After starting their conference schedule at 1-3, the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs (9-3) have won eight consecutive games in league play to grab hold on second place behind 5A West leader Van Buren (12-0) with two conference games remaining at home against Greenbrier (5-7). With a one game lead in the standings, the GHS girls have the tiebreaker advantage over the third-place Lady Goblins because of their two earlier wins at Harrison.
The Lady Bulldogs host the Greenbrier girls next Tuesday starting at 4:30 p.m. on campus for a conference doubleheader to end their 5A West campaign. Harrison plays two at last place Siloam Springs (0-12). A sweep of the Lady Panthers or even a split of the two games would give Greenwood the #2 seed from the conference in the upcoming playoffs even if Harrison wins both its games, which seems likely.
The Lady Bulldogs end their regular season with a non-conference game at Bentonville next Thursday. The state tournament begins on May 11th at Marion in Northeast Arkansas. This is Head Coach Donald Hart’s first season at Greenwood, and he has his team playing well down the stretch.
Gentry
After their twin bill sweep at Harrison on April 4th, the Lady Bulldogs continued their winning ways with a 13-0 victory at Gentry two days later, smacking 12 hits over six innings before the game was called. Greenwood scored twice in the first inning, three times in the third, seven times in the fourth, and once more in the fifth inning. GHS sophomore starting pitcher Haley McAdams limited the Gentry girls to just three hits and a walk over five innings with three Ks.
Bri Taylor led the team with three hits, including a double, a homerun, and three RBIs. Fellow junior Tori Howard also had a double among her two hits and three runs scored. Seven others had solo hits, including a triple by freshman Daisy Parker and doubles by senior Rylee Cowart and Haley McAdams. Cowart had four runs driven in while Parker, sophomore Brilea Rofkhar, senior Paige Pugh, and freshman Lakyn Dawson all had solo RBIs.
Siloam Springs
On April 11th the Lady Bulldogs hit the road and absolutely trounced the Lady Panthers of Siloam Springs in a doubleheader sweep, 16-1 and 17-0. Both games required five innings or less due to the mercy rule. Greenwood had a combined 20 hits in the two games, but really took advantage of sloppy defense and poor pitching by the home team, which committed seven errors and issued 24 walks.
In the opener, the visitors scored twice in the first inning, ten times in the third, and four times in the fourth inning. The Lady Panthers got their only run in the first inning off GHS starter Tori Howard, who allowed just two hits, no walks, and had three strikeouts. She needed just 50 pitches over her four innings of work.
Oddly, Greenwood had just six hits in the game, all singles except for a double by Paige Pugh. But the 14 walks kept the bases full of GHS runners, giving plenty of RBI opportunities. Rylee Cowart, Morgan Coryell, and Bri Taylor all had two RBIs each while four others had single runs driven home. Daisy Parker, Ireland Cooper, and courtesy runner Emmy Burton all scored three times each.
In game two, the Lady Bulldogs scored in four of their five at bats, including three runs in the first, seven in the second, four in the fourth, and three more in the fifth. They swatted 14 hits and were issued 10 walks. In the circle, Haley McAdams went the distance, limiting the home team to just three hits over five frames with no walks and nine strikeouts. She was backed up by flawless defense from her teammates.
At the dish, five players had multiple hits, starting with Piper Pitts and her three knocks, all singles, with an RBI and four runs scored. Fellow sophomores Clara Burton and Shaylyn Morse had two hits each, along with Ireland Cooper and Lani Coryell. Coryell and Morse had three RBIs each while Cooper, McAdams, Emmy Burton, and Rylee Cowart all drove home two runs. Coryell, Morse, McAdams, and Brilea Rofkhar all had doubles.
Booneville
Taking another break from conference play, the GHS girls hosted nearby Booneville on April 13th, notching another shutout victory, 8-0, behind the stellar pitching of Tori Howard, who gave up just four hits over five innings with two walks and six Ks. Still scoreless in the third inning, the Lady Bulldogs scored twice, then added two more runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth before the game was called.
Greenwood had nine hits in the contest, two each by Emmy Burton and Tori Howard, who also accounted for five RBIs between them. Howard had a double and triple with three runs batted home. Bri Taylor also drove home two runs. Emmy Burton, Paige Pugh, and Clara Burton all scored two runs each. Greenwood received just one walk but did benefit from three Lady Bearcats’ errors. Half of their eight runs were unearned.
Morrilton
Four days later Greenwood travelled to Conway County to take on the Class 4A Morrilton Lady Devil Dogs, and it was a strange game. The Lady Bulldogs jumped ahead 2-0 in the top of the first inning on a pair of unearned runs, but didn’t score again, although they out-hit Morrilton by more than a 2-to-1 margin. Both teams committed three errors, Greenwood’s errors allowing three unearned runs to score in a four-run first inning and a two-run second for the home team. The Lady Devil Dogs got their first three runs on a three-run blast in the bottom of the first inning.
GHS starting pitcher Haley McAdams gave up all four Morrilton hits and six runs, three earned, in three frames of work. Tori Howard relieved in the fourth inning and finished the game, allowing no hits or walks. Both hurlers had four Ks each. By contrast, Greenwood had nine hits, a walk, and three Morrilton errors, but could muster just those two first inning runs. However, the Lady Bulldogs had no extra-base hits and left numerous runners stranded.
Junior Natilee Horn led the GHS squad with three hits, while Daisy Parker had two knocks. Bri Taylor was among four other players with solo hits and accounted for the only Greenwood RBI of the game. Parker and Ireland Cooper scored Greenwood’s two first-inning runs in the non-conference loss.
