Pottsville rallies, beats Farmington

FAYETTEVILLE -- Brenlee Barton put Pottsville ahead to stay when her one-out single drove in Shannon Lasey, and the Lady Apaches went on to win the Class 4A state softball championship with a 7-4 victory over Farmington at Bogle Park on Friday.

"I just knew I had a job to do, and I had to do it for my team," Barton said. "I play for something greater than myself."

Pottsville (19-9) entered the seventh with a 4-3 deficit after a pair of two-out errors gave Farmington the go-ahead run in the sixth.

Sophia Hampton led off the inning with a double and moved to third on Kayli Pennington's sacrifice bunt, then she tagged up and prepared herself to head home when Lasey hit a ball to right field for what appeared to be the game-tying sacrifice fly.

Instead, the ball was misplayed, which allowed Lasey to reach second as Hampton scored with ease to tie the game. Moments later, Barton delivered her single into right field and drove in Lasey with the go-ahead run. Julia Reynolds gave the Lady Apaches some breathing room with a two-run double.

"I have never screamed 'go' so hard in my life," Pottsville Coach Lyndsey Hill said. "My arm was about to fall off. I was trying to send [Lasey] home so fast.

"I couldn't be more prouder of the bottom half of my lineup in getting that done. They've been struggling a little bit through the season, but in the state tournament they really pulled through and have been clutch for us."

Farmington (25-3), which was denied a state title for the second consecutive year, had a 3-1 lead after three innings as freshman Grace Boatright hit a two-run single and another run scored during a double play. Pottsville then had four consecutive runners reach base after two outs in the fourth to make it a 3-2 game on Sadie Saul's single.

Lasey tied the game an inning later when she hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Hampton, who had another leadoff double.

It was a much different outcome than two weeks ago, when Farmington earned a 5-0 victory in the Class 4A North Region tournament and eventually caused Pottsville to enter the state tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Lady Apaches, however, knocked off Batesville Southside and Bauxite to reach the championship game and eventually earn the title.

The misplayed fly ball was one of three errors by the Lady Cardinals, but Coach Randy Osnes refused to blame the outcome on the miscue.

"It was the culmination of four errors that cost us the game," Osnes said. "The scoreboard said three errors, but we actually had four.

"It's also the fact we only get three hits in the game and you allow 11 hits. It's not one play that cost us the game. That one error was the only one they capitalized on throughout the game, and they did what a state championship team does. They capitalized on our mistakes, and we've done that all season long."

Sports on 05/18/2019

Upcoming Events