BRYANT -- Bentonville failed to get a bunt down to open the bottom of the eighth inning, but Haley Cornell made sure that didn't matter in the Class 7A state softball quarterfinals on Friday Night.
Cornell lined a 1-1 pitch over the Bryant first baseman and the Lady Tigers mobbed teammate Lauren Fox as she scored the winning run to give Bentonville a 4-3 extra-inning win.
Bentonville 4, Bryant 3 (8 innings)
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Bentonville^011^010^01^—^4^12^3
Loveless and Ward, Chism (8); Prough and Cornell. W-Prough. L-Loveless. HRs-Bryant, Trammel.
Bentonville coach Kent Early said Cornell has been a cornerstone for his team behind the plate all season long and it was only fitting she came through with the big hit.
"Cornell makes good adjustments and she gets better as the game goes along," Early said. "That's huge for her. She's one of our leaders. She's our catcher back there. That's just awesome to see her step up."
Fox was put on second base to start the eighth inning as part of the international tiebreaker when games go into extra-innings, but Bentonville lead-off hitter Megan Crownover fouled off two bunt attempts and eventually struck out. Jenna Wildeman then flied out, setting the stage for Cornell's two-out heroics.
Bentonville (29-1), the No. 1 seed out of the 7A-West, will face conference rival Rogers High this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. for a spot in next week's state finals. The Lady Tigers won both regular-season meetings against the Lady Mounties.
Senior pitcher Maddy Prough was stellar in the circle, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits in picking up the complete-game win. She struck out 16, did not walk a batter, but did hit one.
Early also lauded Prough's work, making big pitches when she needed them. She retired the first 11 Bryant hitters in a row before Meagan Chism singled in the fourth.
"It's the old cliche' in sports and we've used it all year long -- players play," Early said. "When it's time to play, you've got to do your job and she bowed her neck and competed so well tonight. I'm proud of her."
Bentonville jumped to a 2-0 lead after three innings on an RBI-single by Keelah Griffith and a wild pitch, but Bryant (19-12) charged back to tie it 2-2. But a sacrifice fly by C.J. Gonzalez in fifth gave Bentonville the lead again, 3-2.
But Bryant sophomore Brooklyn Trammell hit the first pitch of the top of the seventh out of the park to tie the game again.
Jenna Wildeman packed the Lady Tigers' 12-hit attack, going 3 for 5. Payton Wildeman, Tymber Riley and Griffith chipped in two hits each.
Rogers High 8, Cabot 4
Sarah Hulsey hit a three-run homer to help the Mounties take a big lead and Maddie Massanelli slammed the door on Cabot's season.
The senior pitcher came in relief of Alex McManus with two on and nobody out in the fifth with Rogers leading 7-3. Cabot, the No. 1 seed out of the East, pushed across a run thanks to a Lady Mounties' miscue, but Massanelli got the next two hitters to leave the bases loaded.
She finished with three scoreless innings, allowing two hits with four strikeouts and a walk. Even though Massanelli pitched a shutout on Thursday, she knows to always be ready.
"You just never know," Massanelli said. "Me and Alex we're always ready to go in for the other one. She needed me today and I might need her tomorrow. We just go back and forth and we're there for each other."
Rogers, the No. 4 seed from the West, jumped in front with a four-run third punctuated by Hulsey's homer and added two more in the fourth aided by a couple Cabot errors.
Rogers coach Mike Harper liked the way his team swung the bat throughout the lineup.
"It was everybody up and down the lineup," Harper said. "We'll have to step it up again for the next one."
Allyn Hensley led a 14-hit attack for Rogers (20-9), going 3 for 5 out of the lead-off spot. Five other Lady Mounties added two hits each.
Heather Hill paced Cabot (23-4), going 2 for 3 with a two-run home run.
North Little Rock 10, Rogers Heritage 2
The Charging Wildcats used the long ball to take a 6-0 lead and cruised into the semifinals.
North Little Rock, the No. 2 seed from the East, hit three home runs in the first four innings -- solo shots by Maddi Bobbitt and Reagan Spurling and a two-run blast by Hannah Lovercheck.
Junior McKenzie Roberts led the North Little Rock hit parade, going 4 for 4 with three doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored.
Heritage (19-8) manage to push across two runs thanks to a wild pitch and an RBI-single by Sami Barbee to get within 6-2 in the sixth. Mika Polumbo followed with a single to put two on with one out. But North Little Rock pitcher Lainey Necessary got a flyout and strikeout to end the threat.
Fort Smith Southside 11, Van Buren 5
Andee Tiffee struck out 13 and hit a big two-run home run in the sixth inning to lead the Lady Rebels into the semifinals.
Tiffee did not allow a hit over the first three innings as Southside jumped to an 8-0 lead helped by four Lady Pointers' errors. But Van Buren clawed back to within 8-5 buoyed by a two-run home run and two-run single by Ashton Sangster.
But Tiffee, who finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs at the plate, cranked a two-run homer to stop the Van Buren momentum.
Sports on 05/14/2016