The Greenwood softball team is off to a good start in their 2025 quest to win a conference title, return to the playoffs, and compete for a state championship, and that journey began with three road games in their first full week of competition. The Lady Bulldogs, led by Head Coach Donald Hart, spent much of their week traveling to and from Northwest Arkansas to play at Gravette, Gentry, and Fayetteville, and Hart’s charges won two of those three games to push their official record to 2-1.
The GHS ladies will continue road mania next Monday, traveling again to NW Arkansas to face Bentonville-West before hosting the Lady Pointers of Van Buren in their 5A West conference opener on Tuesday. Next Friday the Lady Bulldogs will travel to Harrison as they continue league play against the Lady Goblins.
Gravette
After drubbing the Northside Lady Bears, 15-1, in their Arkansas Activities Association benefit game, the Lady Bulldogs overcame a poor start and rode a pair of late homeruns to a 10-9 come-from-behind win over the Lady Lions last Monday. Junior Alyssa Lovell started in the pitching circle for Greenwood, laboring through a tough first inning, giving up five runs before throwing a scoreless second and third frame, allowing her teammates to rally with three runs in the top of the fourth.
Lovell gave up another run in the fourth and the fifth before being relieved by freshman Makayla Bachert and later, another ninth grader in Sienna Wells. Bachert allowed two earned runs before Wells closed out the win with a scoreless seventh. Lovell gave up seven total runs, five earned, while allowing eight hits, giving three walks, and striking out three Gravette hitters. Bachert allowed two runs, both earned, on three hits with a walk and three Ks.
Trailing 6-3 after four innings and 9-3 after five, the Lady Bulldogs exploded for seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to pull out the victory, banking on Wells to preserve their one-run lead in Gravette’s final at bat. The talented freshman gave up a leadoff single, but then got a popup, a groundball fielder’s choice, and a strikeout to notch a GHS win in their regular season opener. The Lady Bulldogs banged out 11 hits and took advantage of two walks and a huge Gravette error in the top of the sixth inning. Only five of Greenwood’s 10 runs were earned runs off two Lady Lions’ hurlers.
Four GHS players had two hits each – Brilea Rofkahr, Lakyn Dawson, Rylee Floyd, and Saylor Hart. Rofkahr also had three runs driven in while Dawson and Hart had two RBIs each. Emily Creason, Daisy Parker, and Bella Meyers had solo hits. Rylee Floyd drove home a run, and Victoria Griffith plated a run without a hit. Nine Lady Bulldogs struck out in the game.
Gravette’s only error started the GHS sixth inning, followed by a two-run homer over the wall in center field by Lakyn Dawson. After an out, Bella Meyers doubled to center followed by an RBI single by Saylor Hart, who advanced to second on the throw home, later taking third on a passed ball. That allowed her to score on a groundout by Victoria Griffith. After a two-out walk to pinch hitter Annie Been, Emily Creason doubled, putting runners at second and third before Brilea Rofkahr blasted a line drive over the center field wall to complete the comeback, putting Greenwood on top to stay at 10-9.
Gentry
This past Thursday the Lady Bulldogs returned to NW Arkansas to take on the Lady Pioneers of Gentry, another 4A school. But contrary to Monday’s come-from-behind win at Gravette, the GHS ladies scored their runs early and led 4-0 before withstanding a Gentry rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to escape with a 4-3 road victory, remaining unbeaten at 2-0.
The visitors struck early with a solo run in the top of the first on a leadoff walk to Emily Creason, a double by Brilea Rofkahr, and sacrifice fly by Daisy Parker to score Creason. GHS starting pitcher Alyssa Lovell shut down the opposition through the first three frames before giving up a run in the fourth. Greenwood didn’t score again, and Lovell continued to dominate until giving up two tallies in the seventh before finishing the game and securing the win.
Gentry’s final at bat started with a bang, a leadoff double, followed by a ground out. A single and a run-scoring double followed before a sacrifice fly plated a second run, putting the tying run at third with two outs. But Lovell got a called third strike to strand the runner, end the rally, and preserve the one-run GHS victory. She needed 94 pitches to get the job done, throwing 64 strikes while allowing eight hits, three runs, two earned, giving one base-on-balls. A pitch-to-contact hurler, she had three strikeouts in the game.
Greenwood had just six hits but took advantage of two Gentry errors and five free passes, scoring three unearned runs, and all the damage was done by the top of the GHS lineup. Leadoff hitter Brilea Rofkahr had two hits, including a double and an RBI. Batting in the two-hole, Bella Meyers also had a pair of hits, both singles, driving home a run. Daisy Parker and Rylee Floyd, batting third and fourth, also singled with Parker earning an RBI. Floyd also walked and scored a run. While no other GHS batter had a hit, Saylor Hart, Sienna Wells, and Emily Creason all reached base and scored a run.
Fayetteville
Last Friday’s road trip to Razorback country presented the first big mismatch of the new season for the Lady Bulldogs, facing the Class 6A Purple Lady Purple Dogs of Fayetteville. But the GHS girls appeared to be up for the task through the first six-and-a-half innings of play, leading 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh before a Fayetteville rally burst their bubble. A pair of walks and an error in the home team’s final at bat contributed to a three-run rally with the tying and winning runs scoring on a double with two outs in the frame, giving Fayetteville a 4-3 victory.
With GHS starting hurler Makayla Bachert still in the game, the leadoff hitter was retired on a ground ball. But the next three hitters all reached base on a walk, a single, and another walk before Bachert was replaced by reliever Sienna Wells. She induced a grounder to shortstop leading to a force out at third with a run scoring, making it 3-2 with two outs and runners at first and second. But what might have been the third out on an infield grounder turned into an error, loading the bases once more before the final hitter clubbed a double to score two runs in walk-off fashion.
Fayetteville scored once in the first inning and the game remained a pitcher’s duel until the Lady Bulldogs broke through with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. A leadoff single by Victoria Griffith was followed by a walk to Emmy Burton. Emily Creason then doubled home both runners and advanced to third on the throw home. Brilea Rofkahr hit an RBI ground out that plated Creason and put Greenwood on top, 3-1.
GHS pitching was excellent throughout the contest with Bachert going 6.1 innings, scattering eight hits while yielding four runs, two earned, with two walks and three strikeouts. Unfortunately, the promising Greenwood freshman hurler was charged with the tough luck loss. Likewise, Fayetteville’s pitching duo was equally effective, holding the Lady Bulldogs to three earned runs on three hits, though the Lady Purple Dogs did issue seven bases-on-balls and recorded just four Ks. The only hits for the visitors came off the bats of Emily Creason (2) and Victoria Griffith. Creason had the only extra base hit, a two-run double. Brilea Rofkahr had the only other run batted in for Greenwood.