Malvern Daily Record

2022 Postseason Tournament Madness is ready to begin on the diamond....

IT’S WIN! OR GO HOME TIME!

- By Gerren Smith Sports Editor BISMARCK LADY LIONS WITH HEAD COACH BRAD LOY

AREA HEAD COACHES’ BAKER, VINCENT, NAIL, BROWN, LOY, NASH LEAD THEIR TEAMS IN REGIONAL TOURNAMENT COMPETITIO­N TO BE STATE BOUND

Once again it’s postseason madness for teams across the Natural State to seek their destiny of qualifying for the state tournament and aim to capture the ultimate championsh­ip title on the diamond’s grandest stage in high school baseball and softball competitio­n.

This Friday, the regional baseball and softball tournament­s are set to get underway and this year there are six area high school sports programs ready to begin their journey to championsh­ip glory. According the Arkansas Activities Associatio­n office, due to the threat of severe weather, multiple softball and baseball regional tournament­s scheduled to begin on Thursday have been postponed and reschedule­d to begin Friday.

The hometown Malvern Lady Leopards, along with the Ouachita Warriors and Lady Warriors, Magnet Cove Lady Panthers, Bismarck Lady Lions and the Poyen Indians all have extended their seasons as regional tournament qualifiers. These programs will be scattered around the south part of the state ready to represent Hot Spring and Grant Counties to make some noise on the diamond in their region’s against the best competitio­n with one goal in mind—qualifying to be state bound.

Throughout the 2022 baseball and softball season, these teams have produced success while preparing for this moment to compete in the postseason at regional tournament competitio­n.

The state tournament is the biggest destiny in their achievemen­ts, but they know it starts at the regional tourney and the opening round is win or go home.

THE ROAD TO POSTSEASON TOURNEY MADNESS 2022 4A SOUTH REGIONAL SOFTBALL No. 3 seed Malvern Lady Leopards vs. No. 2 seed Camden-fairview Lady Cardinals

The No. 3 seed hometown Malvern Lady Leopards will welcome their competitio­n to Leopard Country as Malvern is the site to host the 4A South Regional Softball Tournament. The Lady Leopards finished the tough 4A-7 Conference third and will face Camden-fairview in their opening round match-up. The Lady Leopards suffered its first loss of the season to Camden-fairview earlier this year during tournament action hosted in Nashville. Since their first loss back in early March, the Lady Leopards went on a roll and ignited an impressive winning streak. Now they are the hometown performers and have the home field advantage to seek redemption in their quest to state against a good Camden-fairview squad.

3A-4 REGIONAL SOFTBALL

TOURNAMENT

No. 3 seed Bismarck Lady Lions vs. No. 2 seed Rison Lady Wildcats

The Bismarck Lady Lions claimed the number three spot in regionals after finishing the 3A-7 Conference third to face Rison in their opening round match-up hosted in Ashdown. Bismarck opened the season by capturing a huge road win against Benton, amongst defeating several other higher classifica­tion softball programs this season.

2A SOUTH REGIONAL SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

No. 1 seed Magnet Cove Lady Panthers vs. No. 4 seed Parkers Chapel Lady Trojans

The top-seeded Magnet Cove Lady Panthers went unbeaten in the 2A-7 Conference and captured the league and district tournament championsh­ips as heavy favorites to win the regional. Magnet Cove will have to avoid the home field advantage of host tournament team Parkers Chapel in their state qualifying match-up as the first game to kickoff the region tournament.

1A-4 REGIONAL SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

No. 1 seed Ouachita

Lady Warriors vs.

No. 4 seed Nevada Lady Jays The 1A-7 District Tournament Champions Ouachita Lady Warriors are considered heavy contenders in the Class 1A as they’ve stormed through their competitio­n in league play unbeaten. The OHS Lady Warriors present a strong force of pitching and a core of performers that can make plays— allowing them as an unstoppabl­e unit on the diamond.

1A-4 REGIONAL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

No. 1 seed Ouachita Warriors vs. No. 4 seed Nevada Blue Jays

In complete dominance, the Ouachita Warriors have made a statement loud and clear they are a productive unit on the diamond. As the defending regional champions, the Warriors captured the conference and district tournament titles to make a strong case of claiming the 2022 1A state championsh­ip —currently winning their previous nine games heading into their regional match-up against Nevada. The 1A-4 Region Tournament­s are hosted in Taylor.

2A SOUTH REGIONAL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

No. 4 seed Poyen Indians vs. No. 1 seed Woodlawn Bears

The “Rolling” Tribe-poyen Indians journeyed their way through tough competitio­n during league action to finish fourth as a regional tournament qualifier. The Indians will have another huge challenge in the first round match-up aiming to knock off top-seed Woodlawn for their state qualifying game in Parkers Chapel. The Indians advanced to the semifinal round at district by winning their first round contest, then the quarterfin­al that clinched their postseason tickets to regionals.

 ?? ?? POYEN INDIANS BASEBALL HEAD COACH PARKER NASH
LOCAL BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL TEAMS FOCUS ON CLINCHING STATE TOURNEY SPOTS AT REGIONALS
POYEN INDIANS BASEBALL HEAD COACH PARKER NASH LOCAL BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL TEAMS FOCUS ON CLINCHING STATE TOURNEY SPOTS AT REGIONALS
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 ?? ?? MAGNET COVE LADY PANTHERS SOFTBALL HEAD COACH HUNTER VINCENT
MAGNET COVE LADY PANTHERS SOFTBALL HEAD COACH HUNTER VINCENT
 ?? ?? HOMETOWN MALVERN LADY LEOPARDS WITH SOFTBALL HEAD COACH DARRYL BAKER
HOMETOWN MALVERN LADY LEOPARDS WITH SOFTBALL HEAD COACH DARRYL BAKER
 ?? ?? OUACHITA LADY WARRIORS SOFTBALL HEAD COACH COREY BROWN
OUACHITA LADY WARRIORS SOFTBALL HEAD COACH COREY BROWN
 ?? OUACHITA WARRIORS BASEBALL HEAD COACH ANTHONY NAIL ??
OUACHITA WARRIORS BASEBALL HEAD COACH ANTHONY NAIL
 ?? Photos by Gerren Smith ??
Photos by Gerren Smith

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