SPRINGDALE — The heart of the Rogers High batting order looked like it was in mid-season form in the 7A/6A-West Conference opener at Springdale High on Tuesday night.

Chandler Little, a senior, and junior Haylee Zimmerman combined for seven hits and five RBIs to lead the Lady Mounties to an 8-0 win over Springdale.

The duo, batting third and fourth, respectively, were in the middle of all three multi-run innings in the win for Rogers (2-3, 0-1).

"Good night at the plate, that's what your three-and four-holes are supposed to do," Rogers coach Mike Harper said. "We should be a good hitting team."

Little went 4-for-4 with a double, two triples, three RBIs and two runs scored in the win. Her two-run triple in the first inning quickly put Rogers on the scoreboard and sparked a four-running frame that put the Lady Mounties firmly in command.

"That's obviously a good sign there," Harper said. "She's our leading hitter coming back. We expect that coming from her."

Zimmerman followed Little with an RBI single in the top of the first, then added an RBI single in the two-run third inning that stretched the lead to 6-0. But she may have made her biggest impact on the mound, pitching a complete-game shutout, giving up just five hits to earn the victory.

The junior got out of a jam in the bottom of the first inning after Kelcee Thompson singled and Maegan Kelley followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Springdale (2-4, 0-1) never got a runner to third again and largely struggled offensively just four days after beating Clarksville 16-8.

"She's a great pitcher, but we've got to work on being confident at the plate," Springdale coach Ashlee Kemp said. "I've got girls that can hit. They've just got to come out and prove it. We've got to have timely hitting, too."

Senior Chelsea Baldwin didn't get any run support in taking the loss for the Lady Bulldogs. Little and Zimmerman tagged her for hits, negating the fact that she held the rest of the Lady Mountie lineup to four hits.

"We're improving," Kemp said. "I think we had pretty solid defense. Pitching gave up a few too many hits. But the bottom line is, if we don't score, we're not going to win any ballgames. Last year we played Rogers and they run-ruled us both times. So take that as an improvement. But it's frustrating when we score 16 runs on Friday and can't put one up on the board today."

Springdale will play at Fayetteville on Thursday, while Rogers will play Van Buren.

Sports on 03/19/2014