Farmington goes long to reach title game

HARRISON — Down 3-1 after the first inning, Farmington hit home runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take an 8-3 victory over De Queen in the Class 5A semifinals Saturday at Wood Motor Field in Harrison.

The Cardinals will take on Greenbrier in next week’s final at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.

“Offensively we executed everything we were going to do today,” Farmington Coach Randy Osnes said. “You get to see the opponents to see how they were going to pitch to other teams. Defensively, [pitcher] Paige Devecsery did a very good job of hitting spots. We thought we saw some weaknesses in several hitters, and she did a good job of taking care of those.”

Carley Antwine led off the first for Farmington with a single, then moved to second on a passed ball. A double by Madison Parrish drove in Antwine to give Farmington an early lead.

After a strikeout in the bottom of the first, Jessica Williams was walked. After a ground out, Kinlee Runnels reached on an error. Maddison Runnels cleared the bases with a home run and gave De Queen a 3-1 lead.

A two-out walk to Shaley Trent was followed by walks to Antwine, Kally Stout and Parrish that forced in Trent, narrowing Farmington’s deficit to only a run.

Neither team could make a dent in the scoreboard in the third or fourth, but Farmington broke the game open in the fifth.

With two outs, Stout hit a home run to tie the game at 3-3. Walks to Parrish and Alyssa Red put two runners on for McKenzie Bogan. She singled to score Parrish, then Paige Anderson followed with a double to score Reed. A ground out ended the inning.

Another two-out home run, this one from Antwine, added another run for a 6-3 lead after six innings.

In the top of the seventh, Farmington added two more runs.

GREENBRIER 11, MORRILTON 3

The Panthers put up four runs in the second, including a three-run home run from Alisa Hankins, to cruise to victory over the Lady Devil Dogs and a berth in the final against Farmington.

A single by Kailey Hamilton was followed by two fly outs. Shelby Coats walked, then Hankins’ blast opened a 3-0 lead. Consecutive singles by Cassidy Lear, Kylie Griffin and McKenzie Shannon added a fourth run for Greenbrier.

Greenbrier added two runs in the fourth and three in the sixth on a three-run home run from Makayla Seyller for a 9-0 lead. They added two more runs in the seventh.