Mann’s blast sparks Rogers Heritage
6A-WEST BASEBALL ROGERS HERITAGE 7, FAYETTEVILLE 2
ROGERS — It was impossible for Cooper Mann to contain the smile he had on his face Monday, and for good reason.
The sophomore blasted a two-run home run — the first of his career — in the first inning and helped Rogers Heritage continue its season-long winning ways with a 7-2 victory in 6A-West Conference play over Fayetteville at War Eagle Field.
“It’s funny — Cooper was taking BP before the game,” Heritage Coach Brian Walker said. “I throw one in, and he turns and burns. I told him ‘Hey man, I’ll let you know when you hit one out’ because he watched to see if he had hit a home run. And he didn’t.
“But he hit one in the game, and it was a good swing. He’s been reeling a little bit and hadn’t been swinging it as good as he’s capable of, and he had a breakout performance.”
Bennett Crafton belted a leadoff single to right off Fayetteville starter Landon Schaefer, and Mann admitted he never looked to see that the wind was blowing from right to left field when he strolled to the plate.
Mann then turned on a 1-1 pitch from Schaefer and blasted it well over the left-field fence, which is 340 feet away from home plate, a distance farther than a lot of major league baseball stadiums. The home run gave the War Eagles (21-0, 11-0) a 2-0 lead.
“I was just sitting fastball all the time,” Mann said. “He threw me two breakers, threw me one inside and I just let it go. The ball went flying. Pretty nice.
“I was just trying to stay calm and one stayed inside. I got the barrel out. I don’t think I could have hit it any harder. That’s the hardest I’ve hit a ball. I knew it was gone right off the bat. I was running the whole way, but it felt good off the bat. It was amazing.”
Fayetteville (18-4, 7-4) almost negated what Mann had done as Eli Patrick tripled off the center-field wall to start the second and scored on Charlie Graves’ single. The
Bulldogs then threatened to score again when Carter Morris belted a two-out double.
Schaefer then hit a grounder that would have scored Morris if it got into the outfield. Second baseman Danny Ralpho, however, made a diving stab at the ball and threw to first to end the inning and the threat, one of a number of defensive plays Heritage made throughout the game.
“We do defense from Jump Street in August,” Walker said. “Pitching and defense are what we pride ourselves on, but there was some unbelievable plays from some guys. It’s their turn, and they’ve had to work. Danny Ralpho hasn’t gotten much playing time in three years, and this year’s he getting an opportunity.”
The War Eagles, meanwhile, totaled 12 hits against Schaefer, including some ones in key moments. Heritage started the bottom of the third with Spencer Mounce’s double and Josh Hinds’ single, which led to Brett Renfrow and Jack Hamm each driving in a run with a squeeze bunt and a sacrifice fly, respectively, for a 4-1 cushion.
Crafton made it 5-2 in the sixth when he tripled and drove in Ralpho, who hit a one-out single to left. Mann drove in Crafton for the second time with a single that eventually caused Fayetteville to go to the bullpen, then Mounce added an RBI single for the final run.
“Landon Schaefer is an uber competitor,” Walker said. “To match his competitive spirit, that was the goal for the boys.
“We have a veteran group, and we talked about it. Landon is the ultimate competitor, and so we have to match it. Not only is he talented, but he’s competitive. We matched that competitive spirit and was able to string some hits together. We were fortunate to put some good at-bats together and get a couple of big hits.”
Luke Askew went the distance for Heritage and held Fayetteville to just five hits and struck out five. The Bulldogs’ only other run came in the fourth off a War Eagle error after Graves walked and Jude Rana hit a single.
The two teams will conclude their league series this afternoon at Bulldog Field.