The Greenwood Lady Bulldogs went 2-1 in conference tournament play to earn the second seed from the West in the upcoming 6A state tournament, to be played in Greenwood this weekend. The GHS girls completed their regular season, including the conference tournament, with a record of 20-5.
Head Coach Ronnie Sockey and his girls won their final two regular season outings in blowout fashion, outscoring their opponents 36-0 in two games shortened by the mercy rule.
They then defeated their first two opponents in the 6A West conference tournament, also both shutouts, before traveling to Sheridan last Saturday and absorbing a 5-2 loss, leaving them with the two-seed in the state tournament and a first-round bye.
Sheridan
Greenwood and Sheridan are two of the top girls’ softball teams in the state, certainly in Class 6A, and have been for the past few years, meeting several times in the state semi-finals or finals. That appears to be the case again this spring.
Both teams could meet again in the state title game at Bogle Park in Fayetteville next weekend. To make that happen, both squads must win their first two games in the state tournament this week at Greenwood. After their first-round byes, both teams will begin play on Friday.
But last Saturday a 1-0 GHS lead was erased by a five-run fourth inning by the Lady Yellowjackets, who sent nine batters to the plate, banged out five hits, and took a 5-1 lead they never relinquished.
Greenwood’s first run also came in the fourth after a lead-off double by Ally Sockey, a passed ball, and an RBI sacrifice flyout by Mariah Hamilton. The Lady Bulldogs also scored a solo run in the fifth on a sac fly by Angela Price, making the final score 5-2.
Senior Kaila Cartwright took the pitching loss for Greenwood. Her line included six innings of work, five earned runs on six hits, with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Offensively, both teams had just six hits each, but Sheridan bunched most of its hits in one inning, maximizing the damage to Greenwood. The Lady Bulldogs had six players with one hit each.
Lake Hamilton
Last Tuesday, May 1st, having already won their first tournament game the previous Saturday and qualified for the state tournament, the Lady Bulldogs won a 4-0 decision at home over the Lady Wolves to improve their seeding. Kaila Cartwright was the pitcher of record, going the distance for the win.
She tossed seven scoreless innings, but did yield three hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts. Her teammates played flawless defense behind her as well.
Offensively, the Lady Bulldogs scored twice in the second inning, and once more in both the fourth and fifth frames, all on just five total hits by five different players.
Josie Chapple had two RBIs, Angela Price had a triple and a run scored, Paxtyn Hayes had a hit and RBI, and Ericka Calderon walked twice and scored both times.
Russellville
The Lady Bulldogs abused the Russellville girls with a pair of 15-0 victories over a span of three days, the last of which was the opening round of the conference tournament on April 28th.
Kaila Cartwright earned the three-inning mercy rule victory, giving no runs on just one hit and no walks. She also fanned eight of the 12 hitters she faced, with one hit batsman and one GHS error.
The Lady Cyclones made five defensive errors to go along with Greenwood’s 13 hits, making five of the Lady Bulldogs’ runs unearned. They plated four runs in the first inning, six in the second, and five more in the third before play was halted.
Five GHS players had multiple hits in the contest, including Paxtyn Hayes and Mariah Hamilton with three hits each. Hayes had a double, two singles, an RBI, and two runs scored. Hamilton also had two singles and a double, plus two RBIs and two runs scored.
Angela Price, Ally Sockey, and Ericka Calderon all had two hits each. Price had a pair of doubles and a run scored, Sockey had a single, double, three RBIs, and two runs scored, and Calderon had a single, a double, an RBI, and three runs scored. Cartwright also drove home two runs with a hit.
Two days earlier the same teams met again at Greenwood in the regular season and conference finale, with an almost identical result. The scored was the same, 15-0 in three innings, but this time the Lady Cyclones never got a hit and never reached base as Cartwright tossed an abbreviated perfect game.
She faced just nine batters, retiring the side in order all three innings with seven strikeouts. Her defense was also perfect behind her.
At the plate the Lady Bulldogs had 12 hits and took advantage of two Russellville errors, scoring eight runs in the first inning, two in the second, and five more in the third before the curtain came down.
Three players had more than one hit in the contest. Josie Chapple drove home three runs on a pair of singles and scored once. Ally Sockey had three hits, two singles and a double, one RBI, and two runs scored, and Rheding Wagoner added a pair of singles, an RBI, and scored once.
Ericka Calderon and Mariah Hamilton also both had a hit and a pair of RBIs each. Angela Price, Paxtyn Hayes, Kya Schmidt, and Hamilton all scored two runs each.
Siloam Springs
The offensive explosion actually started with Greenwood’s 21-0 road win over the Lady Panthers on April 24th. A pair of 10-run innings in the first and second, followed by a solo run in the third accounted for all the scoring and mercifully shortened the contest to three frames.
Sophomore Abbi Clem was the starting pitcher for Greenwood and got the win, giving up just one hit and two walks with six strikeouts. She pitched to just 11 batters and fanned the last five she faced to end the game in style.
Offensively, Greenwood swatted 13 hits and got some help from three Siloam Springs’ errors. The hitting star was Paxtyn Hayes with three hits, all doubles, with six RBIs and two runs scored.
Sophomore Harley Terry also had two hits, including a homerun, with three RBIs and three runs scored. Eight other GHS players had one hit each. Ally Sockey’s triple drove home three runs and she scored twice, and Rheding Wagoner’s single plated two runners while she scored three times herself.
State
The Lady Bulldogs will be the host team for the state tournament, which starts on Thursday and concludes Saturday. The GHS girls (W2) have a first-round bye and will play the winner of Thursday’s game between Jonesboro (E3) and El Dorado (W6) on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
Should they advance, and they should, they will play Saturday in the semi-finals against either Marion, Lake Hamilton, or Pine Bluff. Saturday’s game will start at noon.
The state finals or the championship game will be played at Bogle Park on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville next weekend, but the exact date and time are yet to be determined.
Sheridan and Greenwood appear headed for another showdown in the title game. The Lady Yellowjackets earned a walk-off win over Greenwood for the 2017 championship.