Mountain Home
Up next on the conference slate was a visit from the Lady Bombers of Mountain Home on April 18th in what turned out to be a pair of tightly contested, low-scoring games. The Mountain Home girls are currently in the middle of the 5A West pack still battling for a playoff spot, so they didn’t roll over for Greenwood, winner of both games, 1-0 and 3-2. The twin GHS wins helped put some distance between the two teams in the league standings.
Both starting hurlers were excellent, and the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when the Lady Bulldogs got their only hit off the bat of Haley McAdams to drive home Daisy Parker with the winning run in walk-off fashion. Parker had reached on a walk and advanced to second when Bri Taylor was plunked by a pitch.
Tori Howard needed 80 pitches to get through seven innings, 62 of them strikes. She fanned six Mountain Home hitters, issued no walks, and gave up just three hits. She had to pitch around just one Greenwood fielding error, and the pitching battle continued into the second game, a thrilling come-from-behind victory for the Lady Bulldogs in eight innings, 3-2.
The Lady Bombers scored a single run in the top of the first which held up until Greenwood tied the game with a solo run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Neither team scored in the seventh and the game moved into the eighth inning. A Greenwood error contributed to an unearned run, putting the visitors on top, 2-1. But that’s when things got exciting for GHS fans.
Starting with a runner at second base in extra innings, Greenwood’s Ireland Cooper advanced to third on a fly ball. Then with two outs, Bri Taylor was intentionally walked before being replaced by pinch runner Saylor Hart, who promptly stole second base. Haley McAdams then got her second walk-off winning hit of the day with a double to left field, driving home both runners for the 3-2 victory.
McAdams turned in a herculean effort in the circle, pitching eight innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out seven enemy hitters with no walks. Bri Taylor and Tori Howard had two hits each for Greenwood, with McAdams and Paige Pugh accounting for the other two knocks.
Farmington
There wasn’t much to tell or brag about last week when the GHS girls traveled to Farmington on Wednesday, only one day after their two thrilling and emotionally draining conference wins. The Class 4A Lady Cardinals have lost just one game this season and didn’t show any mercy to their southern visitors, winning 10-0 in sixth innings, Greenwood’s eighth loss this spring against 18 victories. But the final score was somewhat misleading. It was a 2-0 game going into the fifth inning.
A potentially exhausted Haley McAdams pitched into the sixth inning, throwing 126 pitches, yielding nine hits and 10 runs, seven earned. Uncharacteristically, she also issued five walks and had just three strikeouts. But she continued to battle until the dam broke in the final two innings. Farmington scored four times in both the fifth and sixth frames until the mercy rule kicked in to end the game.
At the plate, Greenwood had seven hits, a walk, a hit batsman, and a Farmington error, but could not manufacture a single run. Ireland Cooper and Paige Pugh had two hits each, including a double by Pugh. Daisy Parker, Rylee Cowart, and McAdams also had solo hits on what was clearly an off day for the Lady Bulldogs.
Alma
Returning to 5A West conference play this past Monday, the GHS girls totally dominated the overmatched Lady Airedales of Alma on their home field, winning both ends of the doubleheader, 15-0, in three and five innings, respectively. Alma currently sits near the bottom of the league standings with just two conference wins.
In the opener, Tori Howard filled the circle for Greenwood and needed just 42 pitches in a three-inning no-hitter, backed up by perfect defense from her teammates. She gave up a single walk and struck out five Alma hitters. She was also backed up by a nine-hit attack from the GHS offense, aided by four Alma errors. Greenwood scored two runs in both the first and second innings before the floodgates opened in the top of the third with 11 runs crossing the plate.
Ireland Cooper and Haley McAdams had two hits each, including a two-bagger by McAdams and three RBIs. Daisy Parker had just one hit, a triple, but also drove home three runs. Cooper added two RBIs, as did Paige Pugh and Charlize Taylor, who had solo hits along with Rylee Cowart and Bri Taylor. The mercy rule kicked in after three frames.
Greenwood had another 11-run inning in game two, this one in the fourth inning, adding to a 2-0 lead. They also scored twice in the fifth inning, totaling 11 hits in the game in support of starting pitcher Haley McAdams, who got credit for the shutout, giving up just two hits, two walks, and striking out six Alma batters.
She also had a nice day at the dish with a two-run double and three RBIs. Nine GHS players had solo hits, including McAdams, with senior Charlize Taylor the only Lady Bulldog with two hits, a single and double with two RBIs and three runs scored. Brilea Rofkhar also had a triple and two RBIs, while Paige Pugh also tripled.
Fort Smith Northside
This past Thursday’s game against Fort Smith Northside was somewhat in doubt due to rainy weather across the region this week. But the rain moved out of the area earlier in the day, allowing the game to proceed, a 3-1 home victory for the Lady Bulldogs. It was also senior day for the team, honoring the squad's four seniors - Charlize Taylor, Rylee Cowart, Ireland Cooper, and Paige Pugh. The win improved the Lady Bulldogs’ season record to 19-8 overall.
Greenwood scored solo runs in three innings – the first, fourth and sixth frames – to go along with great pitching by starter Tori Howard. The GHS junior went the distance, allowing just five hits, two walks, and one run with four strikeouts. She needed 91 pitches to get the job done, 61 of them strikes. The Lady Grizzlies scored their lone run in the top of the third inning with the aid of a Greenwood error.
Ireland Cooper singled in the first inning and came home on an RBI triple by Daisy Parker for Greenwood’s first tally. Haley McAdams singled in the fourth and came home on a two-out triple by Charlize Taylor for a 2-1 GHS lead. The Lady Bulldogs’ final run scored in the sixth on singles by McAdams and Taylor sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt by Paige Pugh. Taylor was credited with her second RBI of the day.