Har-Ber, Rogers set for series
It’s time for Springdale Har-Ber and Rogers High to settle their differences on the baseball field.
The teams are set to begin a two-game series this afternoon at Arvest Ballpark, with the 6A-West Conference title and the league’s top seed in the Class 6A state tournament up for the grabs. The second game will be played Tuesday at the Mounties’ new field.
“Hopefully, it will be two great teams getting after it,” Har-Ber coach Dustin Helmkamp said. “And I’m sure there will be two close games. It will be a great atmosphere, and I told our kids to enjoy the moment. It doesn’t come around a whole lot, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play them.”
The similarities are almost scary when the two teams are compared to each other. Both of them have 10-2 records in conference play, and they both had 19 regular-season victories before Friday’s scheduled nonconference games.
They even suffered their second league loss on the same day — April 6 — by identical 4-3 scores, with Rogers losing to Bentonville West and Har-Ber falling to Springdale. Har-Ber briefly led in the standings on March 30 when Rogers lost 1-0 to Fayetteville, but lost that edge the next day when the Wildcats lost to Rogers Heritage in extra innings.
“There’s a lot in common,” Helmkamp said. “They put a lot of emphasis on pitching and defense, and we do, too. Not that I’m looking at offense, but I think we do them very well. I expect it to be one of those type of deals. Who knows how it’s going to go, but if you’re from the outside looking, you would expect these to be close, low-scoring games.”
PREP SOCCER CLARKSVILLE
Panthers on the prowl again
Clarksville didn’t let a 1-0 loss at Farmington keep the Panthers down for long.
Far from it.
Clarksville has responded with three consecutive wins, including a 6-0 victory over Prairie Grove on Thursday. Prairie Grove came into the game with plenty of momentum after beating Farmington to drop the Cardinals into a first-place tie with Clarksville (12-5, 6-1) in the 4A-1 Conference.
“Farmington is very good, but we felt like we beat ourselves in that game,” Clarksville coach Bryan Qualls said. “We had plenty of chances to score and didn’t capitalize. We started strong this year and that loss was good in the sense that, if our players thought everything was going to be easy, it’s not. Farmington put a stop to that.”
Clarksville dominated Prairie Grove 6-0 behind two goals each from Kaw Htoo and Cody Qualls, the coach’s son. The Panthers have only two senior starters on a varsity team with about 30 players. Kaw Htoo leads the team with 12 goals and Cody Qualls has nine. Freshman goalie Juan Delarosa has only allowed three goals in conference play.
“We’re still a young team, but our (soccer) IQ all over the field is better,” Qualls said. “It’s called a team sport for a reason and we’re learning better when to pass, where to pass. I’m really happy with that.”
ROGERS
Fit to be tied
Jourdan Badely scored one minute before halftime Thursday and Rogers managed a 1-1 tie with Bentonville after neither team could score in the second half at Whitey Smith Stadium.
It was the third tie in a row for Rogers (6-2-3), which tied Bentonville West 2-2 on Tuesday after fighting to a scoreless tie at Fayetteville April 17. Fayetteville and Bentonville are the league-leaders in the 6A-West Conference and Rogers is second.
“It’s going to come down to the wire between the top three teams,” Rogers coach Oscar Cardona said. “The ties with Bentonville and Fayetteville proves we can play with anyone when we show up.”
Rogers has three games remaining, starting Tuesday at Springdale Har-Ber and Friday at home vs. Rogers Heritage. The Lady Mounties will then face Springdale High on May 4 before postseason play begins.
Rogers is led by Badely, who leads the team in scoring with 14 goals. Badely will continue her soccer career next season at Arkansas State.
“Jourdan has been a big factor for us,” Cardona said. “She plays so hard and she knows what it takes to win.”
— Rick Fires
@NWARick
PREP TRACK
Ozark’s Woolsey impressive in sprints
Anna Woolsey may be short in stature, but the Ozark sophomore has proven she can run with the big girls.
Lady Hillbillies coach Hunter Perrin wishes the 5-foot-1 Woolsey could do it more often these days.
