4A EAST REGION
BROOKLAND 5, VALLEY VIEW 0
Jordan Maynard consistently overpowered Stuttgart’s hitters Friday, but she was even more dominant against Valley View on Saturday in the semifinals.
The senior pitcher allowed 1 hit while striking out 10 in 7 innings to help the Lady Bearcats advance to Monday’s regional final with a victory over Valley View and extend their winning streak to 10 games.
Valley View’s Montanna Smith had an effective outing for the Lady Blazers as well, giving up 7 hits and striking out 5 in 6 innings. But the freshman who struck out 12 in Valley View’s opening-round victory over Lonoke ran into trouble in the fifth.
After Smith struck out Brittni Huggins to start the inning, the Lady Bearcats’ next three batters all reached safely. Sydney Smith’s sacrifice fly allowed Cayle Vinson to score, giving Brookland a 1-0 lead. Maynard reached on an error one batter later before Kyla Kelley’s RBI-single gave the Lady Bearcats a two-run lead. Rachel Thompson scored on a wild pitch moments later, and Haley Morgan’s two-run single gave Brookland a big enough advantage to comfortably beat their conference rivals for the third time this season.
Thompson finished with three hits for the Lady Bearcats.
POCAHONTAS 12,
JONESBORO WESTSIDE 4
A 10-run second inning allowed Pocahontas to easily defeat Westside and earn another shot at Brookland.
Kristen Wiseman gave up nine hits and struck out five to pick up the victory for the Lady Redskins, who had seven hits in the decisive second inning. Wiseman had a home run in the inning as well. Pocahontas tacked on a pair of runs in the third to round out its scoring.
Adrian Rutter has four hits and Lauren Sharp finished with two to lead Pocahontas. Brittnee Carson took the loss for Westside, which avoided being runruled by scoring four times in the top of the fourth.
4A SOUTH REGION
ASHDOWN 9, MALVERN 0
Shelby Tipton tossed a four-hit shutout as the Lady Panthers (18-12) advanced to Monday’s championship with a victory over the Lady Leopards. Emily Tipton went 4 for 5 with 2 RBI as Ashdown pounded out 16 hits. Charlie Tompkins had three hits and drove in a run for Ashdown while Aliyah Smith had two singles and drove in a run. Earlier in the day, Ashdown defeated Hamburg 3-2 in the completion of Friday’s suspended game. Tipton struck out eight Hamburg batters while allowing five hits. Smith provided a run-scoring double while Allie Anderson had two singles. Destiny Bolen slugged a home run for Hamburg. Ashdown will play Nashville in Monday’s championship game at 11 a.m.
3A REGION 2
BALD KNOB 9, PERRYVILLE 3
Brooke Mason went 2 for 4 with a home run a 4 RBI in leading the Lady Bulldogs (22-2) over the Lady Mustangs (18-9) in a semifinal game. Bald Knob overcame a 2-0 deficit after the first half-inning. Perryville’s Cali Lankford, who hit two home runs in Friday’s first-round victory, connected for a tworun blast. The Lady Bulldogs responded with four runs in the bottom of the first and never trailed again. Christianna Camp also belted a two-run home run for Bald Knob, while winning pitcher Autumn Humes was 3 for 4 at the plate. Lindsey Duncan had two hits for the Lady Bulldogs. Lankford, Carly Gottsponer and Breann Bowman had two hits each for Perryville.
HARDING ACADEMY 7, BENTON HARMONY GROVE 3
Amanda Berry was 4 for 4 with 4 RBI and tossed a complete game to lead the Lady Wildcats (17-8) over the Lady Cardinals (25-6) in a semifinal game. Berry struck out five and shut out the host team for the first five innings as her team built a 7-0 lead. Anna Lowery added two hits for Harding Academy. L.J. Helmich and Kristen Dempsey each drove in a run for Harmony Grove.
2A EAST REGION
MAGNET COVE 10, PALESTINE-WHEATLEY 0
Abby Stevens struck out four and tossed a no-hitter as the Lady Panthers (16-4) posted their second consecutive shutout in the regional tournament by beating the host Lady Patriots (13-9). Stevens also threw a shutout in the tournament opener. Shelby Stone hit an inside-the-park home run to lead the Lady Panthers.
DES ARC 6, HAZEN 5
Des Arc (14-6) rallied from a 5-0 deficit after three innings to take a victory over Hazen (11-9). Jade Bell came on in relief for the Lady Eagles and allowed no runs to earn the victory for Des Arc. She also scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Laura Hooker drove in two of the Des Arc runs, while Natalie Rerdher scored the tying run for the Lady Eagles.
1A REGION 2
VIOLA 1, CALICO ROCK 0
Viola pitcher Kiersten Moore struck out 10 in a two-hitter as the Lady Longhorns advanced to the championship game. Viola (26-2) scored the game’s only run in the fourth inning when Moore beat out an infield hit and later scored on a fielder’s choice by Lakynn Brown. Calico Rock (13-8) pitcher Jacie Woods allowed just three hits.
ARMOREL 1, IZARD COUNTY 0
Armorel’s Abigail McCauley singled home the game’s only run with two outs in the bottom of the fourth to give the Lady Tigers a semifinal victory. Brooke Trout struck out 10 and allowed five hits for the Lady Tigers. Izard County (19-9) pitcher Molly Taylor also allowed five hits and struck out five.