NORTH LITTLE ROCK — To their credit, the Mount St. Mary Belles and pitcher Paige West kept the Bryant Lady Hornets off the scoreboard in the first two innings of their 7A-Central Conference contest at Kevin McReynolds Sports Complex in Sherwood Tuesday night.
But the Lady Hornets, riding a 22-game conference win streak, had the Belles overmatched. Sparked by a six-run third, Bryant made it 23 in a row with an 11-0 win in six innings.
Raven Loveless allowed just three hits, walked one and struck out one to pick up the win in the circle.
At the plate, the Lady Hornets used eight hits to take advantage of three Mount St. Mary errors, a pair of walks and a pair of hit batsmen. Regan Ryan had two hits and knocked in two. She and Alissa Suarez had doubles.
Now 23-2 this season and 9-0 in conference, Bryant is set to play at Bauxite in a non-conference game on Thursday before visiting Little Rock Central on Friday.
The Lady Hornets’ game-breaking third began with a single to center by Maddie Stephens. Regan Keesee was hit by a pitch then they moved up to second and third on a passed ball as Suarez worked a walk to load the bags. With one out, Maddie Thompson bunted, and West tried to retire Stephens at the plate, but her throw was not in time and the first run was on the board.
Keesee scored on a wild pitch then Sarah Evans stroked a line-drive single to center to make it 3-0. Meagan Chism was hit by a pitch to fill the sacks again with Loveless helping the cause with a sacrifice fly to left. Evans scored on a passed ball and it was 6-0.
Loveless had pitched around a one-out double by Tori Owens in the first and a walk to Susan Rice in the bottom of the second. In the third, the Belles managed a double by Hannah Day and a fielder’s choice in which both Day and Owens were safe only to be stranded when Loveless got West to bounce out to Evans at short.
In the top of the fourth, Keesee drew a one-out walk, stole second and went to third on a grounder to the right side by Suarez. Ryan singled her home to make it 7-0.
Kirsten Burnside singled with one out in the home fourth but was doubled off of first when Reagan Burnside popped to Brooklyn Trammell at first.
Chism singled with one out in the top of the fifth. Loveless got a bunt down and beat it out for a hit. And when a throw got away at first, Chism raced all the way home and Loveless wound up at third.
With two down, Stephens’ grounder to second was booted and the Lady Hornets led 9-0.
The Belles were retired on three groundballs — two back to Loveless in the circle — in the bottom of the fifth.
Bryant then made it a run-rule difference in the top of the sixth. Suarez doubled, taking third on a throw-in, and Ryan chased her home with a two-bagger to left. A passed ball allowed Ryan to take third before she scored on Thompson’s squeeze bunt, making it 11-0.
Again, the Belles could not muster any offense in the bottom of the sixth as Loveless closed out the victory.
