CONWAY -- The West All-Stars brought their bats to the Arkansas High School Coaches Association softball doubleheader.
The West swept the East 7-0 and 14-5 on Friday at Farris Field, recording 25 hits in the two games.
In the second game, the East led 3-0 entering the fourth inning. But West Coach Lyndsey Hill, who led Pottsville to a Class 4A state championship in May in Fayetteville, inserted her first-game starting lineup in the top of the fourth in an attempt to spark her team.
It worked.
Jasmyn Copeland (Taylor) led off the fourth with a first-pitch bunt single, then scored on an RBI triple by Joley Mitchell (Rose Bud) off the center-field wall. Alana Pumphrey (Poyen) followed with a run-scoring double to left field to pull the West within 3-2.
Lake Hamilton's Jessye Rowland walked to put runners on first and second with one out. On a 1-2 pitch, her twin sister Charlye lined a two-run double to right field to give the West a 4-3 lead.
"They're just aggressive hitters," Hill said. "They're strong girls. Of course, we have people like Joley Mitchell, who can hit it a country mile. When they [Mitchell's teammates] saw her do it, they're like, we want to do it, too."
The West extended its lead to 9-3 in the top of the fifth, with Mitchell's two-run home run the highlight.
Mitchell, who led Rose Bud to a Class 3A state championship this past season and is the state's all-time home run leader with 58, was named Friday's MVP, finishing with three hits (two home runs and a triple) and five RBI in the doubleheader.
"We weren't worried about being behind," said Mitchell, a Notre Dame signee. "We were talking in the dugout and it's like, if we just do our thing, then we'll come back and score these runs."
The East's Lizzie White (Concord) hit a RBI triple and Samantha Romano (Cabot) and Allie Whitlock (Valley View) each added run-scoring singles.
Mitchell hit a two-run home run and Pumphrey had a solo home run to lead the West in the opener.
The West took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Mitchell hit an 0-2 pitch from Romano over the center-field fence for a two-run home run to give the West a 2-0 lead. Pumphrey followed with a solo home run for a 3-0 advantage. Jessye Rowland doubled, then came home on Charlye Rowland's RBI double to make it 4-0.
Anna Grace Ferrell (Morrilton) had a run-scoring single in the bottom of the third to extend the West's lead to 5-0. Jessye Rowland scored on the play.
The West stretched their lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning on Bauxite's Taylor Sledd's two-run single that scored Honesty Holt of Bentonville West and Lexy Taylor of De Queen.
Hill was pleased with how the West All-Stars performed Friday.
"We had so much fun," Hill said. "I just wanted to keep it light. I wanted this to be a good memory for the girls to have."
Kindi Puckett (Poyen) of the West and Mackenzie Rodgers (Sylvan Hills) of the East were named the games' most outstanding players.
Sports on 06/22/2019