BENTONVILLE -- Second chances are sometimes hard to come by, but Paul Rouse was grateful to have one come his way last week.
Bentonville's senior outfielder stepped to the plate with a chance to win the game, and he made the most of it. Rouse drilled a two-out single which allowed Jared Hines to score and give the Tigers a 5-4 victory over Fort Smith Southside in the first game of a 7A-West Conference baseball doubleheader.
Profile
Paul Rouse
School: Bentonville
Class: Senior
Height: 6-0
Weight: 170
Notable: Signed a national letter of intent with Central Arkansas in November. … Has hit .333 (12 of 36) with a triple, eight RBIs and 11 runs scored through the Tigers’ first 12 games this season … Had the game-winning single last week in the first game of a doubleheader against Fort Smith Southside and delivered a two-run single in a 4-2 win Friday at Van Buren.
"There have been situations when sometimes you don't get it done," Rouse said. "Earlier in the season against Springdale Har-Ber, I had the same situation. I could have tied the game, but I failed.
"This time, I told myself 'you're going to get it done.' It's the second chance, and it's for the win. This time, it meant a lot more because you knew you had let your team down once, so I knew I had to get this done right now. When I hit it, I said 'There we go. About time.'"
Hines entered the game as a courtesy runner for Kasey Ford, who led off the inning with a single. Hines then moved to second thanks to a gutsy call -- a two-strike sacrifice bunt by Blake Werner, who would have been called out and not advanced the runner had the ball rolled foul.
One out later, Rouse stepped to the plate and remained relaxed as he built up a 3-1 count. He then found a pitch to his liking and ripped it into center field, allowing Hines to come home with the winning run.
"When Paul went up to the plate, he was exactly the guy I wanted there," Bentonville coach Todd Abbott said. "Going into that situation, he had three quality at-bats before that. He was seeing the ball well.
"That's what you wanted there. The game was on the line, and Paul definitely delivered for us in a big way."
Rouse took care of his baseball future in November when he signed his national letter of intent with Central Arkansas in Conway. He still knew he had to perform that part of a person who signed with a NCAA Division I school, so he immediately went to work during the offseason.
He knew all facets of his game needed improvement, but the one thing he wanted to focus on the most was his consistency -- especially at the plate.
"You have to set an example for the younger players that also want to go somewhere," Rouse said. "I've gone through some streaky seasons in high school. I've started off good, then went down and starting coming up again.
"This year, I just want to stay as consistent as possible. I worked a lot on it, and it's paid off. The results are coming in, and that consistency has been a great strength for me."
Rouse, the second batter in Bentonville's lineup, is hitting .333 (12 of 36) through the first 12 games with one triple, eight runs batted in and 11 runs scored and a .442 on-base percentage. In addition to his game-winning hit against Southside, he also had a two-run single that gave the Tigers the lead for good in a 4-2 win Friday at Van Buren.
"Paul has put in a tremendous amount of work over the years," Abbott said. "He's always had a good attitude and a great guy to have around.
"He's realized over the last couple of years that he wants to play baseball at the next level. He's certainly put in the work, and you can certainly see how much he has improved. He's become a solid, consistent player and become a leader on our team, as well."
Henry Apple can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAHenry.
Sports on 04/07/2015