Mounties have 6A-West title in reach

There has been a lot on the line when Rogers and Springdale Har-Ber played each other recently.

The two teams played for the 6A-West title last year, then eventually met a third time in Benton for the Class 6A state championship. Now the conference title is on the line again when the teams meet for their twogame series, with today’s game being at Rogers and Tuesday’s game scheduled for Springdale.

“We played some big games with them last year,” Rogers coach Matt Melson said. “You look at the records, and they’ve had a great year and they’re super-talented. We’ll have to find a way to deal with that pitching staff, and their hitters as well.

“We’re excited about the prospects of having a big series with them. It seems like the last few years, it’s been a big deal every time we’ve played them.”

Rogers (19-4, 10-0) enters the series with a two-game lead and four conference games remaining. It means the Mounties can clinch a tie of the 6A-West title with a series split or win the outright championship with a sweep, while HarBer (19-6, 8-2) needs a sweep to tie Rogers in the standings and actually get a tiebreaker advantage over the Mounties.

Melson said he wasn’t sure how he would set up his pitching staff for the series. Braxton Haywood has been Rogers’ No. 1 starter, but left-handers Madden Dillard and Ty Anderson have also started conference games, while Gael Salinas and Losh Lawing have also seen time on the mound.

“It could go whatever way,” Melson said. “I’m excited about the games because I know they are usually tight. No matter what happens, I think it will be a big catalyst for us to play a big, tight, pressure-packed game heading into the state tournament.”