Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Rogers’ Hulsey shines on Senior Night
ROGERS — Sarah Hulsey will likely never forget her final home appearance for Rogers High.
Hulsey led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a home run on Senior Night to give Rogers a 6-5 victory Bentonville West Tuesday in 7A-West Conference action at Veterans’ Park. The home run came after Anna Griffin hit a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the seventh to tie the game 5-5.
West would’ve taken the lead in the inning if not for a standout running catch in left field by Hulsey. The senior recorded the out, which was followed by two singles and a tying home run to right field by Griffin on a 1-2 pitch.
“Sarah made a great play in left field and that may have been just as important as the home run,” Rogers coach Mike Harper said.
It was.
Hulsey ended any momentum West had gained when she stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh and hit the first pitch over the center field fence.
“After (Griffin) hit that home run, I told the rest of our team that ‘we’re fine, we’re all right,’” Hulsey said. “We still had one more at bat and when I got to the plate, I was hoping. It’s been a great year and I will never forget this.”
Rogers needed some offensive production after Maddy Prough struck out 19 of 21 batters and pitched a perfect game against the Lady Mounties in their last game. Rogers collected 11 hits, including a double and two singles by leadoff hitter Cassie Gonzalez.
Gonzalez ended the hitless streak when she beat out a bunt that hugged the third base line in the first inning. Gonzalez added a line drive single in the third inning when Rogers scored three runs on four hits. Allyn Hensley and Hulsey contributed run-scoring doubles in the inning when five consecutive batters reached base with one out.
Gonzalez and Hensley each had a double in the sixth inning when Rogers (15-6, 11-2) increased its lead to 5-2 over the Lady Wolverines (20-10, 8-4).
“I was proud of my kids,” West coach Anthony Cantrell said. “It was 3-0 and we could have laid down. We fought back through it and, if (Hulsey) doesn’t make that great play in left field, it could have turned out different.”
Rogers will play at Springdale High on Thursday while Bentonville West will host Bentonville High on Thursday and Van Buren on Friday in a makeup game.