Pointers can’t solve Watson, fall 2-0 to Rogers

The Rogers Mountaineers completed a conference-opening sweep of Van Buren on Friday behind a stellar pitching performance. Matt Watson threw a complete-game 1-hit gem, striking out 11 and leading Rogers to a 2-0 win on Friday at Iverson Riggs Memorial Field at the Field of Dreams complex. Rogers (4-1, 2-0) rallied from three runs downs on Monday in the 6A-West opener for both clubs at Rogers to win 4-3 in eight innings. Friday, Rogers scratched across an unearned run in the first inning and manufactured an insurance run in the fifth, which was plenty for Watson. Watson threw 87 pitches in going the distance, allowing a lone single, walking one and fanning 11. “You could tell he was really confident out there,” Rogers head coach Matt Melson said. “For whatever reason, nobody was picking up the ball. A game like this really suits him well. He was in a groove.” Watson went to a full-count just once and got a called third strike on that one. “He was getting ahead early, strike one, a lot,” Melson said. “That’s as well as he’s thrown. He was able to locate his fastball and was able to get ahead with his breaking ball. It looked like their plan was to set on his fastball. A lot of times, he was 0-1 before they were ready to swing. At one time in the middle of the game, nine times in a row he threw first-pitch strikes.” Rogers took a quick 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the first inning. With one out, Tanner Strickland reached on an error. With two outs, Watson singled him to third before another error on a ground ball allowed Strickland to score. Rogers added a run in the fifth inning when Strickland doubled to the warning track in deep right, took third on a wild pitch and scored on McKaden Templeton’s sacrifice fly to center. “That was huge,” Melson said. “This was one of those games where one runs kind of feels like 10 especially with the way he was throwing. That was a big insurance run. You thought some fluke could happen and maybe they could get one run, but you feel like that second run might be hard to get.” Seth Humphrey reached for Van Buren to lead off the home half of the first inning when he was hit by Watson’s third pitch of the game. He advanced to second on Noah Lipe’s sacrifice bunt when the fielder tried to get the lead runner but threw it in the dirt at second. Watson escaped harm, through, with a strikeout, which resulted in a double play when Rogers catcher Hayden Seldomridge picked the runner off first. Watson then coaxed a soft grounder to first for the final out. Van Buren (5-3, 0-2) had another opportunity in the third inning. Tanner Callahan led off with a single to left, which was Van Buren’s lone hit. Callahan took second on Hayden Roark’s sacrifice bunt and took third on a wild pitch. Seth Humphrey grounded softly to short, but Callahan stayed at third on the out. Then Watson then got a called third strike for the final out of the inning. “That was my fault,” Van Buren head coach David Loyd said. “I should have sent him. At first, I really thought the third baseman was going to take a few steps and get to the ball. I didn’t send him. That was a big play. That would have tied it up, and who knows after that. We didn’t get very many chances.” Grant Shankle coaxed a five-pitch walk with two outs in the fourth inning. Watson then retired the final 10 Pointers. “He had command of both pitches,” Loyd said. “When they do that, that’s pretty good. He walked just one. He really pitched well.” Van Buren hurler Connor Johnson almost matched Watson’s performance. Johnson allowed just the lone earned run in the fifth inning, which was on a sacrifice fly. Johnson walked none and struck out four. He retired eight of the last nine Rogers batters. Johnson, too, went the distance. In the era of the pitch count, a double complete game is rare. “I’m happy for Connor the way he competed and pitched,” Loyd said. “It was two very-well pitched games, and they were able to put the ball in play a little better than we were. We gave up an unearned run and didn’t do enough with the bats to win.” Van Buren will play four games in three days next week during spring break with a trip to Memphis for the Best of the West Tournament. The Pointers will play a single game on Tuesday, a double-header on Wednesday and then another single game on Thursday. “We’ve got to get over there and get some guys going and swinging the bats the way they’re capable,” Loyd said. “We’ve got Bentonville when we get back. We’ve got some tough series ahead of us. We’ve just got to keep improving.”

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POINTERS CAN’T SOLVE WATSON, FALL 2-0 TO ROGERS

LELAND BARCLAY

Times Record | 3/16/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D. Sanderford