Kincaid’s walkoff single generates momentum

PRAIRIE GROVE — Two Prairie Grove batters achieved perfection and senior Kaylee Kincaid administered the coup d’grace in the face of two outs to beat Rogers Heritage, 9-8, on Tuesday, April 18.

Kincaid’s walk-off RBI single scored the winning run with Ivey Sparkman crossing the plate, boosting the Lady Tigers to victory and generating some momentum going into the 4A-1 District tournament this week at Gravette.

Freshman Kimber Hamilton never skipped a beat in every at-bat. She finished 5 for 5 with a double and two RBIs, while senior catcher Rhiannon Umfleet also achieved a hit in all of her at-bats.

Umfleet went 4 for 4 with two doubles, Ivey Sparkman went 3 for 5 with four RBIs and senior Reany White dealt Heritage a blow with a solo home run.

Heritage scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning, gaining an 8-8 tie, which sent the nonconference contest into extra innings. Izzy Ulepich and Teagan Holt both smacked home runs for Heritage and Karlee Earl went 3 for 4, doubling twice. Lily Humphries also added a pair of doubles for the Lady War Eagles.

Kincaid’s walk-off RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning plated Ivey Sparkman to give the Lady Tigers a onerun victory.

The 4A-1 District softball tournament began Tuesday with No. 6 Huntsville playing No. 7 Berryville at Pea Ridge at 4 p.m. Also on Tuesday, the Lady Tigers host Gentry at 5 p.m. while Pea Ridge entertains the winner of the Huntsville versus Berryville game, at 6 p.m.

Should Prairie Grove win on Tuesday, the Lady Tigers advance into Wednesday’s 4 p.m. semifinal against top-seeded Gravette on the Lady Lions’ home field, while No. 2 seed Farmington takes on whichever team survives among Berryville, Huntsville and Pea Ridge at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Gravette. The consolation and championship games are scheduled for 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, on Thursday at Gravette.