JONESBORO 3, GREENWOOD 0
GREENWOOD -- Jonesboro senior starting pitcher Haylee Davis did what no other team could do all season against Greenwood on Friday.
Davis kept Greenwood off the board in a 3-0 victory in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A state softball tournament.
"She has been our engine all year," Jonesboro Coach Josh Fleming said. "She has been our anchor. If she is on, we are playing pretty good. Today on a big stage, she stepped up. We are really proud of her."
Davis pitched 7 innings while allowing 4 hits, 2 walks and striking out 4. She was locked in early, allowing just two base runners through five innings.
"That's the first time we have been shutout all season," Greenwood Coach Ronnie Sockey said. "It was a bad time to do it. We maybe put a lot of pressure on ourselves playing at home."
Greenwood senior starting pitcher Kaila Cartwright was able to keep Jonesboro off the board through the first four innings, but Jonesboro broke through in the fifth inning.
The Lady Hurricane took a 1-0 lead when Eden Hamlett scored on an error. Maddi Miles then provided a two-run double to take a 3-0 lead.
"She has been struggling a little bit recently," Fleming said of Miles. "I told her before the game to just go out there and have fun and stay on the ball. I told her a big hit was coming from her. That was it."
Jonesboro (17-11) had five runners reach base in the first four innings, but the Lady Hurricane weren't able to get a runner to cross the plate.
"I told them just before that fifth inning that something was going to happen," Fleming said. "They could feel it. We could all feel it. They came up and got the job done."
Greenwood (20-6) brought the tying runner to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out, but Davis induced a game-ending double play to close out the game.
The Lady Bulldogs had an opportunity to score in the sixth inning as well, but they left two runners on base.
"The difference was one inning," Sockey said. "That can be the difference sometimes. She pitched well and had us chasing pitches. We had some hard-hit ball, but they were right at them. We couldn't get the big hit."
Sports on 05/12/2018