SPRINGDALE -- Bentonville started fast and finished faster against Springdale Har-Ber on Thursday.
The Lady Tigers scored three runs in the first inning and six in the sixth to defeat the Lady Wildcats 12-3 in 7A-West softball at J.B. Hunt Park. In between, Sydney Frazier hit a two-run home run in the third inning to give Bentonville a 5-0 lead.
Bentonville 12, Springdale Har-Ber 3
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Har-Ber^003^000^0—^3^4^4
Prough and Cornell; Stockalper and Ray. W - Prough. L - Stockalper. HRs — Frazier, Stockalper.
Emily Stockalper had a three-run home run for Har-Ber, which beat Springdale High on consecutive days earlier this week.
Stockalper ran into trouble after retiring the first two batters to begin the game. Six consecutive batters reached to produce three runs, starting with singles by Payton Wildeman and Tymber Riley. Stockalper walked two and hit Frazier with a pitch to force in a run. Shayli Martin followed with an infield single before Frazier put the Lady Tigers ahead 5-0 with a two-run home run to center field in the third.
"Two-out rallies and two-out hits are key in any game, really, and that's something we focus on," Bentonville coach Kent Early said. "We got on base with six straight batters and scored three runs. We'll take them any way we can get them."
Bentonville (16-3, 9-1) won two games this week to remain one game behind league-leading Rogers. The Lady Tigers will face Springdale on Wednesday before its anticipated rematch on Thursday with the Lady Mounties, who beat Bentonville 12-11 in 11 innings earlier this year.
Har-Ber (7-7, 4-5) could not recover from its poor start even after Stockalper hit a home run to center field to cut the Bentonville lead to 5-3. The Lady Tigers responded with seven consecutive runs and blew the game open with six runs on five hits in the sixth.
Har-Ber also contributed an error in the sixth and finished with four misplays for the game.
"Any time a team has players get at least four at-bats, it's going to be a rough night," Har-Ber coach Lynn Lawson said. "Then, you can't have four errors and expect to beat one of the top teams in your conference."
Har-Ber and Bentonville will both travel to Benton this weekend to play in a double-elimination tournament. The Lady Wildcats return to 7A-West Conference play on Wednesday against Fayetteville.
Sports on 04/24/2015