ROGERS -- A six-run fifth inning helped Rogers High rally for a 7-3 win against Siloam Springs on Wednesday in the Best Sports Classic at Veterans Park.
The Mounties (2-0) trailed 3-0 but batted around in the fifth inning against Siloam Springs starter Chance Junkermann, sending 11 batters to the plate. Brandon Mabry delivered the big hit, a two-run single that gave the Mounties the lead. Mabry later scored on a balk.
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Junkermann and Pruitt; Heffley, Eason (5) and Field. W - Eason, 1-0. L - Junkmann, 0-1. HRs - None.
Junkermann, a left-handed pitcher, kept the Mounties off-balance up to that point, mixing a sweeping curve ball with a tailing fastball. Over four innings, he allowed just two hits and one run.
Rogers coach Matt Melson said the Mounties finally showed plate discipline in the fifth inning that resulted in six of their nine hits.
"He was just kind of pounding the strike zone, and those lefties are hard to get to sometime," Melson said. "He'd roll that curve ball in there then that sneaky fastball that would kind of run away from the guys. But when we started to have an opposite-field approach, we had a lot better at-bats."
Siloam Springs (1-2) had success against Rogers starter Harrison Heffley early, collecting seven hits over four innings. The Panthers took a 3-0 lead in the third when Josh Hunt led off with a single and scored on Chandler Cook's RBI double. Cook later scored on an RBI single from Zac Bolstad. Kaleb Francis added an RBI single that could have been a two-run hit, but Dodge Pruitt slipped on the wet field rounding third and did not score and was left stranded.
"If he scores, it's 4-0 and we have a runner at second," Siloam Springs coach Alan Hardcastle said. "If he scores and we go up 4-0, we may end up getting six or seven (runs) in that inning, so it would have made a difference."
After the Mounties took the 7-3 lead, Rogers reliever Kyle Eason pitched three scoreless innings to earn the win.
Rogers will take on Alma at 4:30 p.m., and Siloam Springs will take on Rogers Heritage, also at 4:30 p.m.
Sports on 03/10/2016