State tournaments scheduled to begin Thursday
Baseball, softball and soccer state tournaments are slated to start on Thursday with a number of local teams still alive in their pursuit of state championships.
The Hot Springs boys’ soccer team is the highest-seeded local team still alive after winning the
5A-South district title a week ago at White Hall’s Bulldog Stadium. The Trojans (14-6) dominated the Leopards (14-5), 4-1, to earn the district top seed in the Class 5A state tournament in Harrison.
Hot Springs is scheduled to begin its state quest for a third straight Class 5A title at noon on Thursday against Greenbrier (8-10), the No. 4 seed from the
5A-West. A win would put Hot Springs in the quarterfinals at noon on Friday against the winner of Thursday’s match between Little Rock Christian (13-7), the No. 2 seed from the 5A-Central, and Paragould (10-12), the No. 3 seed from the 5A-East.
The first semifinal game on Saturday will be held at noon. Razorback Field in Fayetteville will host the championship matches next week.
Erick Guadron ended his high school career with
185 goals after scoring two and assisting on another in a 3-1 win in last year’s championship match against De Queen. It was the final Hot Springs match for former coach Cory Sturdivant, who was succeeded this season by Geoffrey Hedrick.
Lakeside (15-6) lost, 4-2, to Hot Springs in the
5A-South semifinals and lost, 2-0, to Hope (10-8) in the third-place game. The Rams received the No. 4 seed and are matched up with 5A-West winner Maumelle
(15-0) also at noon on Thursday.
The winner will meet Batesville (14-8), the No. 2 seed from the 5A-East, or 5A-Central No. 3 seed Little Rock Parkview (10-8) at noon on Friday. The winner of Lakeside’s quadrant will meet the winner of Hot Springs’ quadrant in the semifinal on Saturday.
Lakeside’s Lady Rams (10-11) are the 5A-South’s second seed after losing, 5-0, to champion De Queen
(15-5) a week ago at White Hall. They are matched up with the 5A-West No. 3 seed, Greenbrier (16-4) at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The winner will meet 5A-Central champion Little Rock Christian (15-1) or Greene County Tech (12-7), the No. 4 seed from the 5A-East, at 2 p.m. Friday. The final team from the quadrant will play in the second semifinal Saturday at 2 p.m.
Lake Hamilton (15-10) will open play in the Class
6A state softball tournament Thursday in Greenwood at 10 a.m. against Pine Bluff (11-17). The Lady Wolves finished as the fourth seed from the 6A-West, while the Lady Zebras are the fifth seed from the 6A-East.
The 6A-East champion, Marion (15-8), awaits the winner on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The semifinals will begin at noon on Saturday with the finals to be held the following week at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.
Three area teams will begin play in state baseball tournaments on Thursday, while a fourth will wait to start until Friday.
Malvern (24-6) earned a bye in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament as the 4A-South champion. The Leopards survived a 6-5 win against Monticello (18-7) in the first round of the regional tournament before defeating Warren (16-15), 12-5, and Ashdown (25-9), 16-5, on Saturday at Malvern National Bank Field at Morrison Park.
Their quarterfinal opponent at 12:30 p.m. Friday will be either 4A-East No. 3 seed Baptist Prep (2011) or Prairie Grove (14-17), the fourth seed from the
4A-North regional. The winner will advance to Saturday’s semifinal at noon.
Baum Stadium at George Cole Field, home of the Arkansas Razorbacks, in Fayetteville will host the high school state baseball championship games next week.
Lakeside (22-7) opened the 5A-South conference tournament with a 16-0 victory on its home field
Hope (2-18), but successive losses to White Hall (25-6) and Magnolia (18-5) made the Rams the fourth seed at state. They are matched up with 5A-West champion Greenbrier (24-5) at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
The 5A-East second seed Greene County Tech (15-7) and 5A-Central third seed Pulaski Academy (18-15) play on the other side of the quadrant. The two winners are scheduled to meet in the quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. Friday for a spot in the semifinals at noon on Saturday.
The 3A-4 district champion Jessieville Lions (14-9) are matched up Corning (18-9) Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in the Class 3A tournament hosted by Smackover. Jessieville lost, 114, to host Greenland (25-4) in the 3A-1 regional tournament on Saturday to earn the region’s No.
2 seed. Corning is the No. 3 seed from the 3A-3 region.
The winner is scheduled to face either 3A-2 champion Glen Rose (20-6) or Prescott (10-17), the fourth seed from the 3A-4, at
10 a.m. Friday. The first semifinal
3A game is scheduled for noon on Saturday.
Magnet Cove (15-14) won the
2A-South third-place game, 12-8, against Rison (10-11) on Saturday. The Panthers were rewarded with the region’s No. 3 seed and a first round matchup at 12:30 p.m. Thursday against Pangburn (2010), the host of the Class 2A state tournament and No. 4 seed from the 2A-West/Central regional.
Palestine-Wheatley (23-9) earned a bye as the champion of the 2A-North and will await the winner at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. The quadrant winner will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at noon.