Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Extras benefit Heritage
Heritage coach Brian Walker said he was in need of rest after his team’s last two games.
The War Eagles needed eight innings to take a needed 6-5 victory Wednesday at Springdale Har-Ber, then had to play 11 innings the following evening before they claimed an 8-6 win at Fort Smith Northside.
“I told our players while we were on the bus that winning didn’t have to be this hard,” Walker said. “But Wednesday was a big win for us. We keep the (6A-West Conference) standings in our locker room, and our goal is to stay above a certain line.”
Heritage (11-7, 3-3) forced an extra inning against Har-Ber after Michael Johannsen drew a leadoff walk in the sixth inning and scored on a passed ball for a 5-5 tie. The War Eagles then scored the goahead run in the eighth when Jeb Brown singled and came home on Aden Osburn’s single.
Brady Laird, who made the tie stand when he picked the potential winning run off first in the seventh, retired the Wildcats in order to preserve the lead.
“We had opportunities where we could have lost that game, but the kids did the right thing,” Walker said.
The win allowed Heritage to move into a third-place tie with Bentonville, with four teams just a game behind in the standings. The War Eagles and the Tigers will meet in their two-game series starting today at Rogers.
“It was already a big series,” Walker said. “This is another opportunity for a sweep, but if we can’t win that first game we’ll have to be ready to win the second won. This series is definitely a big one.”