Ruling undermines Bryant’s bid for tournament crown
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JONESBORO — The temperature was dipping and the light rain was turning to sleet as the Bryant Lady Hornets and the Wynne Lady Yellowjackets played in the winners bracket final in the upper division of the Rumble-N-Raiderville at Nettleton High School on Saturday, March 17. The Lady Hornets had taken a 4-1 lead and the fourth inning of the scheduled five-inning game was about to commence when the tournament officials decided that instead of the winners bracket finals, the two teams would just play for the championship with the rest of the tournament cancelled.
But, instead of just completing the game that was under way (and thus get the tournament out of the inclement weather sooner), the officials decided to re-start the game since, now, the championship was on the line.
Despite vehement protests from Bryant’s coach Lisa Dreher and the Lady Hornets fans on hand, the scoreboard was wiped clean and the first inning commenced.
And, lo and behold, Wynne managed a 2-1 win behind the batting and one-hit pitching of University of Arkansas-signee Layne McGuirt, to take the title.
Bryant’s lone hit was a triple by Hailey King to lead off the game. She scored when Christen Kirchner reached on an error.
The Lady Hornets only had three other baserunners. In the second, Kristen Dorsey reached on an error but was caught stealing. Laci Rowland followed with a walk but was stranded. A one-out walk to Randie Juliusson in the top of the fifth was the next time Bryant got a runner aboard. Courtesy-runner Kristen Morehart was thrown out trying to steal then McGuirt got Ashley Herndon to bounce out to second to end the game.
Tyler Cox, who was on her way to pitching Bryant to the win in the first game, was in the pitcher’s circle for the second one. She’d pitched around a pair of walks in the first inning and an error in the second.
In the third, a single and a wild pitch put a runner in scoring position for McGuirt who doubled on a 2-2 pitch to tie the game. A sacrifice sent McGuirt to third and she scored the second run on a passed ball.
An error allowed Wynne to get a runner aboard in the fourth but, after a wild pitch, Juliusson threw her out trying to steal, which proved fortuitous when the next batter singled to right. But Cox, who fanned eight in the four innings, struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.
The loss was just the third in 21 games this season for the Lady Hornets. They defeated Paragould, 9-0, in the first round of the tournament on Friday, March 16, then downed Nettleton, 4-1, in extra innings on Saturday to get to the winners bracket final which turned into the championship game.
Kristen Dorsey’s three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the seventh made the Lady Hornets winners over Nettleton’s Lady Raiders.
The game was scoreless through five innings as Cox and Nettleton’s Shelby Wise dueled. Wise wound up with 13 strikeouts without a walk. She allowed three hits. Cox fanned 13 without a walk, as well. She surrendered just one hit, a lead-off single in the fifth.
With the international tie-breaker rule in effect, Nettleton got the first run in the top of the sixth when a stolen base and an errant throw to third allowed the run to score. But Bryant tied it back up in the bottom of the inning when, with Rowland on second, Juliusson’s bunt drew a wild throw.
In the top of the seventh, the Lady Hornets picked off the runner at second then retired the next two to set up the winning rally in the bottom of the inning. Christen Kirchner began the frame at second. She took third when Cox reached on an error. Morehart, the courtesy runner for Cox, stole second but Wise struck out the next two before Dorsey got hold of a 2-1 delivery and drove it to right-center for the game-winner.
In the win over Paragould, Cox pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out eight in five innings. She hit a batter and walked two.
Bryant took the lead in the top of the third. Herndon and Kirchner singled and, after King sacrificed them to second and third, Lindsey Cason drew a walk to load the bags. With two down, Dorsey cleared them with a triple to left-center. In succession, Rowland, Allison Poteet and Juliusson each reached on errors to turn it into a six-run inning.
Paragould’s best scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the inning when a walk, a bunt single and a second walk loaded the bases with one out. But Cox struck out the next two to end the threat.
In the fourth, the Lady Hornets set up the run-rule win with three more tallies. Kirchner singled, stole second and scored on a hit by King. After King swiped second, Cason walked. Though she was out stealing, Cox followed with a home run to make it 9-0.
In the bottom of the inning, Paragould managed a two-out single but no more.
