ROGERS -- Bryant freshman pitcher Raven Loveless worked out of several jams and the Lady Hornets made the most of three hits to defeat Rogers Heritage 3-1 in the quarterfinals at the Class 7A state softball tournament on Friday.
Bryant (17-5) will face two-time defending Class 7A state champion North Little Rock in the semifinals today at noon at Veterans park in Rogers. North Little Rock, which lost 2-1 to Bryant earlier this season, defeated Rogers High 2-0 Friday. The winner will play for the state championship Friday in Fayetteville.
Class 7A Softball Tournament
At Rogers
Bryant 3, Rogers Heritage 1
Heritage^000^000^1^—^1^7^2
Bryant^000^120^x^—^3^3^0
Donahoe and Garcia; Loveless and Ward. W-Loveless. L-Donahoe. Sv-None. HRs-None.
"When you get here to the state tournament, they are all tough," Bryant coach Debbie Clark said. "North Little Rock has great talent and they are well coached. They are a great team."
Loveless gave up seven hits and struck out five, but the freshman worked out of trouble in the second and third innings after Heritage started each inning with a leadoff double. The Lady War Eagles only run came in the seventh when Dasha Donahoe opened the inning with a triple before scoring on an RBI single by Brittney Dean.
Heritage left three runners stranded in scoring position, including runners in the sixth and seventh innings. Bryant also picked off two Lady War Eagles in the second and sixth innings.
"Raven's drop ball was awesome," said Bryant pitching coach Deanna Ward. "She has been solid all year, like a rock. She worked out of jams because she has the right mindset. She has got it."
Bryant took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Macey Jaramillo started things with a double before scoring on a one-out RBI single by Cayla McDowell. The Lady Hornets then scored two runs after a two-out error by Heritage for a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning.
"That gave us some momentum," Clark said. "We want to score first, score with two outs."
Donahoe led Heritage with a double and a triple and the Lady War Eagles had the tying run at the plate three times in the seventh.
"We had a chance at the end, and I was proud of our kids for fighting all the way to the end," said Heritage coach Tiffany Taylor. "We just couldn't get anything going. Bryant's pitcher is very good."
Sports on 05/16/2015