Gravette advances to 4A-North semis

DOVER — Booneville was able to get a first-inning unearned run against Gravette starting pitcher Cally Kildow.

But Kildow was lights-out after that at JP Lovelady Park on Friday.

Kildow pitched seven innings while allowing just four hits and striking out 15 to lead the way in a 4-1 victory in a first-round matchup at the 4A North Regional Softball Tournament.

“We had that little error,” Gravette coach Taos Jones said. “But it still all worked out for us despite giving up that early run.”

Booneville’s Mariah Reagan, who finished 2-for-3, reached as the opening batter of the game and later scored to take a 1-0 lead on an outfield error.

But that was the only offense Booneville (15-8) could put together against the freshman Kildow.

“We haven’t seen a pitcher like her in our conference,” Booneville coach Dustin Crowley said. “We got some hits on her at the end. But it’s hard to put multiple hits together against her. She is very talented.”

Gravette (22-7) was able to bounce back in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1 with Sumer Kaba leading off with a single and later coming around to score.

The Lady Lions were able to break open the game with a three-run third inning that was fueled by four singles and a pair of walks to get to Lady Bearcats starter Whitney Tatum.

Hannah Cole started the inning with a single then Lexi Gerner and Bailey Elmore drew walks to load the bases. Emily Ellis, Kildow and Gabbi Curtis followed with RBI singles to build a 4-1 lead.

“We like to get those extra runs because you never know what will happen in a game,” Jones said. “That was a big inning for us to take and build a lead.”

That was all the run support Kildow needed as she held Booneville to just two hits while adding five strikeouts after the big offensive inning.

“She is the kind of the pitcher that searches for the strike zone as the game goes on,” Jones said. “As she finds where it is and gets settled in, she is unstoppable at that point.”

Kildow finished with three innings in which she struck out the side, adding to her season total of 275 strikeouts entering today’s game.

Lincoln 11, Dardanelle 10 (11)

It took extra innings, but Lincoln finally pulled away with a first-round upset victory.

Lincoln took a 5-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning to break open the game. But Dardanelle rallied with a three-run fourth inning then scored two more in the sixth to tie the game at 5-5.

Each team then matched each other scoring three runs in the eighth inning, then a run apiece in the ninth and 10th innings.

Lincoln opened the 11th inning with a run from Tristan Cunningham. Dardanelle then wasn’t able to match the run in the bottom of the inning as Lincoln earned a berth in next week’s 4A state tournament.

Pea Ridge 8, Ozark 2

A two-run second inning allowed No. 1 seed Pea Ridge to take an early 2-0 lead then a big fourth inning put the game out of reach in a first-round matchup.

Pea Ridge used a five-run fourth inning to take a commanding 8-2 lead. The inning for Pea Ridge answered a two-run inning that included a home run by Codi Shannon from Ozark.

Pea Ridge was led by Kieara Bryant, who finished with two runs, two stolen bases, a double and a walk.

Pottsville 10, Prairie Grove 0

Pottsville took a 4-0 lead after three innings of play. A five-run fifth inning then put the game away to advance in a first-round matchup.

Aspen Campbell scored three times to lead the way for Pottsville, which added a 10th run in the fifth inning to force a run rule.

Campbell also allowed just one hit on the mound with 11 strikeouts to pick up the victory for Pottsville.