Timing couldn’t be better for Lady Mounties
Posted on Friday, May 9, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/Sports/61641/
ROGERS — Rogers coach Mike Harper says his softball team played its best game effort-wise of the entire season in Tuesday’s 6-0 loss at Bentonville, a game won by the Lady Tigers in the late innings.
Tremendous sense of timing these Lady Mounties have.
All-out effort is just one of the requirements needed if Rogers wants to keep playing softball for a few days longer. The Lady Mounties (11-20 ) face Cabot at 4 p. m. today in the first round of the Class 7 A State Softball Tournament at Hickey Park in Russellville.
Fields at Hickey Park and Arkansas Tech University will host games today and Saturday. Monday’s two semifinal games will be played at Hickey Park.
The championship game is scheduled for 10 a. m. Saturday, May 17, at Lady’Back Yard in Bentonville.
“ There are certain things we have to do well to have a chance and that’s pitch and field the ball well, ” Harper says. “ We’re not an offensive juggernaut by any stretch of the imagination. Katie Walker has been strong all season and we have to bring in (freshman ) Jessica Vazquez in we can do that, too. If we field it well behind them we have a chance. ”
The Lady Mounties, the fifth-place team from the 7 A-West Conference, have an 8-6 record in the state tournament but haven’t won a game in the postseason since 2002.
Benton (2002 ), Lake Hamilton (2003 ), Jacksonville (2004 ) and Conway (2007 ) have ended Rogers’ season its last four trips.
The Lady Mounties have been handcuffed to 2 hits in each of their most recent losses to Jacksonville (3-0 ) and Conway (7-0 ).
Cabot, the fourth-place team from the 7 A-Central, will send junior Cherie’ Barfield to the circle today to face the Lady Mounties. Barfield, twice an All-State selection, has had an up-and-down season, Harper says, according to reports he’s received.
File this in the ‘ up ’ category though — Barfield struck out 18 batters in a 4-3 win against Conway on May 1.
“ We’ve got to have a good approach at the plate, ” Harper says. “ We feel like we can at least compete. If you play well and play hard the ball tends to bounce your way. ”
But for one sophomore, Rogers fields a starting lineup dominated by upperclassmen led by returning All-Conference performers Brittney Yost (Sr., SS ) and Ashley Brown (Jr., CF ). Their experience from last year’s postseason appearance should help generate some confidence this year, Harper says.
“ I sure hope it does, ” he says. “ They expect to play better and that’s half the battle. I think they want a little more. ”