Lady Bucks have high expectations for 2020 season
A year ago, Smackover posted a 26-4 record, won the 4-3A Regional Tournament and reached the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
And while the 2019 season was certainly a successful one, the Lady Bucks want even more this year.
“We’ve been to state the last three years,” Smackover coach Dennis Steele said. “That’s our goal is to go to state, but not just play a game or two, we want to finish. That’s one of our sayings is finish.
“When we play games, we want to win every inning, and we want to finish. We’re not content with what we’ve done in the past. That’s been their mindset so far in practice, which has been outstanding. They work extremely hard in practice, and that’s going to help us in the long run.”
Although Smackover will be relying heavily on its upperclassmen, there are several underclassmen that will be playing key roles this season.
“We’ve got a good nucleus,” Steele said. “We’ve got 20 girls out on the team. We’ve got a good nucleus of underclassmen and seniors. Our three seniors are phenomenal.”
The Lady Bucks have a solid 1-2 punch in the circle with sophomore Malorie Pullin and junior Karis Robinson, who also will see time at first base when they aren’t pitching.
Both were dominant in their first outings of the season.
Pullin struck out 19 in a season-opening no-hitter against McGehee, while Robinson struck out 10 en route to a two-hitter in a 12-1 win over Harmony Grove.
“Our pitchers have pitched real well, but we’ve still got to get better, and they work hard at practice every day,” Steele said. “They pitch nearly every day and work on spins and different things. Pitching is going to carry us. It really is.”
Senior Lydia Pullin, who signed with Central Baptist College and was lauded by Steele for her defense, is at second base with fellow senior Vanessa Lofton at shortstop.
Sophomore Mackenzie Preston is at third base.
Senior Karli Goocher, who signed with Lindenwood University in the fall, is back to handle the catching duties.
“Defensively, we’re very strong up the middle, and I think our catcher is probably the best in the state of Arkansas,” Steele said.
Sophomores Gabbi Kelly and Reese
McKinnon are working in left field with junior Hannah Parker slated to play in center.
Junior Lindy Bates, who hit a three-run homer in the Lady Bucks’ win over Harmony Grove, is working in right with sophomore Brea Boyce.
Sophomore Claire Schibler also is in the mix to see playing time in the outfield.
Usually pitching is ahead of hitting in the early stages of the season, but the Lady Bucks have scored a whopping 29 runs in winning their first two games.
“I thought our pitching was going to be ahead of our hitting, but our hitting has been pretty good,” Steele said.
“Some girls are disappointed because they didn’t hit real good, but I think we had 15 or 16 hits
in the first game and 10 or 11 in the second game, and we only got to bat four times, so we're hitting the ball pretty good.”
The 7-3A stands to be rather difficult to navigate through with state runner-up Genoa Central along with Ashdown among the schools expected to compete with Smackover for the league title.
“Genoa took second in the state last year, and they've got a lot of their kids back,” Steele said. “Ashdown is really good. They're going to be tough.
“Fouke is going to be good. Then you've got Prescott, Bismarck and Centerpoint.
“It's going to be a tough conference, but it's going to be good. It's going to get us ready for state, and that's what we need to have.
“We're playing a double round-robin, so we're going to play each team twice home and away. We're going to have our hands full, and that's what I want.
“I want us to have competition. I don't want it to be all blowouts. I want to be in some dogfights and see how we're going to do when we get behind. Are we going to melt? Are we going to fold under pressure? Or are we going to step it up and battle back? That's what I want to do.”
Smackover began play in the Ashdown Tournament on Friday, and Steele said he has been pleased with his team's start.
“We're off to a good start,” Steele said. “I'm really happy with the way we've played, but I'm most happy with the way we practice because no matter what anyone says, games are not won on game night, they're won Monday through Thursday or Friday. We've got to practice hard, and they've been doing that.”