Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
DIVISION II SELECTIONS,
WALKER WILLIAMS
SCHOOL Shiloh Christian HEIGHT 5-10 CLASS Junior
THE SCOOP Junior led the Saints to their fourth consecutive state finals appearance and a 24-6 overall record. Shiloh Christian was 7-1 in the 4A-1 Conference and captured both conference and regional tournament titles. … Williams batted .417 with 40 hits, 23 RBIs, 3 home runs and 4 stolen bases. … As a pitcher, the left-hander was 10-0 with a 1.34 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched. Held opponents to a .142 batting average. … Over his three-year career, Williams has a 2.01 ERA with 190 career strikeouts. … Selected to the 4A all-state team.
DID YOU KNOW A lot of people mistake Williams’ first name as a longtime family name. Actually, he got his first name from Walker Elementary School in Springdale, where his parents first met as students.
QUOTABLE “I think our team exceeded a lot of expectations. We lost a lot of seniors from last year’s team and a lot of people did not think we’d make it very far this season. So I was very proud of our team and doing what not many people thought we could. “I think I did about as well as I could. I set a goal to come in and be the ace of the staff and I think I filled that role, I think I handled it OK. I tried not to let the pressure of being the ace get to me. Landon (Brown) was the ace the two previous seasons and did a heck of a job. I just wanted to try to come close to that.”
ALYSSA REED
SCHOOL Farmington
CLASS Senior
THE SCOOP Reed was a four-year starter at catcher for the Cardinals and led the program to back-toback state championship game appearances. … As a senior, she batted .532 with 50 hits, 7 home runs, 41 RBIs, 8 doubles and just 3 strikeouts in 107 plate appearances. … Reed helped the Cardinals to a perfect 10-0 mark in the 4A-1 Conference and 25-3 overall mark before falling to Pottsville in the Class 4A state championship game. … Over her four-year career, Reed helped Farmington to a 94-27 record. … Named to the all-state team and will be a member of the Arkansas High School Coaches Association West All-Star team later this month at UCA in Conway. … Has attended Farmington schools almost her entire 12 years except for one semester at neighboring Prairie Grove in the second grade.
DID YOU KNOW Reed is certainly capable of playing at the collegiate level, but will be focusing her attention on earning a degree in nursing at the University of Central Arkansas starting in the fall.
QUOTABLE “When I was like 9 or so, I asked my dad if I could play softball year-round because I loved it so much. I just loved being able to hit a ball as hard as I could.
“I’m going to miss my teammates. It’s been so awesome to play with my friends. I’m going to especially miss the overnight trips and staying in the hotel together. That was always just the best part for me.”