Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Lady Bearcats shut out Hackett in semifinal
Booneville peaking at right time
LINCOLN — Booneville may be peaking at the right time, headed into the Class 3A State finals on the momentum of Saturday’s 5-0 semifinal win over 3A-4 Conference rival Hackett at Lincoln.
“The big thing, too, is our defense. The whole field, we’ve really figured it out. It seems like we’ve had an ever-revolving lineup and I think we’ve got the girls who need to be out there right now and hopefully we can make a run next week,” said Booneville Coach Chad Simpson.
Booneville shortstop Layla Byrum caught a line drive and threw out a runner coming off first to turn a double play and end the game. Byrum worked through tears of joy to describe the play
“I was like ‘I have to catch this ball, I have to catch it or I’m going to be mad at myself, I’m going to beat myself up the rest of the game.’ I was so glad that I caught it and it was just such a special moment for all of us and I mean we finally came together as a team and we all deserve this. It’s a wonderful feeling,” she said.
No Lady Bearcat looked sharper than junior Lexi Franklin, who dominated the game both offensively and defensively.
Franklin tossed a two-hit shutout and went 4 for 4 at the plate. She singled to lead off the second inning, then stole second to posture herself in scoring position. That became a key as Hackett starter Makenzie Freeman struck out the next two batters but the Lady Hornets (24-6) could not prevent Franklin from scoring. She scooted home on Kylie Lunsford’s RBI single past third base to break a 0-0 tie.
“Hackett’s a really good team, but we all had faith in each other to get it done. All the hard work has paid off and I just really appreciate my teammates, every one of them,” Franklin said.
Makenzie Freeman struck out the next batter to end the inning, but Booneville (2213) assumed a lead it would not relinquish.
In the bottom of the sixth Franklin preserved the 4-0 shutout by inducing a groundout to third that halted Hackett’s at-bat.
“It just wasn’t our day. Sometimes ball’s don’t drop when you need them to drop. You don’t get the hits when you need to get them and that’s how it worked for us today. Their pitcher pitched a great game. We’ve seen her several times over the last two years. She’s a great kid, great pitcher. She just got the best of us today,” said Hackett coach Jeff Oxford
With one out in the top of the seventh, Ellie Smith reached on an error. After a pop-up to third base for the second out, Franklin smacked a double into left field, plating Smith to widen the gap to 5-0.
At 4:36 p.m. the game went into a lightning delay and didn’t resume for an hour.
With a Booneville runner at third, Makenzie Freeman struck out Tillery on a called strike three, which brought the Lady Hornets to the plate trailing 5-0.
Facing her opposite jersey No. 2 in Hackett’s Taylor Nichols, Franklin induced a groundout to third before giving up a single to Mackenzie Mendenhall. She ended the game in triumph by inducing Alona Rothwell to hit into a double play on a line drive to shortstop.
“I think we’ve turned six or seven this weekend. The very first game of state we turned three. I think we turned one or two yesterday and then we turned two just now so that was awesome,” Simpson said.
Hackett beat Booneville twice earlier this season, 2-1, on March 14, during 3A-4 Conference play and 12-2 in a disappointing district championship on April 28.
The Lady Bearcats earned the right to play for the Class 3A state championship this week in Conway against Atkins on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas. Atkins edged Lamar 4-3 in eight innings in Saturday’s other semifinal game.
Simpson watched a little bit of Atkins’ win on the other side of the bracket.
“They knocked us out of the state tournament last year. Many of our girls are back and so we’ll get to work,” Simpson said. “The thing I was talking to my assistant about is how we’ve really come together as a team the last few weeks. I’m just kind of at a loss for words. I just couldn’t be more proud of these girls.”