“I tried to get her in meets around Little Rock and Conway,” Perrin said. “But those schools would only allow 6A-Central teams in their meets this year.
“I don’t think she’s being pushed to her full potential. She’s usually 60 meters ahead of the next runner when it comes to the 400.”
Woolsey had the area’s best time in the 100 meters with a wind-aided 12.52 seconds last Monday at the Pointer Relays, where she won three events and finished second in the pole vault and fifth in the 100 hurdles. She also had the best local times in the 200 and 400 at one time before Rogers’ Grace Lueders passed her in both events.
Perrin believes Woolsey, however, might be better at the 200 and the 400.
“I think those two races are her ticket,” Perrin said. “She runs the 400 at such a high speed and at a high rate. She’s very impressive, and she’s been the highpoint person at just about every meet she runs. By far, her best event is the 400, and she knows it as well.”
“We’re right now in the process of getting her recruited. She’s so little bitty, but I’ve never had another girl as good as she is.”
Woolsey’s next meet will be Wednesday when she runs at the 4A-4 Conference meet at Heber Springs.
— Henry Apple
@NWAHenry
PREP SOFTBALL PARIS
Lady Eagles learning on the fly
The linger effects of 2020’s lost season have carried over into this season for many smaller schools. Athletes in the smaller schools often play multiple team sports that can limit them from playing travel team sports, like softball for example. For Class 3A Paris, not playing last season meant the younger players on this year’s team have limited experience, said coach Donald Hart.
“Last year, obviously we got our season cut short, and I have a lot of younger players who needed 25 games last year that didn’t get it,” said Hart. “So we went some lows early this season, getting some kids who only had either three or four jayvee games, or three or four real games for some experience.”
Paris is 15-10 and earned the North Division title in the 3A-4 Conference with an 8-2 mark. By winning their division, the Lady Eagles have secured a berth in the 3A-1 Regional. Paris also earned a bye to the semifinals of the 3A-4 conference tournament and will play next Thursday at Booneville.
Senior Jadyn Hart, the daughter of the coach, is the team leader both at the plate and in the pitching circle. Hart is batting .568 with 8 home runs and 23 RBIs. In the circle, she is 15-5 with a 2.088 ERA and 206 strikeouts in 120.2 innings. But Paris is far from a one-person show, said Donald Hart. Jayden Wells is batting .493 and had 36 RBIs, and Kasse Appleton is swinging the bat at a .397 clip with 29 RBIs.
“We’re coming together at just the right time,” said Donald Hart, whose team has lost a pair of one-run games to South division champion Boonville. “We’ve played a tough schedule and we weren’t ready for some of those early games. I think right now the girls are starting to click. We’re playing some good defense and hitting the ball and pitching well.”
ROGERS
Lady Mounties show resiliency
Lady Mounties coach Mike Harper admitted it was hard to put a loss to Fort Smith Southside in the rearview mirror last week. The 6A-West-leaders were handcuffed in a 2-1 loss, not scoring until the final at-bat.
But wins help erase the bitter taste of a loss and Rogers (19-2, 10-1 6A-West) rebounded with big wins last week including a tight 2-1 decision against Bentonville West on Thursday to keep pace in the league race with Bentonville.
“This win today keeps in looking at the big picture,” said Harper. “We’re playing for the 6A state tournament, so we just have to keep taking care of business. But to be honest, we’re just trying to get better. I know that sounds like a coaching cliche, but today our third baseman was making plays that earlier in the year she struggled with. So I was just proud of the growth we’re showing with just practice and games. It’s been great for us.”
Rogers pitcher Madison Heinle, who earned the win against West, said would have preferred a wider margin of victory.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t be a close game, but deep down I knew it would be,” said Heinle after her 10-strikeout performance. “It feels awesome just to get the win. It was one of the highlights of my season.”
The win keeps Rogers in position to claim the league championship or at least one of the two first-round byes in the 6A state tournament that are awarded to the top two teams in the conference.
The Lady Mounties will play three conference games this week starting with a road game at Rogers Heritage today and a home game against winless Springdale before going to Bentonville for what could be the conference championship on Thursday.
— Chip Souza
@NWAChip