Lady Blackhawks take second at district
LINCOLN — Upsets by No. 3 Gravette over No. 2 Lincoln in the semifinal and No. 1 Pea Ridge led the Lady Lions to the championship of the 4A-1 District baseball tournament.
Pea Ridge won the regular season crown and had a first-round bye but placed second at district which was hosted by Lincoln last week.
Gravette 5, Pea Ridge 0
Gravette knocked off No. 1 Pea Ridge to win the District 4A-1 softball championship at Lincoln Saturday. Gravette took a 1-0 lead in its first at-bat, adding a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings to build a 5-0 lead while maintaining a shutout.
“We came in second to Pea Ridge last year. It’s always been a battle with Pea Ridge,” said Gravette coach Taos Jones. “Coach (Josh) Reynolds is one of the best. Stephanie Chase, who threw a heckuva game today is one of the best pitchers. I’m super proud of them. The kids really battled this year. They had lots of opportunities to make plays. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Pea Ridge turned a double play to avoid further damage with runners at second and third base to get out of the fifth. As the Lady Blackhawks came into the dugout coach Josh Reynolds reminded his team of the urgency of the situation.
“We’ve got to go,” Reynolds implored the Lady Blackhawks. “We’re down to six outs. We’ve got to make something happen. Make it personal.”
Gravette starter Bailey Elmore had other ideas however. She allowed only five hits and one baseon-balls while pitching a complete game to earn the win with four strike-outs. A pop-up and a line drive got the first two batters out. Next up was freshman Aidan Dayberry, who made contact. She was robbed of a hit by an outstanding play from Gravette first baseman Sumer Kaba, who had to stretch to make the catch. Kaba fell flat on her face, but kept a foot on the bag to record the out.
Pea Ridge starter Stephanie
Chase, who took the loss, retired Gravette in order to bring the Lady Blackhawks into their last at-bat in the bottom of the seventh. Chase got aboard with a oneout single and stole second, but Pea Ridge couldn’t bring her around and a fly-out ended the game.
Both teams return to Lincoln for regional play Thursday. Pea Ridge will play the No. 3 seed from the 4A-4 at 12:30 p.m. while Gravette takes on No. 4 seed at 3 p.m.
Pea Ridge 2, Berryville 1
Pea Ridge took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first and held Berryville scoreless until the Lady Bobcats tied the game in the sixth inning. The seventh inning was full of drama in Friday’s early District 4A-1 softball semifinal. Berryville junior Hayley Rivett went 2-for-3 and drove in the Lady Bobcats’ only run. When senior Aspen Smith crossed home plate the run gave the Lady Bobcats new life after trailing the entire game, but Pea Ridge limited the damage and the teams entered the seventh with the game deadlocked at 1-1.
Berryville made things interesting with two outs in the seventh. The Lady Bobcats got Smith on base when her bunt died on the first base line and she beat a throw to first. Pea Ridge starter Stephanie Chase denied them a chance for a rally by striking out Kate Powell bringing up the Lady Blackhawks with an opportunity to win.
Chase helped her cause by leading off with a double before giving way to courtesy runner junior Cassy Porter. Sophomore Meghan David tried to bunt, but fouled off two attempts. Switching to a regular batting stance, she fouled off two more pitches then reached on an error.
The Bobcats elected to put Hollyn Davis on with an intentional walk to load the bases hoping for an easy force-out, but freshman Blaklee Winn’s fly ball to center field was misjudged allowing the winning run to score for the Lady Blackhawks in the bottom of the seventh.
With the win, Pea Ridge advanced to the district championship game against Gravette, which beat tournament host Lincoln, 7-2, in the other semifinal.