North Little Rock shortstop Cassidy Tucker
dives to make a stop during Thursday’s game against Rogers Heritage at the Class 7A softball state tournament in Cabot. North Little Rock won 14-3 and will play Bentonville today in the quarterfinals.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 14, ROGERS HERITAGE 3 (6)
CABOT — An eight-run third inning kept North Little Rock’s hope of reaching six consecutive state championship games alive.
The Lady Charging Wildcats defeated Rogers Heritage 14-3 in six innings Thursday in the first round of the Class 7A state softball tournament at the Panther Softball Complex.
Despite a 12-14 record, North Little Rock, the No. 4 seed from the 7A-Central Conference, looked like a team familiar with playing in the state tournament, according to Coach Jason Houle.
“None of these girls know any different,” Houle said. “All of these girls have been to the finals for North Little Rock. It’s the norm. I hope they follow the tradition and keep on going.”
North Little Rock will face two-time defending state champion Bentonville in a quarterfinal game at 10 a.m. today.
Leading 2-0 entering the bottom of the third inning, North Little Rock sent 12 batters to the plate in its eight-run inning.
Madi Bobbitt reached on an error to lead off the third, then Katelynn McMahan and Cassidy Tucker each hit singles to load the bases.
Lauren Lester’s RBI single made it 3-0. Lily Douglass followed with a two-run single, scoring McMahan and Tucker, for a 5-0 lead. Ali Hopkins was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the second time in the inning.
Mary Kate Partridge lined a two-run single to right field to extend the lead to 7-0. While Partridge was stealing second base, Hopkins came home to make it 8-0. Alexis Hood then hit a RBI triple to score Partridge for a 9-0 advantage.
Marissa Mitchell’s RBI single capped the Lady Charging Wildcats’ third-inning scoring, stretching the lead to 10-0. All of North Little Rock’s 10 runs in the third came with nobody out.
Rogers Heritage (15-13), the No. 5 seed from the 7A-West, avoided the shutout on Lora Brown’s three-run home run with two outs in the top of the fifth inning that pulled the Lady War Eagles within 10-3.
Mitchell hit a RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning to give North Little Rock an 11-3 lead.
“We got on base,” Houle said. “It wasn’t like it was home runs or anything. Base hit, base hit, base hit. That’s what you have to do to put the ball in play and you’ll have good results. That’s what we did.”
The Lady Charging Wildcats ended Thursday’s game with a three-run sixth inning.
McMahan led off the inning with her second home run of the game, this one to center field that made it 12-3. Four batters later, Partridge’s two-run double set the final margin.
McMahan pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits while striking out 4 and walking 6. She also had three hits at the plate.
Also, Mitchell, Tucker, Partridge and Hood each had two hits for the Lady Charging Wildcats, who outhit the Lady War Eagles 13-3.
North Little Rock won the Class 7A state championship three consecutive years in 2013-2015. But Bentonville has won the last two titles, including an 11-3 victory in last year’s championship game at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.
“We’re going to approach it as another game,” Houle said. “You’re going to have to beat the best teams eventually. We’re going to play Bentonville tomorrow and try to play our best. If we play like we did today, we’ll be alright.’