CONWAY -- Morgan Vaughan's experience as the All-Star softball player wasn't perfect, but it was very close.
The former Bentonville standout pitched three hitless innings and had her team's first hit, then her courtesy runner scored the first run en route the West team's 4-1 victory over the East during the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader at Central Arkansas' Farris Field.
Vaughan, who also picked up the win, faced the minimum nine batters over those three innings, and her only blemish was a third-inning walk to Madison Weaver of Marion. Weaver, however, ended the inning when she was thrown out while trying to steal second and kept the minimum amount of batters intact.
"It felt pretty good out there," Vaughan said. "The catcher I had was really great. I've never had anybody adjust that well, and it was easy. The screwball was pretty good out there, and so was the curve."
She finished the game with three strikeouts, and she became the game's first baserunner with a solid single to right to lead off the second. Skyler Anderson of Foreman entered the game as Vaughan's courtesy runner and stole second, then scored when Alicia Lowrey of Bentonville reached on a two-base throwing error.
What Vaughan started, Gracie Bogle finished as the former Springdale Har-Ber standout pitched the last three innings and retired the last seven batters she faced. Bogle, who earned an invitation last week after another player dropped out, struck out two and allowed just a fifth-inning single -- a line drive by Haley Hambrick of Batesville that hit third baseman Ashley Davis of De Queen in the chest.
"That was a hard-hit ball, but it was nice out there," Bogle said. "I knew the girls behind me had my back because all of them are All-Stars, just like our coaches keep telling us. The curveball was really working for me, and so was the screwball."
The East committed three errors, and the West turned each miscue into a run. Hector's Kasey Rook came home on a bad pickoff throw at third during a rundown in the third inning, then Autumn Russell of Greenbrier -- a courtesy runner for Bogle in the sixth -- scored on a fielder's choice by Anderson after East pitcher Avery Carter of Jessieville threw high to the plate.
The West's only clean run came in the fifth when Anderson tripled into the left-field corner and scored on a two-out double down the left-field line by Ariel Hartin of Mena, who pitched the fourth and allowed the East's only run.
Game 2: West 3, East 1
The West did all of its scoring in the first inning and made it stand in order to complete the doubleheader sweep, despite being outhit 7-5.
Kaden Selph of West Fork had an infield single to drive in Greer Clouse of Lead Hill, who earlier reached first on a wild pitch after she had struck out. An East error allowed another run to score, then Lowery hit a single to right and drove in Selph for the West's final run.
Cheyenne Crawford of Lavaca, Leah Thomason of Vilonia and Kaitlyn Eaves of Texarkana made it stand as the trio of West pitcher scattered seven hits. The East's only run came in the fifth on a reversed call that allowed Madison Shaw of Conway to score on an infield single by Beebe's Madelyn Poe.
Poe had been called out as Bogle appeared to have tagged her in front of first base. Home plate umpire Eddie Hillis, however, reversed the call and kept the inning alive.
The sweep gives the West a three-game winning streak, matching its largest since the series begin in 2003, and cut the East's series advantage to a 14-10 margin.
Sports on 06/25/2014