Fayetteville coach Scott Gallagher said the Purple Bulldogs' pitching has been the most consistent part of their game this season, and that showed this week.
Fayetteville (8-5, 3-1 6A-West) allowed just one run in sweeping two 6A-West Conference games from Rogers High.
BASEBALL STATISTICAL LEADERS
BATTING (through Tuesday)
MINIMUM 11 AT-BATS
PLAYER, SCHOOL^AVG^AB^R^H^RBI^2B^3B^HR^BB^SB^SLUG
Watkins, Huntsville^0.571^14^5^8^3^4^0^0^6^0^0.857
Vanover, Huntsville^0.563^16^7^9^6^2^1^2^8^0^1.188
Buchanan, Huntsville^0.522^23^6^12^10^6^0^0^2^3^0.783
Thornton, Bentonville West^0.500^16^5^8^5^1^0^0^3^4^0.563
Garrett, Huntsville^0.500^22^3^11^5^3^0^0^2^1^0.636
McCone, Huntsville^0.500^16^9^8^5^3^0^0^5^11^0.688
Brown, Shiloh Christian^0.467^45^17^21^16^10^0^2^6^2^0.822
Cole, Gravette^0.465^43^11^20^13^5^1^0^4^3^0.628
Burns, Ozark^0.463^41^16^19^10^1^6^0^5^3^0.780
Aden, Bentonville West^0.462^13^7^6^4^1^0^0^7^4^0.538
Callahan, Van Buren^0.455^11^0^5^0^1^0^0^2^0^0.545
Duddleston, Shiloh Christian^0.455^44^12^20^16^3^1^1^3^1^0.636
Schluterman, Subiaco Academy^0.450^20^1^9^2^0^0^0^0^1^0.450
Williams, Shiloh Christian^0.435^46^6^20^6^3^0^0^2^1^0.500
Cobb, Booneville^0.433^30^9^13^6^7^0^0^5^4^0.667
Parson, Gravette^0.432^37^9^16^12^7^0^0^9^4^0.622
Wood, Springdale Har-Ber^0.429^42^13^18^15^6^0^1^3^10^0.643
Jarrett, Bentonville West^0.429^14^8^6^1^2^0^0^4^3^0.571
Burtrum, Springdale Har-Ber^0.425^40^11^17^5^0^1^0^3^12^0.475
Brewer, Mansfield^0.421^19^6^8^5^2^0^0^0^1^0.526
Ruble, Lamar^0.421^19^7^8^1^0^0^0^1^5^0.421
Serrano, Siloam Springs^0.410^39^15^16^8^4^0^1^8^2^0.590
Willbanks, Siloam Springs^0.409^44^15^18^7^2^1^0^5^6^0.500
Carter, Bentonville West^0.400^15^5^6^6^1^0^0^2^0^0.467
Partin, FS Southside^0.400^25^2^10^9^4^0^0^2^0^0.560
Ray, Booneville^0.400^40^10^16^14^2^0^2^2^2^0.600
PITCHING (through Tuesday)
MINIMUM 9 INNINGS
PLAYER, SCHOOL^ERA^W^L^SV^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO
Bourg, Bentonville West^0.00^0^0^0^10^1^0^0^4^13
Dudley, Shiloh Christian^0.00^1^0^0^9^4^2^0^0^10
Owens, Waldron^0.00^0^3^0^14.2^5^19^0^10^33
Ray, Booneville^0.00^0^0^0^11^5^3^0^4^19
C.Johnson, Van Buren^0.53^3^1^0^26.1^18^4^2^4^30
Acuff, Springdale Har-Ber^1.07^2^1^2^19.2^13^8^3^6^26
Partin, FS Southside^1.40^4^0^0^25^20^10^5^10^28
Pelts, Lamar^1.46^3^1^0^24^11^5^5^13^37
T.Johnson, Van Buren^1.52^3^2^1^32.1^20^16^7^7^44
Ellis, Siloam Springs^1.54^2^1^0^22.2^15^8^5^16^31
Oswald, Shiloh Christian^1.65^3^0^0^17^7^6^4^6^18
Jurecka, Greenwood^1.81^2^2^0^31^21^18^8^8^28
Williams, Shiloh Christian^1.81^3^0^0^27^11^10^7^16^46
Nelson, Clarksville^1.91^1^1^0^14.2^12^6^4^12^10
Adams, Springdale Har-Ber^1.91^4^0^0^22^12^9^6^11^37
Jones, Huntsville^1.91^0^0^0^11^8^4^3^11^20
Statistical information is provided by coaches in the NWADG coverage area. Coaches may email statistics to barclayalmanac@hotm…, or provide access to team Game Changer accounts. The deadline for submitting statistics is noon Wednesday.
