Lady Hornets ease to win in tourney opener
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By ROB PATRICK
BRYANT TIMES
SHERWOOD — For the second game in a row, senior Jenna White went 4-for-4 as the Bryant Lady Hornets opened the Class AAAAA/AAAA State Tournament with a 9-1 win over the Jonesboro Lady Hurricane at McReynolds Sports Complex Saturday.
White extended her streak of reaching base to 11 consecutive at-bats with her four hits in the game. She had a double, a triple and two singles.
The Lady Hornets improved to 28-7 with the victory and advanced to a quarterfinal contest with the rival White Hall Lady Bulldogs later in the day (see related story).
White, the Lady Hornets pitcher, and the Bryant defense shut out Jonesboro until the top of the seventh despite the fact that the Lady Hurricane had runners on base in all but one inning. The Lady Hornets committed just two errors and turned in a handful of eye-catching plays along the way.
Bryant piled up 13 hits including two each by Kim Adams and Kelly Bennett.
The Lady Hornets took the lead initially in the bottom of the first. Stephanie Kennedy walked but was forced out at second on a grounder to the pitcher by Andrea Hammock. But Hammock hustled down the line to avoid the double play and White followed with her RBI double. White scored moments later on a single by Misty Phillips.
In the second, Bennett singled with one down and, with two away, Nikki Turpin drew a walk. Stephanie Kennedy then singled in courtesy runner Jill Glenn to make it 3-0.
It stayed that way until Bryant’s fifth when Jonesboro suffered a couple of defensive lapses that the Lady Hornets took advantage of. The first came on a grounder by Stephanie Kennedy to second to open the inning. Hammock followed with a single then White drove in Kennedy with her third base hit. Phillips delivered a run with a sacrifice fly and, after Meagan Clancy grounded out, White scored when Tiffany Kennedy’s grounder was booted at second.
The Lady Hornets made it 9-0 in the bottom of the sixth. Bennett and Sarah Medlin each singled then both scored when Stephanie Kennedy’s drive to right was misplayed. Kennedy, who wound up at third on the play, scored moments later on a sacrifice fly by Hammock.
The Lady Hornets made a bid to run-rule the Lady Hurricane there when White smacked a triple down the line in right but she was stranded when Jonesboro left-fielder Sara Bradbury tracked down Phillips’ long fly for the final out.
A misplayed single and an RBI base hit by Erin Waldon produced Jonesboro’s lone run of the game in the top of the seventh, but the next two batters were retired to end the game.
