Sikes leads Van Buren past Rogers High

McKennah Sikes worked out of a couple of jams in the circle and hit a tie-breaking two-run home run to lead Van Buren to a 5-3 win over Rogers High in 7A-West Conference softball Monday at Veterans Park. The Lady Pointers (12-4, 4-1 7A-West) are now one of three 7A-West teams with one loss and tagged the Lady Mounties (9-5, 5-1) with their first league loss. The senior, who went 2-for-4, snapped a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning with a drive that just cleared the left-field fence, after lead-off hitter Caroline Davis walked. "That was her ninth home run this year and the school record is 10 and we've got what 15 games left," Van Buren coach Andy Williams said. "She didn't miss her spot maybe once when they got a hit. We made some good defensive plays behind her, too." Sikes did work in the circle, too, as Rogers loaded the bases with one out in the first inning and did not score. The Lady Mounties also put two on with one out in the sixth, but Sikes got a ground ball to third baseman Whitney Ellis, who stepped on the bag and threw across for a inning-ending double play. Williams said that might have been the play of the game with Rogers lead-off hitter Cassie Gonzalez left in the on-deck circle that inning. The freshman went 4-for-4 with a double, but scored only once. "We couldn't get her out," Williams said. "She led off the seventh and got another hit, but we were able to get outs." Rogers coach Mike Harper said his team didn't come in as mentally prepared as it had been lately. But he blamed himself for Gonzalez getting thrown out trying to stretch a first-inning double into a triple that cost the Lady Mounties at least a run. "That's one me, but we've got to come prepared mentally," Harper said. "That's partly on me and partly on them. It was a good game between two good teams. We didn't play bad, I don't think we had an error." Van Buren took an early lead on Baylor Miles' two-out, two-run single, but Rogers responded with three runs in the third to grab the lead aided by two Lady Pointer errors. Faith Edwards' two-run single tied the game and Sarah Hulsey followed with an RBI single up the middle for a 3-2 Lady Mountie lead. But Van Buren answered on Lauren Suggs' run-scoring single to tie the game. Suggs and Hali Bartholomew finished with two hits each.

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SIKES LEADS VAN BUREN PAST ROGERS HIGH

PAUL BOYD

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 4/11/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Van Buren High School Athletics