Lady Hornets win 2 out of 3 at tournament Saturday
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Photos courtesy of Jon Staton
By Bridget Bauer
After winning two games that Bryant Coach Debbie Clark said were must-win situations, the Lady Hornets almost made it to the title game of the Beebe-Cabot tournament Saturday.
Bryant defeated Batesville, 4-3, in its first matchup of the tournament. The second contest was against the Cabot JV team, and the Lady Hornets (3-1) recorded a 6-4 triumph. In its final contest, Bryant owned a 3-0 lead before losing to Cabot, 4-3, in a game that went into extra innings utilizing international rules.
“(Playing) Batesville was cool because one of my former players from Wynne coached them,” Clark said. “Of course, my pride thing kicked in, and we had to beat them. The coach-pride thing kicked in against Cabot JV, and we weren’t going to lose to a JV team, and they were good.”
Against Batesville, senior Cayla McDowell and junior Miranda Mayfield paced the Lady Hornets. McDowell tallied two of Bryant’s three hits and one RBI while Mayfield recorded three runs batted in on her double in the bottom of the fourth that gave the Lady Hornets a 4-2 edge. Senior Abby Staton picked up the pitching win and struck out five batters, walked three and relinquished the three runs on six hits.
“We are dealing with some personnel issues/changes that are causing frustration,” Clark said. “It seems to compound everything. During the Batesville game, it also sleeted on us, and everything seemed to be compounded. We are trying to figure things out.”
Freshman Raven Loveless pitched against Cabot JV, and in four innings gave up the four runs on five hits, walked two batters and struck out four. The Lady Hornets totaled seven hits and were led by freshman’s Daniele Singleton’s two singles. Julie Ward and Staton slapped RBI doubles while Regan Ryan, Mayfield and McDowell chipped in RBI singles.
“Raven did a nice job of settling in,” Clark said. “I was proud of her. The good news is we still have things to work on, and the other good news is we have coaches ready to work on them.”
Against Cabot, Bryant was ahead, 3-0, after four innings. However, Cabot knotted the score at three-all in the top of the fifth after notching three of its six hits in the frame and scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth. Of the Lady Hornet’s seven hits, Ward contributed two and the only RBI. Staton scored on an error, and Jordan Williams went home on a throw. Ryan also totaled two hits for Bryant, and Loveless pitched for the Lady Hornets.
“When we were ahead 3-0, I was looking at us going to the championship and was so excited,” Clark said. “Raven pitched well enough to win. We made too many mistakes, and they brought in a lefty, and we didn’t make the adjustments.”
Now 3-1 on the season, the Lady Hornets open play in the 7A/6A-Central Conference on the road against Mount St. Mary Academy on Wednesday, April 1. A junior varsity doubleheader is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, at home against Little Rock Central.
