CENTERTON -- Sophomore Kendall Thornton tossed a two-hitter and his teammates gave him plenty of support as Bentonville West rolled to a 14-0 run-rule win over Alma on Friday at Wolverine Sports Complex.
That's back-to-back shutouts for the Wolverines (2-0) to begin the season.
The right-hander changed speeds to keep the Airedale hitters off-balance. Thornton allowed just two singles, struck out four and did not walk a batter over five innings. He did hit one.
West coach Chip Durham was pleased with his pitcher's work and his team's overall play.
"He was one of our best guys (last season)," Durham said. "Not an overpowering guy, but a strike thrower. He throws three pitches for strikes, pitches to contact and relies on his defense to make some plays.
"He gets ahead early and does what he does. He throws a lot of off-speed pitches backwards a lot. I thought we played defense really well. In two games, we've got two walks and one error. That's going to give any chance to score some runs."
Thornton joined teammates Jaron Jenkins and Dylan Carter, who combined to blank Mountain Home on Thursday to total 12 shutout innings for the Wolverines in two days.
West supplied plenty of offense, too, led by Jason Gloeckler. The senior went 3-for-4 with a double and a triple and drove in five runs. Teammates Will Jarrett and Maddox Thornton added two hits each. Maddox Thornton also added three RBIs.
Jarrett and Gloeckler both drove runs in a three-run bottom of the first for the Wolverines. Gloeckler and Maddox Thornton both added two-run singles in a four-run second inning to give West a 7-0 lead.
The Wolverines put the game away with a seven-run fourth, sending 13 batters to the plate. Gloeckler's two-run triple highlighted the inning.
West finishes play in the Best Sports Classic by hosting Conway at 2:30 p.m. today.
Bentonville West 14, Alma 0 (5 innings)
Alma 000 00 -- 0 2 4
West 340 7x -- 14 10 2
Shankle, Flores (4), Bailey (4) and Henson; Thornton, and Carter, Trammell (5). W-Thornton, 1-0. L-Shankle, 0-1. HRs-None.
Rogers High 10, Mountain Home 0 (5 innings)
McKaden Templeton tossed a three-hitter and also drove in three runs to lead the Mounties to the easy win Friday in the Best Sports Classic.
Templeton allowed no runs on three hits, struck out seven and walked one over five innings. He also had a double and a walk with three RBIs. Hayden Seldomridge added two hits and drove in a run.
The Mounties took advantage of seven Mountain Home errors, scoring in four of the five innings.
Bentonville High 22, Fort Gibson, Okla. 1
Payton Allen went 3-for-4 with two doubles and drove in four runs to lead the Tigers to the easy run-rule win in the Best Sports Classic.
Keaton Cloyd, Devin Ham added two hits each for Bentonville (2-0). Austin Garrett also drove in four runs.
Nathan Lyons, Ryan Kneeshaw and Kam'Ron Mays Hunt combined on a two-hitters. Lyons picked up the win, allowing an unearned run on two hits. He struck out two and walked one.
Conway 20, Rogers Heritage 0
Three Wampus Cats pitchers combined on a five-inning no-hitter as Conway run-ruled Heritage (1-2) on Friday in the Best Sports Classic.
Jack Stroth went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs, while Caleb White added four hits and James Martindale drove in four for Conway, which led 6-0 after an inning.
Thomas McNabb, Jackson Hull and Zach Hammons combined on the no-hitter. McNabb and Hull threw two innings each, while Hammons threw the fifth. They combined to strike out four and walk one.
Preps Basketball on 03/03/2018