The tandem of Hank Gibbs and Matthew Magre combined on the five-hit shutout on Wednesday and struck out 13. The Purple'Dogs managed two of their three hits in the sixth inning to push across the lone run of the game.
Rogers shortstop Sal Jacobo laid out to try to stop Jackson Down's ground ball, but it ticked off the end of his glove and trickled into short left field, allowing Harrison Wells to score from second base to snap a 0-0 tie.
"That was two great wins," Gallagher said. "Rogers is a really good team."
Fayetteville won the first game 5-1 on Tuesday, but Gallagher said that game turned on a couple of key plays.
"We hit a ball that the Rogers center fielder dives for and didn't catch, and we score two more runs, and we ended up scoring four in the first," Gallagher said. "Then later they hit a ball, and our center fielder dives and catches. They would have scored two, maybe three.
"We've been up and down. It's been hard to put complete games together. But overall, we've battled through and found out who we are."
Junior Luke Davenport threw a complete game Tuesday, allowing a run on just three hits in the opener.
Gallagher said the trio of Gibbs, Magre and Davenport have pitched the majority of the innings, along with senior Ethan Trivitt.
"Those four guys have carried our staff," Gallagher said. "Luke and Hank have started, and Trivitt has been great out of the bullpen for us. Matthew has started and relieved. He got a win over Cabot."
Well has been Fayetteville's most consistent hitter. He was moved to the lead-off spot over spring break.
"We weren't having a lot of success in the first inning of games, so we moved him up there to help get us off to a better start," Gallagher said. "He's been on fire really since then."
The Purple'Dogs are off to a nice start in league play, but the road doesn't get easier with Van Buren and conference leader Bentonville coming up.
"This is the toughest our league's been in a while, I believe," Gallagher said. "It's going to be tough."
Fayetteville hosts Benton in a nonconference game at 11 a.m Saturday.
HUNTSVILLE
Veteran Eagles off to fast start
The Eagles were on the cusp of a state tournament berth last season but saw a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning in the regional melt away along with their state tournament hopes.
Huntsville returns six starters and are off to a solid 8-2 start as league play begins this week in earnest.
"We start eight seniors, and this bunch came in as freshmen when I came here," coach Greg Harris said. "The majority of them were starters as juniors, so they're battle-tested."
That team chemistry is probably their strongest asset, but bad weather has kept them off the field for almost a week, Harris said.
"We just need to play to get some consistency," Harris said. "The high school season is so short, you need to get hot or it's over. We played six games before spring break with it freezing cold or misting rain."
Seniors Tyler Buchanan and Tad Jones anchor the pitching staff. Buchanan returns as the ace, while Jones was used as a closer last season. However, Jones shifted into a starter role this year. Buchanan plays third base when he doesn't pitch.
The Eagles are 1-0 in league play and were scheduled to take on Berryville on Thursday, but Harris said they have a murder's row coming up with defending state runner-up Shiloh Christian followed by Pea Ridge and Harrison next week.
"The league is as strong as ever," Harris said.
BENTONVILLE HIGH
Bentonville coach Todd Abbott said his team's chemistry is the reason for its 4-0 start in the 6A-West Conference.
"These guys are all in for each other," Abbott said. "You can just see it."
The Tigers (9-2, 4-0 6A-West) have managed to come up with key hits late to win three of their four league games.
Wes Stang's two-run double in the seventh snapped a 3-3 tie and gave Bentonville a 5-3 win over Van Buren on Tuesday. Keaton Cloyd then snapped a 1-1 tie with an RBI-double over the center fielder's head in the sixth inning en route to a 3-2 win Wednesday.
"It's not just one guy," Abbott said. "It's really been a different guy getting it done every day."
Bentonville started league play with a big 6-3 extra-inning win over defending Class 6A state champion Springdale Har-Ber. The Tigers scored three times in the top of the eighth after two men were out.
The group has also come together with only three or four core returners.
Cloyd, a senior and junior Levi Bennett are two of several players, who moved from role players to prime-time this season, Abbott said.
"Levi plays second and short and will pitch a little for us," Abbott said. "Keaton plays some third base. They've been solid defensively and just done a great job for us."
The Tigers have also gotten solid pitching for a variety of contributors.
"We've thrown eight, nine, 10 guys, and all these guys are throwing strikes," Abbott said. "That always gives you an opportunity for success."
Bentonville will play in Bartlesville, Okla., over the weekend before taking on Rogers Heritage in conference play next week.
Sports on 03/29/2019