BENTONVILLE -- One ground ball was the difference between minimal damage and maximum disaster for Bentonville's baseball team during its season opener.
A potential fifth-inning double play turned into an error, and Conway seized the opportunity Wednesday. The Wampus Cats scored 10 runs in that inning and went on to post a 12-5 victory during the first day of the Best Sports Classic at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
Best Sports Classic
Conway 12, Bentonville 5
Conway^002^0(10)0^0^—^12^10^4
Bentonville^005^000^0—^5^7^5
Cahill, Fluesmeier (4), Wickes (6) and Pinkett; Ford, Rosales (5) and Bratspies. W-Fluesmeier, 1-0. L-Rosales, 0-1. Sv-None. HR-None.
"We didn't execute," Bentonville coach Todd Abbott said. "We had the opportunity to get one out and possibly two. We didn't, and Conway's a good club. And just like the floodgates opened for us before, they opened up for them. It was definitely tough to stop the bleeding."
Bentonville (0-1) entered the fifth with a 5-2 lead, but Conway (3-0) had the bases loaded with nobody out when Colby Reck hit a ground ball to second baseman Blake Werner. Werner gloved the ball and flipped it to shortstop Cody Scroggins for a force out, but the ball got away and allowed two Wampus Cats to score.
One out later, Grayson Pinkett's bases-loaded walk allowed Collin Condit to score the tying run, then Andrew Hreha followed with a single to left to drive in two runs and give Conway the lead for good.
"We had a kid go to third on the ball that was misplayed, and he said he thought it was going to be an out," Conway coach Noel Boucher said. "At this time of the year, nobody's been on the field and you don't get a chance to go outside. Anything can happen on a ground ball.
"We misplayed a fly ball in the first inning, and that's because the kids haven't been outside. It's good to be out, and everybody's going to get better. They're going to get better, and we're going to get better with the more reps we get."
The Tigers spotted Conway a pair of early runs in the third before they saw everything happen go their way when Werner reached on a two-base error in the bottom half of the inning. Five consecutive Bentonville batters belted hits and drove in four runs, then Mike Stark gave the Tigers a 5-2 lead with a two-out infield single that drove in Carter Brown.
Preston Rosales (0-1) took the loss as he relieved starter Kasey Ford in the fifth. Brian Gloeckler had two of the Tigers' seven innings, including the only one for extra bases with his RBI double in the third. Dylan Fluesmier, the second of third Wampus Cat pitchers, picked up the win in his first varsity appearance.
Bentonville returns to action at 5 p.m. today against Mountain Home in the Best Sports Classic.
Henry Apple can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAHenry
Sports on 03/12/2015