BENTON -- One hit is all it takes sometimes.
Ryann Sanders made sure that was was all Bentonville (24-3) needed to beat Cabot (21-6) 3-1 in the Class 6A softball state championship at the Benton Athletic Complex.
Sanders (15-1) was the star in the circle for Kent Early's defending state champion Lady Tigers, who were looking for their fifth Class 6A state title in six years. The sophomore held the Cabot offense to 2 hits and a run in 7 innings, striking out 14.
In the bottom of the first inning, Sanders was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Bentonville with one out following two walks. The next at-bat turned out to be all Sanders would need to give her team the win.
Cabot starting pitcher Akayla Barnard (14-5) allowed two runners to score on wild pitches, followed by a single from Trista Peterson that led to a third run scoring on an error. Staked to an early 3-0 cushion, Sanders got to work, striking out four of the next six Cabot batters.
"That first inning was so amazing for me," Sanders said. "I just really felt a lot more relaxed on the mound after that and I got in my groove, and went on my pace and I know the team does better when we go at our pace."
After the miscues in the first inning, Barnard was able to hold the Lady Tigers' offense to no hits and three baserunners over the next five innings.
"[Barnard] settled down, even gave us some ground balls where our defense played behind her," Cabot Coach Chris Cope said. "She settled in and did her job ... we did good, we just had a hard time swinging the bats tonight."
Knowing how small the margin for error was, Sanders felt she couldn't make any mistakes if she wanted to guarantee the win.
"I really take that and I try to level up," Sanders said. "We have to win every inning, I need to [make sure] if we don't score runs, they don't score runs."
Going seven innings with a single hit would be cause for concern for most coaches, but Early maintained faith in what his team continued to do at the plate despite what the hit column said.
"A walk's as good as a hit," Early said. "We were disciplined in the zone, and we didn't chase and that's as good as a hit in our book."
In the fourth inning, Cabot had some hope. On a 3-1 pitch, Barnard took her pitching counterpart deep, with a solo home run to center field. Sanders put an end to any more threats, striking out the next three hitters and eight of the next 13.
"It was straight guts," Early said. "She gives up the home run and comes straight back and gets three strikeouts. That's what you're supposed to do. She withstood every challenge they threw at her today and she was amazing."
CORRECTION: Bentonville’s Ryann Sanders was the winning pitcher in Thursday’s Class 6A softball state championship. The game’s winning pitcher was misidentified in a headline in an earlier version of this article.
Gallery: 2022 Class 6A Softball State Championship
