THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Bentonville High School Athletics

BENTONVILLE -- Bentonville High's baseball team can't earn the 6A-West Conference's top seed for the Class 6A state tournament this spring, but the Tigers made sure Bentonville West won't get it, either. Kayton Coffee had two hits and drove in three runs to lead Bentonville as the Tigers stripped the rival Wolverines from their share of first place in the league standings with a 7-1 victory Monday at the Tiger Athletic Complex. Bentonville's win -- its fifth in as many games against West -- allowed Fayetteville, an 8-6 win over Springdale Har-Ber at Arvest Ballpark, to claim sole possession of first place in the 6A-West standings and clinch that top seed. That turn of events, however, was the last of Bentonville coach Todd Abbott's worries. "In the end, the only thing we need to be concerned about is our team and playing well," Abbott said. "We just played a team that has been playing very well, and we played them very well. "We put a good game out there. Devin Hearn did a great job on the mound, and we had some timely hits. We played some solid defense, and that's all we need to be focused on right now. I'm proud of what these guys did." Coffee put Bentonville (15-10, 7-6) ahead for goodwhen his first-inning triplescored Luke Bennett, who drew a leadoff walk. The Tigers extended that to 3-0 in the second when Sam Golden's single and a bunt by Brooks McDowell set up Keegan Allen, whose single drove in a run, then McDowell raced home when West pitcher Maddox Thornton had the ball slip out of his hand when he faked a pickoff throw. That was all the offense Hearn needed as the right-hander held West (16-10, 9-5) to four hits over six innings and allowed just one unearned run. The Wolverines' only run came in the sixth when Will Jarrett walked and raced all the way home when Joey Aden's single to left field was misplayed. "We just got beat," West coach Chip Durham said. "They were the best team, and that's about all you can say. "We walked too many guys, and we made a couple of errors. We didn't get some timely hits and nothing fell our way. You have to tip the hat to them. Hearn pitched a great game, and they swung the bats well. They played defense and outplayed us." Leadoff hitter Luke Bennett had three hits for the Tigers, who added runs with a sacrifice fly from McDowell, an RBI groundout by Coffee and two bases-loaded walks. The two teams are scheduled to meet again today at the Wolverine Athletic Complex.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Bentonville High School Athletics

TIGERS STRIP WOLVERINES FROM SHARE OF 6A-WEST LEAD

HENRY APPLE

Arkansas Online | 4/30/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: JT Wampler