Going into Thursday night and the last game of the regular season and the 6A-Central Conference season for the Bryant Lady Hornets and the Conway Lady Wampus Cats, it was still up in the air which one would get the number 2 seed from the league to the 6A State Tournament in Cabot with the first-round bye to go with it.
But any doubt was quickly dismissed by the Lady Hornets, who came in with a one-game edge in the standings including a come-from-behind 8-7 win at Conway.
Bryant built a 7-0 lead in the first two innings and went on to win in run-rule fashion, 13-3, in five innings to nail down that 2 seed and the first-round bye. They’ll debut at State in Cabot on Friday, May 14, at 5:30 p.m., against the winner of a Thursday contest between Bentonville West, the three seed from the 6A-West, and Little Rock Central, the six seed from the 6A-Central.
Regan Dillon and Bella Herring each belted home runs as part of a 12-hit barrage for Bryant. Those two plus Alissa Suarez and Macy Hoskins each had two hits. Dillon, Hoskins, Abby Gentry and Emma Bonvillain each clobbered a double.
Christine Mefford limited Conway to two runs on five hits over the first four innings. Leah Hicks finished up, surrendering a run on two hits in the fifth.
Bryant is now 24-6 overall and finishes 12-2 in conference play with both losses to league champion Cabot, 4-0 and 5-4. Cabot will be on the other side of the State bracket.
On Thursday, the Lady Hornets grabbed a 2-0 lead on the strength of Dillon’s two-out blast following a walk to Gentry. Hoskins doubled but was stranded.
Having worked around a lead-off single in the first, Mefford pitched around a one-out bloop single in the second.
Bryant’s game-breaking uprising in the home half started with Herring’s infield hit on a pop that no one could get to. She stole second and third then Marissa Bracey drew a walk. With one out, Suarez got a squeeze bunt down that got Herring home to make it 3-0.
With Bracey and Suarez aboard, Mefford cracked an infield hit that loaded the bases. With two down, Dillon hit a fly to right that was misplayed, and the bases cleared. Dillon wound up on third. She scored from there on Hoskins’ lined single to left, making it 7-0.
Conway cut two runs off the margin in the top of the third on a triple, a wild pitch, a double and a single.
It was 7-2 until the Lady Hornets came up in the bottom of the fourth and Gentry whacked her double. Dillon sacrificed her to third and, with two down, Caitlin LaCerra beat out an infield hit to pick up the RBI.
And when Herring followed with her homer, Bryant’s lead was 10-2.
A one-out single and a double produced Conway’s third run before Hicks retired the side in the top of the fifth.
The Lady Hornets made it a run-rule win in the bottom of the fifth when Bonvillain doubled, Suarez singled and Gentry walked with one out to load the bases for Dillon, who delivered again with a double to right that knocked in two. And when Hoskins grounded out to second, Gentry scored to end the game.
