ROGERS -- North Little Rock made plays when it counted most Friday.
North Little Rock outfielders Reagan Sperling and Hannah Lovercheck kept Rogers High off the scoreboard with diving catches and the Lady Charging Wildcats scored the game's only runs after two Lady Mounties errors in a 2-0 victory in the quarterfinals of the Class 7A state softball tournament at Veterans Park.
Softball at a glance
CLASS 7A AT ROGERS
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Game 5 North Little Rock 2, Rogers 0 Game 6 Van Buren 2, Bentonville 0 Game 7 Bryant 3, Rogers Heritage 1 Game 8 Cabot 8, Springdale Har-Ber 4
TODAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 5 North Little Rock vs. Bryant, noon Game 6 Van Buren vs. Cabot, 2:30 p.m.
CLASS 6A AT MARION
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Game 5 Benton 10, Mountain Home 0 Game 6 Sheridan 8, Alma 2 Game 7 Greenwood 5, Lake Hamilton 0 (susp.) Game 8 Marion vs. El Dorado, ppd.
TODAY’S GAMES
Game 7 Greenwood 5, Lake Hamilton 0, 10 a.m. Game 8 Marion vs. El Dorado, noon Game 9 Benton vs. Game 7 winner, 2 p.m. Game 10 Sheridan vs. Game 8 winner, 4 p.m.
CLASS 5A AT HOT SPRINGS LAKESIDE
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Game 9 Beebe 1, White Hall 1 (susp. 3rd inning) Game 10 Greene Co. Tech 3, Vilonia o (susp. 4th inning) Game 11 Paragould vs. Greenbrier, ppd. Game 12 De Queen vs. Sylvan Hills, ppd.
TODAY’S QUARTERFINALS
Game 9 Beebe 1, White Hall 1, noon Game 10 Greene Co. Tech 3, Vilonia 0, noon Game 11 Paragould vs. Greenbrier, 2:30 p.m. Game 12 De Queen vs. Sylvan Hills, 2:30 p.m.
CLASS 4A AT MENA
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Game 5 Brookland 4, Monticello 3 Game 6 Bauxite 3, Pottsville 1 Game 7 Mena 10, Heber Springs 0 Game 8 Nashville 13, Lonoke 2
TODAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 5 Brookland vs. Mena, noon Game 6 Bauxite vs. Nashville, 2:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A AT HARRISON
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Game 9 Benton Harmony Grove 7, Manila 0 Game 10 Bald Knob 16, Camden Harmony Grove 2 Game 11 Harding Academy 7, Fouke 2 Game 12 Genoa Central 7, Atkins 3
TODAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 9 Benton HG vs. Harding Academy, noon Game 10 Bald Knob vs. Genoa Central, 2:30 p.m.
CLASS 2A AT NORPHLET
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Game 9 Spring Hill 3, Hector 2 Game 10 Buffalo Island Central 6, Hazen 5 Game 11 Foreman 6, Midland 4 Game 12 Parkers Chapel 10, Magazine 0
TODAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 9 Spring Hill vs. Foreman, noon Game 10 BIC vs. Parkers Chapel, 2:30 p.m.
CLASS 1A AT ARMOREL
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Game 9 Viola 11, Jasper 1 Game 10 Scranton 5, Southside Bee Branch 4 Game 11 Concord 10, Acorn 0 Game 12 Nemo Vista 14, Taylor 2
TODAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 9 Viola vs. Concord, noon Game 10 Scranton vs. Nemo Vista, 2:30 p.m.
"We played hard, and Rogers played hard," North Little Rock Coach Anthony Cantrell said. "That was a heck of a softball game. We didn't get many hits, but we did a good job of scoring when we did get them."
North Little Rock scored single runs in the sixth and seventh inning on its only two hits of the game. Sydney Parr had a one-out infield single in the fifth and then scored on a two-out error on a ground ball off the bat of McKenzie Escovedo for a 1-0 lead.
Sperling led off the seventh with a double to center field and scored on a Rogers throwing error for a 2-0 lead. Both North Little Rock runs were unearned.
Rogers loaded the bases with one out in the first inning but Lovercheck made a diving catch in right field for the second out. Sperling then robbed Allyn Hensley of a double with a diving catch in center field in the third.
"Those two kids are pretty athletic," Cantrell said. "They saved some runs today with those catches. The catch in right was a huge turning point in the game. We got out of that jam and it gave us a little momentum."
Rogers also had just two hits and the Lady Mounties left four runners stranded in scoring position. Sydney Duvall and Emily Kinney had singles for Rogers. Kinney was left stranded at third in the third inning.
"That was a tough one to lose," said Rogers Coach Mike Harper. "We hit the ball harder than they did, but their outfielders did an outstanding job. It was a great game. They just made a few more plays than we did, but it was a great year."
BRYANT 3, ROGERS HERITAGE 1
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.
Bryant (17-5) will face two-time defending Class 7A state champion North Little Rock at noon today in the semifinals at Veterans Park.
Loveless gave up seven hits and struck out five. The Lady War Eagles only run came in the seventh when Dasha Donahoe opened the inning with a triple before scoring on a single by Brittney Dean.
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.
CABOT 8, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 4
ROGERS -- Cabot scored seven runs in the sixth inning and defeated Springdale Har-Ber.
Seven consecutive batters reached base in the sixth for Cabot (26-4), which fell behind 4-1 after five innings.
Hannah Montgomery and Heather Hill each had two-run singles in the sixth for Cabot.
Har-Ber appeared in control after five innings behind Emily Stockalper, but Cabot collected five hits in the sixth and took a 5-4 lead. Har-Ber failed to field a couple of other balls cleanly and Hill made the Lady Wildcats pay with a two-run single up the middle to give Cabot a 7-4 lead.
Har-Ber (15-10) grabbed a 4-1 lead with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Chloe Wheeler put Har-Ber ahead with an RBI double and Taylor Vanhook followed with a two-run double.
Har-Ber took a 1-0 lead in the first inning with the help of two walks and a hit batter by Cabot starting pitcher Megan Goodnight.
Cabot tied the game 1-1 on a run-scoring single by Montgomery.
VAN BUREN 2, BENTONVILLE 0
ROGERS --Sophomore McKennah Sikes threw a three-hit shutout to lead Van Buren over Bentonville
The shutout came one day after Sikes had two home runs and five RBI in an 11-1 victory over Fort Smith Southside.
Sikes struck out five, walked one, and hit two batters against Bentonville.
Van Buren (24-4) was clinging to a 1-0 lead when the Lady Pointers added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Caroline Davis reached on an error and scored on a double by Breanna Vest into the gap in right field.
Van Buren took a 1-0 lead in the third after Vest hit a one-out single and Ashton Sangster followed with a double. Emilee Aaron hit a sacrifice fly to center field to put the Lady Pointers ahead.
Bentonville (22-7), which received a first-round bye, was held to three singles by Sikes and put more than one runner on base only in the second inning.
Sports on 05/16/2015