat. It makes a big difference. Kinney didn't bat at all for us last year, but she is hitting over .300 for us this year."
Massanelli said she knew she had to prove herself after getting cleared to play again.
"I knew everybody would be pushing me because we have a lot of good girls on this team," Massanelli said. "I'm just lucky to be able to hit, and the Har-Ber game gave me some confidence. It is so nice to be back out on the field."
Siloam Springs' Ally Bunch hit a two-run single in the first inning after a Rogers error and a single by Leslie Perry, but Zimmerman settled down the rest of the way to get the win. After Bunch gave Siloam a 2-0 lead, Zimmerman retired nine of the next 10 batters as Rogers took control.
"Haylee was effective, and any win is a good win," Harper said. "We just have to build on this."
Sports on 04/11/2014