Har-Ber Bats Outdo Lady Cardinals

FARMINGTON — The crack of the bat was a regular occurrence as hitters from both teams made frequent contact with the ball combining for 22 hits as Farmington lost 15-9 to Har-Ber last Wednesday.

Brooke Larkin blasted a home run in the fourth inning and accounted for a trio of RBIs on two hits while Lindsey Blackburn hit a triple and Paige Purifoy pounded out three hits for Farmington. In all the Lady Cardinals had seven hits after falling behind 4-0 in the top of the first inning. Springdale Har-Ber was even more effective at the plate and four Wildcat batters had at least three hits. The loss was the first setback of the season for Farmington (3-1) after the Lady Cardinals opened with wins over Rogers Heritage, Vilonia and Fort Smith Southside.

An error in the first proved costly for Farmington after Har-Ber’s Morgan Neal hit a triple and Hannah Sharum stole second. Both runners scored on the miscue to get Har-Ber an early lead.

Farmington rallied in the second inning producing six runs when Paige Purifoy, Sara Beth Jones and Larkin each drove in a run sandwiched around a Wildcat error that got two runs across for the Lady Cardinals.

Blackburn scored on an error after her triple in the third but Har-Ber had 15 hits and the Wildcats remained unbeaten at 4-0 with the 15-9 win. Emily Stockalper got the win for Har-Ber with Gracie Bogle, Kylie Buttram, Tiffani Ray and Neal all having multiple hits. Sharum hit a homer for Har-Ber.

The Lady Cardinals handed Southside a 9-1 loss on March 11 powered by a seven-run first inning and chasing Southside starter Lindsey Eveld after one out. Larkin swung the bat for a double and a pair of singles. Jordin Smith got the win for the Lady Cardinals surrendering just one run in a complete game with eight strikeouts, one walk and six hits. Farmington added runs in the fifth and sixth innings benefiting from an RBI single by Bethany Doty.