Lady Elks roll into semifinals of 3A State Tournament
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Sports/65085/
PINE BLUFF — Elkins took another step toward defending its 3 A state softball title Saturday at Pine Bluff’s Regional Park.
The Lady Elks needed fewer than 80 minutes to dispatch Horatio 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the 3 A State Tournament. The victory puts the defending state champions in the semifinal round for the sixth-straight year. A 4 p. m. meeting Monday with Smackover (19-6 ) is all that stands between Elkins and the finals.
Elkins’ dynamic No. 2 and 3 hitters sparked the offense early. Catcher Hannah Powers went 3 for 3 with two runs, reaching base on a pair of bunt singles and driving in leadoff hitter Maddie Divis with an RBI single in the fourth.
Third baseman Kayleigh Harriman also had two bunt singles and a run scored. Her hard slide into second disrupted a potential double play and allowed Carly Powers’ groundout to score Hannah Powers in the Lady Elk third.
Elkins was 4 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Run-scoring doubles from Amber Caywood in the first and Divis in the fourth complemented the Lady Elks’ short game. Divis ’ twobagger — a frozen rope to left field — drove in Jessica Kimball and Mandie Keith to stake Elkins to a 5-0 lead.
Elkins coach Paula Wheeler said bunting was the mainstay of Elkins offense Saturday.
“ The short game was more of our game today, ” Wheeler said. “ Some days it’s the long game. Sometimes it’s the short game. Today I’d say the short game is what helped us out the most. ”
The combination of bunt singles and extra-base hits backed up Caywood’s complete-game effort. She scattered six hits over seven innings and stranded eight baserunners.
Horatio (25-7 ) exploited pitches up in the strike zone during its first at-bat. A timely gust held aloft Britney Cox’s deep fly ball to left field. The friendly breeze turned a possible two-home run into a harmless fly out.
“ That one was a big, fat pitch down the middle, ” Wheeler said. “ After that [Caywood ] was a little more cautious of where she was pitching. ”
Caywood kept her pitches out of harm’s way in the subsequent six innings. Seven of her 11 strikeouts spanned the second through fourth frames. A two-out Horatio rally in the fifth plated two runs but didn’t unnerve Caywood, a winner of 77 games in her four-year varsity career.
Wanting to steal momentum, Wheeler visited the circle after Brandi Hale’s tworun double put Horatio on the board.
“ I told my team it was more for the other team than it was for them, ” Wheeler said of her visit. “ I just needed to settle the other team down. ”
The stall tactic worked. Caywood retired seven of Horatio’s last eight hitters. She finished the day with 105 pitches and only one walk. Horatio coach Kevin Sullivan said incurring a 6-0 deficit against the stingy Caywood made a comeback all but impossible.
“ Any time you dig yourself a 6-run hole with that kid pitching, it’s tough to dig yourself back out of it, ” Sullivan said. “ They’re good. They’re the champs until somebody knocks them off. It looks pretty good for them this year. ” Smackover 6 Pea Ridge 5
A four-run second inning propelled Smackover into the semifinals. Pea Ridge broke back for two runs in the fourth and sixth but couldn’t complete the comeback. Pea Ridge’s Scharla Panyzek went 2 for 3 with a two-run double.