Lady Hornets capture first-place showdown with North Little Rock
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continue posting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
Going into Friday, the 7A-Central Conference softball standings included three teams still undefeated in league play.
There’s now two and, after next Tuesday, there will be just one.
The Bryant Lady Hornets knocked the defending State champion North Little Rock Lady Charging Wildcats out of the first-place tie by sending them home with a 5-0 loss.
Meagan Chism belted a two-run bomb and Sarah Evans went 3 for 3 while pitchers Gianni Hulett and Raven Loveless combined on the four-hit shutout for Bryant, which improved to 18-1 overall this season.
The Lady Hornets are 4-0 against the conference, the same as Cabot, which defeated the Little Rock Central Lady Tigers 3-0 on Friday. Bryant travels to Cabot on Tuesday.
Hulett pitched the first three innings, working around a lead-off single by Marissa Mitchell in the first and a lead-off knock by Lauren Lester in the second. North Little Rock was retired 1-2-3 in the third.
Loveless took over in the fourth and, despite hitting Lester with two down, kept the shutout intact. She worked around a two-out walk in the top of the fifth before turning it back over to Hulett in the sixth.
By then, the Lady Hornets had their 5-0 lead. In the bottom of the opening frame, they got one. Lead-off hitter Regan Ryan singled and advanced to second on a passed ball. With one out, Evans spanked a single to center to drive in the run.
In the bottom of the third, Ryan instigated another uprising with a one-out walk. With two away, Evans ripped double to right chasing Ryan home. A pitch later, Chism unloaded with a shot over the fence in center to make it 4-0.
Bryant stranded the bases loaded in the fourth as Brooklyn Trammell greeted a new North Little Rock pitcher with a single. Maddie Thompson sacrificed her to second then Bella Herring pulled a single to left that, when all was said and down, had runners at second and third. A walk to Maddie Stephens loaded the bases with one out but when Ryan tapped back to the pitcher, the Lady Cats got a force at home. Hulett bounced to second for a force there to end the inning.
In the home fifth, however, Evans led off with a double and scored when Chism cracked a single to left, picking up her third RBI.
North Little Rock made a little noise in the top of the sixth. Madi Bobbitt and Katelyn McMahan each singled to start the inning. An error allowed them to advance to second and third. But Hulett struck out Cassidy Tucker, got Lester to pop to Evans and retired the side when Lily Douglass popped to Herring at second.
In the seventh, Hulett set the Lady Cats down in order, fanning two.
