CONWAY -- After two run-rule victories that featured 29 hits, the Rogers High offense fell silent Friday afternoon.
And the defense wasn't much better.
Best Sports Classic
Conway 12, Rogers High 2
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Rogers^002^00^—^2^4^4
Bell, Strickland (3) and Alexander; D’Amico, Sallee (4) and Ivey. W — Strickland. L — D’Amico. HRs — Conway, Alexander (1), Jones (1).
Cade Jones and Kyle Alexander hit home runs and Conway had 11 hits as they run-ruled the Mounties 12-2 in the final day of the Best Sports Classic at Veterans Park. It was Conway's (1-4) first win of the season.
Rogers had just four hits and the Mounties had four errors, including two that allowed the Wampus Cats to take a 4-0 lead.
"I hope this is a wake-up call because I think we had been reading our headlines from the last two games," Rogers coach Matt Melson said. "Give Conway credit, they hit the ball. Conway was relentless there, and I was disappointed in our effort."
Alexander hit a solo home run in the third for a 5-0 lead and Jones followed with a two-run home run in the Wampus Cats' six-run fifth. Jacob Adams added a three-run triple in the fifth for Conway.
"Finally got some big hits," Conway coach Noel Boucher said. "Five games, this was the first time we had some hits of meaning where there were some guys on."
Conway jumped on Rogers early as Alexander and Cade Tucker hit back-to-back RBI singles after Rogers (2-1) starter Brett D'Amico had retired the first two Wampus Cats batters. They then upped the lead in the second to 4-0 after back-to-back Rogers errors that accounted for four bases.
No. 9 batter Adam Winter reached on a two-out infield error and leadoff hitter Evan Wilson then followed with a single that got by a Mounties outfielder as both runners scored for a four-run lead. Alexander then upped the lead to 5-0 with a solo home run in the third.
Rogers returns to action Tuesday when they host Springdale High in a 7A/6A-West Conference doubleheader at Veterans Park. Rogers was the Class 7A runnerup last season.
Conway 10, Rogers Heritage 2
The Wampus Cats jumped to an 8-0 lead and cruised to the easy victory in the nightcap.
Freshman Logan Easley was the only Heritage player with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a run batted in. Ty Harris also added an RBI-single in the seventh. War Eagles starter Kyle Lamproe took the loss.
The War Eagles (2-1) open 7A/6A West Conference play at Springdale Har-Ber on Tuesday afternoon.
Sports on 03/15/2014