The Greenwood Lady Bulldogs and Sheridan’s Lady Yellowjackets have gotten to know one another well over the past few years. For the third time in the last five seasons, the two perennial softball powers have met at Fayetteville’s Bogle Park with the state championship on the line.
“It’s nice to be back,” said GHS Head Coach Ronnie Sockey. “We figured that’s who it would be. [Sheridan’s] been there six straight years, so it’s going to be our turn to see if we can knock them off the perch – off the mountain. They’re a good team.”
In 2015 the Lady Bulldogs took home the 6A crown with a 3-0 win, sparked by Sydney Parker’s two-run homer and Victoria Taylor’s stellar pitching.
But the Lady ‘Jackets have won the last three 6A championships, including in 2017 against Greenwood.
In that game, Mariah Hamilton’s two-run homer in the top of the first inning put Greenwood in front, but Sheridan rallied to tie the score with a run in the bottom of the seventh for the 3-2 victory.
Greenwood and Sheridan have played one another seven times overall, including the two previous title games, with the Lady Yellowjackets holding a 5-2 edge.
“The last five years we’ve definitely played quite a few games against each other,” said Coach Sockey. “It’s been back-and-forth, and definitely always good games coming down to the end.”
Greenwood entered last Friday’s 5A title game riding a nine-game winning streak, including three games at the state tournament in Benton, winning by a combined score of 34-0.
“[Our] pitching and defense have been outstanding,” Sockey said. “Both pitchers (Haven Clements and Rheding Wagoner) have been keeping hitters off-balance, just working the count, getting their second and third pitches working well, and trusting [their] defense.
“They’re not big strikeout girls. They’re just going to try to get ground balls and pop-ups and make the defense make the plays behind them.”
Sheridan had won six straight games heading into the finals. In their three games at state, the Lady Jackets outscored their opponents 26-1, including a 3-1 win in the semifinals against defending 5A champion Greenbrier.
“They’re more of a power team,” said Sockey of Sheridan. [They] try to get a few [runners] on and hit a big home run instead of getting people on, stealing bases and bunting people over. But they’re still a great team and it’s going to be tough to beat them.”
Sockey didn’t name his starting pitcher until just before the finals. “Our best defense is when Haven is on the mound,” he said, adding that Kya Schmidt in left, Emma McCorkle in center, and Rheding Wagoner in right provide the team’s best outfield lineup.
“Haven really spins the ball, has a lot of movement, and keeps [hitters] off-balance really well,” said the coach. “It may take them both to win it, but both of them are ready.”
Title Game Recap
The weather was excellent for last Friday’s 5A showdown on the Hill in Fayetteville. The flags at Bogle Park were standing at attention due to a steady breeze blowing out toward left-center field for most of the game. The temperature was pleasant, especially for those fans seated in the shade.
As expected, the game was close, with Sheridan scoring twice in the opening frame and Greenwood coming from behind to take a 3-2 lead in the sixth before Sheridan responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame for the lead and eventual 4-3 win.
In hindsight, a pair of GHS errors in the opening frame made the difference in the game. Both Sheridan runs were unearned, leaving Greenwood in a 2-0 hole early in the contest.
With runners stationed at second and third base with two outs, Sheridan’s Jordan Flora whacked a double, scoring both runners. A pop up to short ended the inning, but a pair of hits and the two miscues allowed the Lady Yellowjackets to take an early advantage.
Greenwood got singles in each of the first two frames but did not score until the third after a two-out rally. Ally Sockey walked to start the comeback and scored on Mariah Hamilton’s double to left-center field.
Paxtyn Hayes then singled to right tying the score at 2-all. Rheding Wagoner struck out to end the inning, but the Lady Bulldogs had new life.
Haven Clements pitched well throughout the middle innings, retiring the side in order in the second, fourth, and fifth frames, while allowing two runners in the third on a hit and an infield error before recording the final out on a called third strike.
The umpire behind the plate was at odds with both teams throughout the game. The catchers for Greenwood and Sheridan were visibly upset with the inconsistently of the strike zone.
In the third inning, with his team in the field, Coach Sockey questioned the right-side umpire on a pickoff play at second base that went against Greenwood, but to no avail, though it appeared to be a bad call.
No runs scored as a result of the play, but it did allow Sheridan to send an extra batter to the plate, which changed the order of hitters in the following innings.
The Lady Bulldogs went down in order in the fourth and fifth innings before taking the lead in the sixth. Mariah Hamilton set the table with a lead-off double to right-center field, was replaced by courtesy runner Eden Hutchins, who then scored with one out on Rheding Wagoner’s wall-banging double to left-center.
But Greenwood missed a chance to pad its lead after Harley Terry reached on an infield error. With Wagoner at third and Terry at first with only one out, the next two GHS hitters struck out, one looking and one swinging, to end the threat.
Sheridan then opened the bottom of the frame with a leadoff walk and a base hit. A pop up to catcher Paxtyn Hayes was the first out and a ground ball to Angela Price was the second out. Price initially looked to second base, hoping for a double play, but had to settle for a play at first.
That put runners at second and third with two outs and brought Sheridan senior Kassie Martin to the plate. Martin’s weak popup into right field then fell between Price and Wagoner for a hit, allowing both runners to score. A fly to left field ended the frame with Sheridan back on top, 4-3.
With three outs remaining, Greenwood had one more opportunity in the top of the seventh. Angela Price gave her teammates that chance with a one-out single.
After a strikeout, Mariah Hamilton stepped into the batter’s box hoping to be a hero on her graduation day, but on the first pitch the ball went to the backstop, sending Price to second.
She took a wide turn at the bag and appeared to be headed for third before putting on the brakes, but not before the defense caught her in a rundown. Yet the nimble GHS infielder stayed alive long enough to force an errant throw, allowing her to reach prime scoring position at third base.
But on the next pitch, Hamilton hit a scorching one-hop shot to Sheridan shortstop Savannah Sanford, who fielded the ball cleanly and threw across the diamond to secure the win.
“We had our senior up, and that was what we wanted,” said Coach Sockey after the game. “We had a chance, and Mariah smokes it, and they make a good play. We just needed one more big hit. Our girls left it all on the field,” he said. “They gave everything they had.”
It was the fourth consecutive state title for Sheridan (27-4) after losing to Greenwood in the 2015 6A championship game. Sheridan pitcher Bailee Bibb earned the victory in relief.
Since that Lady Bulldogs’ win four years ago, the Lady Yellowjackets have also won six of the past seven contests against Greenwood.
Offensively for the GHS girls, Rheding Wagoner was 2-for-3 while Hamilton was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles. The Lady Bulldogs had seven hits in the game, one more than Sheridan, but all the GHS hits came from the top half of the order.
Clements took the tough luck pitching loss, giving up just two earned runs on six hits in six innings, striking out one.
“I told the (underclassmen) to keep their heads up, we’re going to get there,” Sockey said of his efforts to console his players after the loss.
“We got a taste of [playing for a championship] again, and with everybody being back, we’re going to find a way to get there,” he said. “But we’ve got to get back [here] first.”