Davis Dyer drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning Friday night, sending Springdale Har-Ber to its first state baseball championship game since 2015 with a 4-3 win over Fayetteville in the Class 6A semifinals.
The victory came at Bulldog Field on the campus of Fayetteville High School, where the Wildcats had already knocked off top-seeded Bentonville earlier in the day. Dyer, a senior shortstop and Arkansas Tech signee, went 2 for 4 at the plate with two RBIs and scored twice in the contest. His seventh-inning single to left field plated teammate Cade Austin, who had reached on a double and advanced on a sacrifice bunt.
“He’s a winner,” said Springdale Har-Ber head coach Dustin Helmkamp. “That’s the word I always come back to with Davis. He’s a competitor. He wants the ball in big moments, and he came through for us tonight.”
The Wildcats (24-11) will face either Rogers or Bentonville in the title game Saturday at 2 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. Har-Ber last appeared in a state title game in 2015, when they lost to Rogers in extra innings.
Friday’s win was sealed by reliever Jake Thompson, who struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the one-run lead. Thompson allowed just one hit over two innings and lowered his ERA in the tournament to 0.75.
Fayetteville (23-10) took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a two-run single by cleanup hitter Trey Morrison. But Har-Ber answered in the third, plating two runs on an RBI single by Dyer and a sacrifice fly by catcher Gabe Hernandez.
The game remained tied until the top of the seventh, when Austin led off with a double down the left-field line. After a groundout moved him to third, Dyer stepped in against Fayetteville reliever Blake Shelton and delivered the game-winning hit.
Helmkamp said the team’s recent success in high-pressure situations helped prepare them for moments like Friday night.
“We’ve played in a lot of close games this year,” Helmkamp said. “The kids have learned how to handle themselves in those situations. They trust each other, and they trust the process.”
Dyer, who has started all four years on the varsity roster, said advancing to the title game was a culmination of years of hard work and team chemistry.
“We’ve been working toward this since freshman year,” Dyer said. “To finally get back to the championship game means everything. This team has stuck together through everything.”
Har-Ber’s offense was paced by Dyer and Hernandez, who went 1 for 3 with an RBI. Austin finished 2 for 3 with a pair of runs scored. Fayetteville’s Morrison went 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
The Wildcats’ pitching staff, led by Thompson and starter Logan Blevins, combined to allow just three runs on six hits over seven innings. Blevins struck out five and walked two in his five innings of work.
Har-Ber entered the state tournament as the No. 4 seed out of the 6A-2 Conference, behind conference champions Rogers and Fayetteville, as well as Bentonville. The team lost twice to both Rogers and Fayetteville during the regular season but found its form in the postseason.
The program’s last state championship came in 2010, when they defeated Rogers 5-2 in the title game. A win Saturday would mark the program’s third state title and first in 16 years.
Source: NWA Democrat Gazette
