Baseball: Adams, Har-Ber win in 10, clinch bye

SPRINGDALE -- Blake Adams helped Springdale Har-Ber take a two-run lead in the 10th inning of a highly competitive extra-innings matchup with crosstown rival Springdale High at the Tyson Complex on Tuesday.

Then the freshman struck out two in the bottom half of the inning to close out the win and clinch the 7A-West's No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the Class 7A state tournament for the Wildcats.

7A-West Baseball

Springdale Har-Ber 4, Springdale High 2

Har-Ber^100^100^000^2^—^4^8^2

Springdale^200^000^000^X^—^2^3^2

King, Adams (9) and Pardun. Johnston, Lindsey (9) and B. Roach. W – Adams. L – Lindsey. Sv. - None. HRs – None.

"You would just never dream he's a freshman," Har-Ber coach Ron Bradley said. "He has maturity that's far beyond, as a baseball player, (being) a freshman."

Adams was big for Har-Ber (18-11, 10-4 7A-West) before the late stages of the game, too. He tied it 2-2 when he looped an RBI single into left field to score Caleb Kimbel in the top of the fourth. Both teams' pitching was strong and neither team scored for the next five innings despite Har-Ber loading the bases with no outs in the ninth.

The Wildcats finally broke through in the top of the 10th after a costly Springdale error allowed Blaze Brothers to reach. Brandon Still provided the go-ahead run when he drove in Brothers with an impressive RBI double to the left-center wall, then Adams added an insurance run with an RBI groundout to make it 4-2.

"I knew this was going to be a battle," Bradley said. "It was good to finally get a hit with somebody in scoring position. But these games are state tournament games. That's what prepares you for the state tournament."

Adams, who relived starter Michael King after a strong eight innings, struck out two in a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th, a half inning that encapsulated Springdale's issues at the plate on a night it got good pitching from starter Kyler Johnston, who struck out eight in eight innings. The Bulldogs only managed three hits all night.

"The reality of it is we got beat because we were anemic offensively," Springdale coach Shohn Doty said. "Credit their guy, but we got pitches to hit and didn't put good swings on them."

Springdale (19-10, 7-7) would have jumped to the No. 4 seed with a win, but dropped to the No. 6 slot in the loss. Still, the Bulldogs will make their first state tournament appearance since 2007.

"We're the best six seed in the state of Arkansas," Doty said. "I don't think anybody's going to want to play us. We've given a couple games away. We'll figure that out. I think we've got a chance to make a run if we go out and play."

Bentonville 9, Fayetteville 1

The Tigers earned the outright 7A-West Conference championship with a win Tuesday at Bulldog Field and left no doubt in the process.

Bentonville broke the game open with seven runs in the third inning, getting a leadoff home run from Carter Brown to start the rally. On the mound, Drew Young allowed just four hits in seven innings for the Tigers (18-7, 11-3) while striking out five Fayetteville batters.

Brown finished 2 for 2 with two RBIs and two runs. Kam'ron Mays-Hunt and Tyler Johnson also were 2 for 3.

Fayetteville (17-12, 8-6) got a 2 for 3 day from Hayes Cox in the loss.

The Tigers receive a first round bye in the Class 7A Tournament and open at Burns Park in North Little Rock at 5:30 p.m. on May 13. Fayetteville is the No. 4 seed from the 7A-West and will play the No. 3 seed from the 7A-Central at 3 p.m. on May 12.

Rogers High 6, Rogers Heritage 0

The Mountaineers locked down the No. 3 seed from the 7A-West behind a stellar pitching performance from freshman McKaden Templeton.

The right-hander went the distance to earn his first road win of the season, allowing just four hits with eight strikeouts in an 87-pitch effort.

The Mounties (20-7, 9-5 7A-West) blew a close game open with a four-run seventh inning, highlighted by Bradon Mabry's two-run home run. Harrison Heffley added a two-run double one batter earlier.

Heritage starter Dylan Qualls was solid for six innings before running into trouble in the seventh.

Max Horton was 2 for 2 with a double for Rogers, and Grayson Lee was 2 for 4 with a triple and an RBI.

Macauley Sams was 2 for 3 for the War Eagles (10-17, 4-10).

The Mounties will open 7A State Tournament play in North Little Rock at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Fort Smith Southside will be the No. 5 seed from the West after sweeping Fort Smith Northside this week.

Sports on 05/04/2016

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