Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Low Velocity Hazard
FARMINGTON — The low velocity pitching style of Sydney Fuller for Southside Batesville was a hazard to Farmington hitting.
An outstanding season came to an end too soon for the Cardinal softball team with a first-round, 4-1, loss to Southside Batesville at the State 4A tournament held at Ashdown on May 9.
A pair of losses during the 4A North Regional tournament, which Farmington hosted, sent the Lady Cardinals into State as a fourth seed and the matchup against Southside Batesville did not turn out favorably.
According to coach Randy Osnes, Farmington just couldn’t seem to hit the ball hard and put it into play to make something happen.
“We didn’t hit the ball like we’re capable of. The young lady didn’t throw with great velocity like we’re used to seeing. We had a hard time hitting the ball real hard.”
Southside went up 1-0 in the bottom of the second and scored two more runs in the fifth inning on a Farmington error.
Jana Doss drove in the Lady Cardinals’ only run with a double. Sara Beth Jones got on first, stole second and scored on a double.
Fuller got the win for Southside Batesville, allowing just one Farmington run in five innings. She struck out one, walked one and surrendered five hits.
Jordin Smith absorbed the loss for Farmington. Smith’s numbers featured five strikeouts, three walks. In a pressure situation, she didn’t allow any batters to get on base by hitting them with a pitch.
“As far as our defensive game, we gave them a few runs with errors, which plagued us in the last three games of the season,” Osnes said.
Farmington finished the season as conference champions and district tournament champions with a record of 22-8.