GRAVETTE - Meagan Ward doesn’t look like a power hitter.
The Gravette shortstop and leadoff hitter is just a shade over 5-feet tall.
But when she launched a towering home run over the left field wall in Monday’s 6-5 win against Ozark, there was nothing small about the spark it gave her team.
“That kid is a workhorse,” Gravette softball coach Taos Jones said. “She hits the ball, she has really great hands.
“It’s not every day she knocks one out. But she got a good chunk of that ball.”
PREP SOFTBALL
Gravette 6, Ozark 5
Ozark 300 200 0 - 5 7 3 Gravette 113 000 1 - 6 7 3
McCartney and Smith; LaBrecque and Miller. W - LaBrecque, 3-5. L - McCartney. HRs - Gravette, Ward (1).
The Lady Lions (3-5, 3-0 4A-1 Conference) trailed 3-0 in the first inning, but Ward’s blast, a solo shot, helped Gravette slowly chip away at Ozark’s lead.
Gravette sophomore pitcher Lindsee LaBrecque recovered after the shaky first and held Ozark (4-8) in check for the most part the rest of the way.
The Lady Lions took a 5-3 lead in the third inning with just one hit, but Ozark rallied to tie the score at 5-5 led by an RBI double by Jodie Allred in the fifth.
In the bottom of the seventh, Gravette’s Samantha Pruitt led off with a single and moved to third on a single. As Ashleigh Horn attempted to steal second, she collided with Ozark’s Marleigh Dietz as Ozark tried to bluff a throw to second. The ball rolled into center field, and Pruitt easily scored the game-winner.
“I had my girl on third base ready to roll,” Jones said. It wasn’t what I anticipated. I anticipated getting the bunt down for a suicide, but, hey, we’ll take it however we can get it.
Ward’s home run was the first-ever homer hit at Gravette’s new ballpark. She ended the day 2-for-3, with an intentional walk in the three run third inning.
The Lady Lions will host Farmington on Thursday starting at 5 p.m.
Sports, Pages 7 on 04/02/2013