Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Schaefer’s hit a winner in DeLamar’s no-hitter
FAYETTEVILLE — Landon Schaefer just couldn’t let Jaison DeLamar do all the work needed for Fayetteville to get a victory over Fort Smith Northside.
Schaefer turned his teammate’s no-hit pitching performance into a winning one as he smashed a shot into the left-center field gap and drove in David Abide from second base with the game’s only run as the Bulldogs claimed a 1-0 victory over the Grizzlies to begin their 6A-West Conference series at Bulldog Field.
“[Northside pitcher] McLane Moody is one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen in my entire life, especially in this conference,” Schaefer said after his heroics. “I mean, he’s got every pitch he can throw. He got me those first three atbats, but I couldn’t let him get the fourth.
“That was a really exciting moment for me and my team. It was a grinder of a game. I’m just glad we came out on top.”
Fayetteville (7-3, 3-2) had failed to get a hit through the first six innings against Moody, and the Northside right-hander opened the seventh with an out in foul territory. Abide, however, walked on four straight pitches and Luke Smith finally picked up the Bulldogs’ first hit with a solid single to center.
As Schaefer came to the plate, the Grizzlies (9-6, 3-2) held a meeting on the mound and elected to stay with Moody, who had thrown 109 pitches at that point. Schaefer then had an 0-2 count before he delivered his game-winning hit while DeLamar stood in the on-deck circle.
“I knew they were going to leave McLain in, just because of the way he was throwing,” Schaefer said. “He was throwing a lot of strikes — a lot of fastballs, all pitches for strikes. I knew they trusted him to end the game.
“The first pitch, he threw me a curveball and I was really anxious. It was in the dirt, so I swung and missed. He threw me a fastball, and I just missed it down the rightfield line. His catcher went up to the mound and told him he wanted a fastball, so I knew it was coming. I knew I couldn’t miss it.”
DeLamar, meanwhile, needed only 84 pitches to complete a no-hitter and improve his record to 4-0 this season. The sophomore righthander recorded 12 strikeouts and walked only 2, and Northside was never close to getting a base hit.
“In the bullpen, warming up before the game, I was feeling really good,” DeLamar said. “I came down, shoved and did my thing. I felt good the whole time.
“My slider, I could land it well from either side of the plate. My curveball was working well, and the fastball was working better than both. It landed everywhere and felt good.”
The two teams now travel to Fort Smith this afternoon to complete their series.
ROGERS HERITAGE 2, FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 1 (9)
Seth Holiday’s ninth- inning single drove in Spencer Mounce with the winning run, and Heritage slipped past Southside at War Eagle Field.
Mounce hit a one-out single in the ninth and moved to second when Ethan Martin walked. Holiday then swung at the first pitch and delivered a single to center to drive in Mounce as the War Eagles (13-2, 3-2) extended their win streak to 13 games.
Southside (6-7, 3-4) scored its only run in the first inning when Zeb Allen reached on an error and came home on Ty Jones’ double. Heritage then tied the game in the fifth when Bennett Crafton’s two-out single drove in Price Bedwell, who pinch-ran after Josh Hinds singled.
Cade Miller pitched 2.2 innings of relief and earned the win for Heritage.
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 9, BENTONVILLE 1
Henry Acuff’s two-run single capped a four-run second inning, and Jeffrey Zachry added a solo home run as HarBer rolled past Bentonville at Wilcat Field.
The Wildcats (9-4, 4-3) erased an early 1-0 deficit when Cole Carton doubled and scored on Braden Sprague’s single. Sprague later scored on a wild pitch before Acuff’s hit made it a 4-1 game.
Zachry hit his homer in the third, and Har-Ber added three runs in the fifth and a solo tally in the sixth. Sprague had a sacrifice fly in the fifth, while Ross Felder drove in the final run with a double to score Luke Cornelison.
Felder picked up the win as he allowed just three hits and struck out 12 over six innings.
Bentonville (7-7, 3-4) scored its only run when Bryson De Lozier walked and came home on Casey Christ’s sacrifice fly.
In the only other 6A-West game Monday, Bentonville West claimed a 3-0 victory at home over Springdale. Other game information was not available as of press time.