FORT SMITH -- Just as he has all season, Jackson Wells did it all for the Rogers Mounties.
This time he did it in the biggest game of the year.
Rogers spotted Wells a run in the first inning, and he cruised on the mound to pick up a 4-0 victory against Conway in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A baseball state tournament at Forsgren Field.
"I was really proud of Jackson and the way he pitched," Rogers Coach Matt Melson said. "He was all around the strike zone all day long. He let his defense work for him. We did enough on offense. Four runs for us feels like 40 because we don't score that much."
The Mounties got the first run of the game in the opening inning. Wells reached with a single, and his courtesy runner scored on an RBI single from cleanup man Ty Frakes.
That was all the support Wells needed. He got 5 strikeouts and allowed just 2 hits and 3 walks in 7 innings. He didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning and stranded four.
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"That first run was huge," Wells said. "I knew I just needed to throw strikes and trust my defense to make plays after that. Everything was working for me on the mound. The mindset is to always give the opposing team my best effort."
Rogers (23-7) broke open the game with a huge third inning. The Mounties used a five-hit, three-run frame to take a 4-0 lead. Wells, Frakes and Noah Goodshield picked up RBI hits.
Wells finished 3 for 3 at the plate with the big RBI hit in the third inning.
"He was the catalyst for everything today," Melson said of Wells. "He hasn't been swinging it as well recently. This was a breakout performance for him at the plate."
Conway (23-10) had some opportunities to break through but couldn't come away with the hits needed. The Wampus Cats stranded one runner in the first, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Their lone hits came from Sam Stroth and Clay Fisher.
After Conway's pitching allowed four runs in the initial three innings, Grant Fairchild got plenty of outs for the Wampus Cats. He pitched three scoreless innings while allowing just a hit with three strikeouts.
Rogers advances to the semifinals today. They will play North Little Rock at Hunt's Park at 3 p.m.
North Little Rock 5, Cabot 1
North Little Rock's Jaedon Willis turned in a strong effort on the mound and as a hitter to keep the No. 6 seed Charing Wildcats' state tournament run alive against No. 2 seed Cabot.
Willis pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 run and 5 walks while getting 7 strikeouts. He stranded the bases loaded in the fifth inning. He also had a two-run double and two walks at the plate.
North Little Rock (14-16) broke open a pitchers' duel with back-to-back scoring innings in the fifth and sixth.
The Charging Wildcats got their rally going in the fifth inning with three consecutive walks. North Little Rock got an RBI groundout from Gage Sorenson then an RBI walk from Jordan Kelly.
Cabot (20-9) answered in the bottom of the fifth with its lone run to make it 2-1 on Hogan Ralston's RBI single.
North Little Rock used a two-hit, three-run sixth inning to pull away. Willis had a two-run double and Trevor Flake hit an RBI single in the frame.
Bryant 1, Bentonville 0
In a game of limited scoring opportunities, Bryant got the one it needed at the end of the game.
The Hornets scored their lone run on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth inning, and starter Turner Seelinger did the rest at Hunt's Park.
Bryant (23-4) will face Springdale Har-Ber in today's noon semifinal matchup.
Seelinger threw a complete game two-hitter while walking one on 85 pitches. In a losing effort, Bentonville's Keegan Allen allowed just 4 hits over 6 innings while walking 3 and striking out 5.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Hornets broke a scoreless tie. Connor Martin reached on a one-out single and moved to third on Garrett Wilson's single. Martin came home on a passed ball for the game's only run.
The biggest threat for the Tigers (18-10) came in the top of the fifth. With one out, Drew Wright tripled to left field. Joseph Hardin hit a sharp grounder to first, but Hornets' first baseman Jackson Parker made the play and the out to prevent the run from scoring. Seelinger got Jackson to ground out to short to end the threat.
Springdale Har-Ber 8, LR Catholic 4
The Wildcats (24-18) blasted three home runs to back up the four-hit pitching effort of Tyler Ridley to defeat the Rockets (18-14).
Ridley got the complete-game win, walking three while striking out 11.
Walker Immel, Ethan Fender and Drue McClendon each had two hits and a homer to pace the Har-Ber offense, which built an 8-1 lead after four innings.
Fender's home run was a two-run shot to left in the second for a 4-0 Wildcats' lead. McClendon led off the bottom of the third with a solo shot for a 5-1 lead. Walker Immel's solo homer in the fourth sparked a three-run rally to build the 8-1 cushion.
Brady Claypool had two of Catholic's four hits.