Felder fires no-hitter to lead Har-Ber over FS Southside

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 8, FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 0

FORT SMITH — Ross Felder wouldn’t let himself think about a no-hitter very early Monday night.

Then he walked two batters in the seventh inning, and his thoughts turned completely to just winning. He then fanned the final two batters he faced to finish off an 8-0 win for Springdale Har-Ber over Fort Smith Southside at Forsgren Field for his first career no-hitter.

Har- Ber ( 17- 6, 8-5) and Southside (9-10, 4-7) will play the second game of the twoday 6A-West series at 5 p.m. today at Har-Ber.

On Monday, Felder threw 58 of his 98 pitches for strikes and struck out 11 for the complete-game no-hit shutout.

“It was a fun night with everything going,” Felder said. “I was spotting the fastball up, I had the curveball and change up. Everything just felt really good.

Felder walked five in the game, including Luke Jackson and Carter Zimmerman consecutively after a leadoff strikeout in the final inning before two straight strikeouts.

“I was more trying to get a win for our guys,” Felder said. “I love being around these guys. It’s been fun this year. I just want to get as many wins as I can for this team.”

Felder allowed just one ball to reach the outfield, which was by Zeb Allen leading off the bottom of the first inning on a pop up to left field.

The left-handed Allen also rocketed a pitch that was stabbed by third baseman Luke Cornelison, who was playing in to guard against a bunt with two outs in the third inning. Otherwise, it’s probably extra bases down the line. David Sorg also had a hard grounder that was fielded for an out by first baseman Braden Sprague.

“He was in command of the game from start to finish,” Southside coach Dale Harpenau said. “We hit a couple of balls right on the screws but right at guys. Plays like that are going to happen especially in no-hitters. He threw the ball really, really well. He set the tone for the day.”

Felder was masterful in going the distance to improve to 6-0 for the season and lower his earned run average to a microscopic 0.48 for the season.

“The big thing was he able to spot his fastball on both sides of the plate,” HarBer coach Dustin Helmkamp said. “He had his breaking ball going, he was able to throw it for strikes. He was playing with two pitches and didn’t have to play with his third a whole lot. It was one of those nights.”

Felder’s pregame bullpen session was good, too.

“I felt good,” Felder said. “I was working on spotting up with the pitches. I just tried to work everything and get ready for the game, getting mentally prepared for it.”

Har-Ber staked Felder to early lead with two runs in the second and three more in the fourth.

Jeff Zachry led off the second inning with a triple, Kaleb Ceola followed with a single and Har-Ber added another run on an error.

In the third inning, Ceola drove in Kaleb Kollar, who began the inning with a single, and Sprague doubled home a pair of runs.

“Our guys have been swinging it well the last couple of weeks and it’s carried over,” Helmkamp said. “They have a lot of confidence right now, and it’s the right time to start swinging it.”

Cole Carlton lined a homer over the fence in left field for a 6-0 cushion in the fifth inning.

“I got down earlier in the count,” Carlton said. “He threw me a fastball and I missed it. I was early on it. I didn’t have my timing right. He threw me the same pitch. I didn’t think it was out. I thought it was going to be off the wall, but I guess it had some backspin on it and it kept raising.”

Carlton and Felder have played together since they were 10-years-old so Carlton said he especially was glad for his teammate on Monday.

“It was awesome,” Carlton said. “My and Ross played together growing up, and I’ve never been a part of one. He’s always been a real good pitcher. I was glad to see that.”

Felder came close to a no-hitter right at a year ago also at Southside, but Allen broke it up with a single to lead off the sixth inning. Felder gave up another hit in the seventh before Tyler Ridley closed out a 3-1 win.

“I’ve been close but couldn’t get over the hump,” Felder said. “I was close here. After I gave it up, it was a little deflating but we got the win. That’s what counts.”

Felder also had a one-hitter against Grove, Okla., as a freshman.

“They’re special,” Helmkamp said. “Like I told our guys, you can go long periods of your playing career and never be a part of one. Tonight, they were able to be a part of one.”

ROGERS 14, SPRINGDALE 0

Five different Rogers hitters drove in two runs apiece, and Jake Taylor threw a one-hit shutout as Rogers rolled to a victory at Bulldog Field.

The Mounties (20-2, 10-1) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, then added five runs each in the third and fifth innings. Salinas capped the scoring with his blast that went over the left-field fence, while Rogers also had two instances where the bases were emptied with a single, followed by a two-base error.

Taylor, meanwhile, threw just 72 pitches — 45 for strikes — to pick up the win, allowing a fourth-inning single to Yadi Canales. Springdale did load the bases in the fifth with two walks and an error, but Taylor induced a ground ball to preserve the shutout and end the game.

Lance Wike added two hits for Rogers, who combined 10 hits with five walks and five hit batters.

ROGERS HERITAGE 5, FAYETTEVILLE 1

Aidan Adair had three hits and drove in two runs to lead Heritage to a road victory over Fayetteville.

The War Eagles (8-4) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Luke Askew belted an RBI double and scored on Brett Renfrow’s groundout. Adair then added a two-run single in the third to make it a 4-0 game.

That was all the offense Dillon Askew needed as he threw a complete-game four-hitter with three strikeouts in a 104-pitch outing. The only run he allowed came in the fourth when he gave Henry Hanes a bases-loaded walk.

Askew and Bennett Crafton each had two hits for Heritage.

BENTONVILLE 8, FS NORTHSIDE 7

Bodi Gist’s fifth-inning sacrifice fly scored Connor Adair and broke a 6-6 tie as Bentonville slipped past Northside at the Tiger Athletic Complex.

The Tigers (12-9, 7-6) added a insurance run in the sixth when J.J. Spafford’s sacrifice fly scored Eli McCall, who had to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to secure the win. Northside loaded the bases with nobody out and scored a run when Jayden Duggar was hit by a pitch one out later, but Bentonville pulled off a double play to end the game.

McCall, who threw 2 2/3 innings of relief to pick up the win, finished with three hits and drove in two runs for the Tigers. Alex Martinez had two hits and two RBI for Northside, while Eli Caldarera belted a solo home run on the game’s second pitch.