Baseball and softball recap

Tri-Lakes teams vie for state championships

By Eric Moore

LITTLE ROCK — The state baseball and softball tournaments began with many teams from the Tri-Lakes area competing but will end with just three playing for the state championship this weekend.

The three teams representing the Tri-Lakes area in the state championships are the Malvern Leopards, Malvern Lady Leopards and the Bismarck Lady Lions.

The top-seeded Leopards breezed through the first round and had a scare in the second round before edging past Little Rock Christian 3-2 in the semifinals. In the first round, Malvern defeated Pulaski Academy 11-1 and edged past Greenwood 9 - 8 in the second round. The Leopards advance to the finals to face Harrison. The game will be played at 3 p.m. Saturday at Baum Stadium at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

The Lady Leopards, the top seed from the 5A-Southwest Conference, shut out their first-round opponent, Pulaski Robinson, 4-0, before goingeight innings with Harrison in a 4-3 victory. The win earned the Lady Leopards a spot in the semifinals against Crossett, where Malvern continued its winning ways in a 2-0 game. The victory earns the Lady Leopards a spot in the state championship game against Nettleton. The game will be played at 4 p.m. Friday at Lady Back Yard at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Shutouts were the norm for the Lady Lions in the first three rounds of the 3A state softball tournament. In the first round, the Lady Lions defeated Manila 2-0, before moving on to the second round to defeat Atkins 4-0. In the semifinal matchup with Cave City, the strong pitching performance that fans of Bismarck have come to expect earned the Lady Lions a spot in the state championship game with a 7-0 victory. Bismarck advances to play Elkins. The game will be played at 2 p.m. at Lady Back Yard at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

The last time that Bismarck gave up a run was in the regional final against Smackover, a team that Elkins beat 9-4 Monday. First-year head coach Angela Smith admits there is some nervousness going into the state championship game with the defending champion, but she is confident in her team.

Junior Melisa Walker will once again be the starting pitcher, and the offensive output of the Lady Lions are to Smith’s liking.

“We’re playing good fundamental ball now,” Smith said. “We just have tokeep doing what we’re doing and keep mental errors to a minimum.”

Other teams who advanced to the state tournament but saw their season come to an early end include:

◊Bryant - The Hornets were involved in a high-scoring first-round game with Van Buren, only on the wrong side of the end result, falling 11-5 in the 7A state baseball tournament.

The Lady Hornets received a bye inthe first round of the 7A state softball tournament, leaving them fresh for a 4-3 victory over Van Buren in the second round. In the semifinals, however, Fayetteville proved to be too much for the Lady Hornets, winning 7-3.

◊Sheridan - The fifth-seeded Yellowjackets almost pulled off a mini-upset in the first round of the 6A state baseball tournament, but eventually fell 4-3 to Jacksonville.

The Lady Yellowjackets’ first-round bye may have been more of a hindrance than help as they were unable to get their offense going in the second round of the 6A state softball tournament, falling to Watson Chapel 8-2.

◊Benton - The Panthers’ defense proved to be superior in their firstround game of the 6A state baseball tournament, defeating Forrest City 3-0. But Jonesboro’s offense in the second round was too much for Benton to handle as the Panthers fell 10-5.

The Lady Panthers, like their male counterparts, advanced past the first round fairly easily (7-1 over Searcy), but in the second round Marion proved to be too much for Benton as they lost a 3-2 decision.

◊Lake Hamilton - The Wolves could not get anything going against Searcy in the first round of the 6A statebaseball tournament, falling 10-1.

In what was considered the biggest upset of the 6A softball tournament by tournament director Janet Wood, the top-seeded Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves, after receiving a first-round bye, fell to West Memphis 5-4 in the second round.

◊Hot Springs Lakeside - A long game in the first round may have been too much for the Rams in the second round of the 5A state baseball tournament. In the first round, the Rams defeated White Hall 6-2 in 10 innings before losing to Harrison 5-2 in the second round.

◊Hot Springs - The Lady Trojans could not get their offense going, nor could they slow down the offense of Crossett in an 11-1 loss in the first round of the 5A state softball tournament.

◊Bauxite - The Miners could not match Genoa Central run for run in the first round of the 3A state baseball tournament, falling by the score of 7-4.

◊ Gurdon - The Go-Devils won a pitching duel 1-0 in the first round against Manila before falling 6 -4 to the host team of the 3A state baseball tournament, Harding Academy.

◊Benton Harmony Grove - In the first round of the 3A state softball tournament, the Lady Cardinals saw their season come to an end with a 6-1 loss to Horatio.

◊Poyen - The top seed from the west region, the Poyen Indians, had two close games in the 2A state baseball tournament. In the first round, the Indians defeated Hermitage 6 -5 before falling to Dierks 9-8 in the second round.

◊Jessieville - Offense was a problem for Jessieville in their first-round game against Hampton. Mostly the problem was Hampton’s offense as the Lions fell 13-3 in the 2A state baseball tournament.

The Lady Lions suffered from the same problem as their male counterparts as they were unable to get anything going offensively in a 1-0 loss to McCrory in the first round of the 2A state softball tournament.

◊Ouachita - The Lady Warriors of Ouachita experienced a tale of two rounds in the 1A state softball tournament. In the first round, Ouachita had little trouble dispensing of Sacred Heart in a 13 -3 rout. In the second round, however, the Lady Warriors’ offensive outbursts were nowhere to be found in a 2-1 loss to Nemo Vista.

- emoore@arkansasonline.com

Tri-Lakes, Pages 66 on 05/15/2008