Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Gravette Hammers Lady Cardinals 16-5
FARMINGTON — Gravette rode the emotions of pulling off an eleventh inning win over Greenwood and pounded Farmington, 16-5, to wrap up the Farmington Invitational Softball Tournament Saturday.
Gravette’s come close but not managed to pull off a victory in softball over Farmington in recent years. That changed Saturday night with the Lady Lions’ hot bats propelling them to an 8- 0 first inning lead. The Lady Lions claimed third place in the tournament with the win while Farmington finished fourth.
“We just kept that energy going from the Greenwood game and that’s what you have to do on good teams. You have to get on them early, get the bats going,” said firstyear Lady Lion coach Samantha Luther, a 2010 Farmington alumna very familiar with the tournament.
The Lady Cardinals lost 2-1 to Hackett, then beat Prairie Grove, 15-0, but ran headlong into a buzz saw with Gravette bashing out hit after hit.
Farmington also has a first-year coach in Jason Shirey, whose ball club isn’t accustomed to trailing 8-0 in the first inning against anybody.
“Anything that we threw up there they seemed to be hitting hard. All the credit in the world to Gravette. They had an emotional win. That was part of that. They came back out and just jumped on us with both feet,” Jason Shirey said.
Gravette nearly ended the game in three innings by jumping out to a 15-0 lead in the top of the third.
“Almost, but long day and sometimes it’s hard to finish but that’s something that we have to work on as well with our pitching and just fight through it, keep on digging,” Luther said.
Farmington shook off its slumber enough to prevent that, aided immensely with second batter Reese Shirey, the coach’s daughter, drawing a walk. She moved to second on a passed ball and scored on Justine Davidson’s RBI double to extend the game. With new life Morgan Uher singled into center field to place runners at the corners for Isabella Hulsey, who drove in a second run with a single into left center.
Amia Carr singled to load the bases. Mallory Sills drove in a third run, but Gravette got an out at third to end the rally with Farmington facing a 15-3 deficit going into the fourth inning.
“It’s been a long day. It showed there at the end. The pitchers were getting tired and so we turned the bats on at the right time because good teams like that [pose a threat]. When our pitching is kind of going downhill we’ve got to have that. I was very happy and pleased to see that they were fired up and ready to go,” Luther said.
Gravette added one more run in the top of the fourth on Paige Greer’s single into left field.
Farmington answered with Kennedy Griggs starting a rally with a leadoff single. She got thrown out at third when Reese Shirey hit into a fielder’s choice, but Grace Boatright walked in between those at-bats.
Morgan Uher’s double plated both runners but Kildow, who pitched the fourth, ended the inning by inducing a groundout. The game was then called
by reaching its tournament time limit and the Lady Lions relished a 16-5 victory as Luther praised the hitting of the entire lineup for keeping the pressure on throughout the contest.
“All of them that game stepped up. I’ve got a lot of young girls out there playing for me and they just did a great job seeing the ball well and just playing ball. They know how to do it,” Luther said.
The win over one of the top programs in Class 4A provides a confidence booster for both Luther as a first-year head coach at Gravette and for the Lady Lions themselves. The teams get a rematch in conference play on March 29.
“It was a good way to end the spring break and I know we’re going to have to be ready for them come Tuesday. We got them on Tuesday and they’re going to be fighting. They’re going to be wanting to get us back,” Luther said.
On the Farmington side of things the Lady Cardinals welcome back All-State infielder Remington Adams, who was on a skiing trip and missed the tournament as they prepare for the 4A-1 schedule.
“The kids battled back there the last couple innings, scored a few runs but we just dug too big of a hole. Just the start here was way too much for our kids to overcome. That was what was disappointing that we didn’t really respond so we’ve got some work to do over spring break and get ready for conference season when we get back,” said Jason Shirey.
Jason Shirey, who took over Farmington’s softball program July 1, liked the turnout with fans enjoying warm weather and staying after dark. An 11 inning game between Gravette and Greenwood prolonged the third and fourth place game, yet many fans from both teams stayed for the duration.
“Obviously the local teams bring a lot of fans. Farmington’s always been supportive of their softball program, not just family but extended family. Wish we could have given them a little bit more of a product there this evening but again everybody comes out and does a great job with it and we’re very, very thankful for that,” Jason Shirey said.