ROGERS -- Cabot junior pitcher Akayla Barnard reached back and delivered one last strikeout Saturday in the seventh inning. The celebration was on from there with her teammates embracing her.
Barnard picked up the victory, going 7 innings, allowing 2 hits and 3 walks to go along with her 13 strikeouts. That pitching performance allowed Cabot to eke out a 2-1 victory over Rogers in a Class 6A state softball semifinal.
"It turned into a pitching duel, but we just wanted Akayla to keep pitching her game like she has all year," Cabot Coach Chris Cope said. "We felt good. She knows she has a good defense behind her and did everything we needed."
Cabot (21-5) was led by Brianna Garriga, who provided both RBI for the Lady Panthers. She blasted a home run in the first inning for a 1-0 lead then hit a double in the sixth inning to give Cabot its 2-1 advantage. Barnard scored the winning run after hitting a single to start the decisive rally.
"She has had a great weekend and it continued," Cope said of Garriga. "Yesterday was her birthday, so she is still celebrating with some big hits. She picked the right time to help us out."
Garriga was able to give Cabot the early lead with the first-inning home run, but Rogers (19-5) was quick to answer. The Lady Mounties tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second when Lauryn Heinle scored on a wild pitch.
That was all the offense Barnard allowed in the game. She locked in after that and allowed just one baserunner in the final five innings. Barnard closed out the game with back-to-back strikeouts.
It was a pitching duel throughout the game with Rogers' Ella Beeman also putting together a strong performance. She pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 hits, 2 walks with 12 strikeouts.
Cabot will take on Bentonville for the 6A state championship next weekend in Benton.
BENTONVILLE 13, BRYANT 3 (5)
Make it six consecutive state tournament championship game appearances for the Lady Tigers.
Bentonville (23-3) fell behind early in Friday's game, but that wasn't the case in the semifinals. The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning while scoring in every inning with 13 hits in a run-rule romp.
"We didn't fall behind today," Bentonville Coach Kent Early said. "They were ready to go. The kids responded. They were locked in and wanted to get here a half hour early to get a little more hitting in. We got the ball rolling and kept it rolling."
Sara Watson, who finished 3 for 3 with a walk, had her courtesy runner score 3 runs and added 4 RBI, got the offense going early. She gave the Lady Tigers the early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run double.
"We all work so hard as a group," Watson said. "It makes it feel 10 times better. We are carrying on the legacy that has been here at Bentonville. We didn't want to end the streak of going to the finals."
Bentonville added four runs in the second inning to take a 6-0 advantage. Watson, Ryann Sanders, Trista Peterson and Amber Turner all had RBI in the frame.
Bryant finally got its offense going in the top of the third. Buddha Dillion smacked a two-run double, scoring Abby Gentry and Macy Hoskins. That cut Bentonville's advantage to 6-2.
Bentonville then used a massive inning in the third to put the game away. Peterson delivered the crushing blow. She gave Bentonville an 11-2 advantage by capping a four-hit, five-run inning with a three-run home run.
Bryant (21-7) was able to keep the game alive in the fifth inning with a home run from Gentry that made it 12-3. But Bentonville closed out the game in the fifth inning as Savanna Schenkel finished it off with an RBI single to score Watson.
Gallery: Barnard leads Cabot by Rogers
