Wacaser, West wallop Van Buren

BENTONVILLE WEST 10, VAN BUREN 0

VAN BUREN — It didn’t take Bentonville West shortstop Hallie Wacaser long to make an impact at the plate on a windy Tuesday night.

Wacaser took the first pitch she saw and drove it over the right-field fence for a two-run home run in the first inning. West didn’t look back after that, pulling away with a 10-0 victory against Van Buren in the 7A-West Conference opener.

“It was a pretty good night for her at the plate,” West coach Anthony Cantrell said. “She played well for us and had a great game.”

Wacaser also hit another home run in the sixth inning to help push out the lead to 9-0 with a deep ball to center field. She finished the game 3-for-3 with three runs scored, two home runs and three RBIs for the Lady Wolverines.

Endya Moler provided a spark in the third inning, helping extend the lead out to 6-0 with a two-run home run for West. Moler scored twice while driving in three runs as well.

“That gave them a good start,” Van Buren coach Andy Williams said. “The wind was gusting out there tonight. That’s what happens when it does. They made good, solid contact as well throughout the night.”

West pitcher Emma Wood (2-0) didn’t make it easy for the Van Buren offense. She tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out nine for the Lady Wolverines (2-1, 1-0).

Wood allowed the initial batter of the game in Van Buren’s Caroline Davis to reach on a single. But Wood was able to settle down after that by just allowing two batters to reach base after that.

“She located really well tonight and was in command of all her pitches,” Cantrell said. “She did a good job tonight. If she throws strikes and is able to keep us in games, we’ll be able to play with a lot of teams.”

Wood pitched four perfect innings after the first inning and allowed a runner to reach scoring position just once in her performance against Van Buren (4-3, 0-1).

West was able to get the bats going early and often after dropping its last game 4-1 against Conway last week.

The Lady Wolverines had a pair of three-run innings in the first and third. They then added a pair of two-run innings in the fifth and sixth.

“We bounced back because we had a tough game against Conway last Friday,” Cantrell said. “We responded to some adversity. We hit the ball well did a good job tonight. It was a team effort.”