CLASS 3A SOFTBALL

Bald Knob, Humes slip past Rose Bud

FAYETTEVILLE -- It was a Class 3A three-peat.

A first-inning run held up and senior pitcher Autumn Humes controlled the Rose Bud lineup, capping Bald Knob's 36-0 season and third consecutive state softball championship Saturday at Bogle Park.

3A Softball Finals

Bald Knob 1, Rose Bud 0

Rose Bud^000^000^0^—^0^3^2

Bald Knob^100^000^X^—^1^5^1

Hipp and Mitchell; Humes and Camp. W - Humes. L - Hipp. HR - none.

"This one is a little more bittersweet because I know it's the last one I'll ever get to experience here," said Humes, who was named the tournament's most valuable player. "Being a senior, this one is definitely a little more special."

The Lady Bulldogs got singles from three of their first four batters in the first inning with Hanna Smith's two-out RBI single scoring Humes with the game's lone run.

A 1-0 lead was all the Lady Bulldogs would need with Humes pitching.

"We were definitely the more aggressive team," Bald Knob Coach Todd Finley said. "You see us out there and we get runners thrown out trying to stretch singles into doubles and trying to go from second to third on hits. That's just what we do. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

"But it was real key getting that first run."

Rose Bud (27-8) went without a baserunner through the first three innings. Joley Mitchell's leadoff double and a hit batsman produced a small scoring threat, but Humes worked around the two-on, two-out jam.

Rose Bud's best scoring opportunity came in the top of the sixth. A leadoff single by Carissa Caples and a walk to Mitchell put runners on first and second with no outs, but a mix-up on the bases on a bunt attempt led to Caples getting thrown out at third.

Following a pop up and a ground out, Humes and the Lady Bulldogs escaped the sixth with no harm done.

"We had the bunt on and I don't know if she pulled back, and then the catcher fakes to second and it wasn't the best decision but my runner broke on it," Rose Bud Coach Scotty Starkey said. "It wasn't the best decision but it was just one of those things."

Bald Knob had defeated Rose Bud four times this season before Saturday.

"We knew it would be a dogfight," Finley said. "[Rose Bud] is a very, very good team and they're very well-coached. Really they had three hard hit balls today and we had two really good hard hit balls today.

"Fortunately today we were able to scratch out a run, and I've said all along if we put up a run early, I like our chances."

Humes had 12 strikeouts and allowed three hits.

Rose Bud's Jenna Hipp allowed one run and five hits after giving up the three first-inning hits.

"I think nerves may have gotten to us there in the first inning," Starkey said. "The atmosphere may have got us a little bit and nerves are a funny thing.

"And I've said all year, to beat [Bald Knob], you just about have to play a perfect game."

Sports on 05/22/2016

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