Title game bound : FHS baseball, softball headed back to state championships
Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008
RUSSELLVILLE - The pressure mounting on Fayetteville to reach a third straight state championship game was transferred to Bryant on Monday in the Class 7 A state semifinals.
The Lady Purple Dogs did a little bit of everything, including a 3-run sixth inning that featured a clinic on small ball, as they cruised to a 7-3 win over the Lady Hornets.
"Now I can sleep," Fayetteville head coach Jason Shirey said after the win, pressure seemingly gone.
Fayetteville (29-3 ) now sits, waits and rests for Saturday's 10 a.m. championship game against North Little Rock at Lady'Back Yard. At stake is a shot at history and a third consecutive state title. Just one other team has accomplished that feat in the state's nine-year history of fast-pitch softball.
Plenty of pressure awaits Fayetteville on Saturday. But until then, the pressure is off, Shirey said.
"Everybody wants to make it out to be [about history ], and that's fine, but for us it's just the next game," the coach said. "And yeah, it's the state championship game. I understand that, but winning these other two tournament games to get there doesn't give us any runs or any benefit [Saturday ]. We're going to have our work cut out for us."
Fayetteville ace Amanda Summerford struck out eight batters and held most of Bryant's batters in check. Brittany Welton was one of the few to have success, hitting two doubles and 2 RBIs, including a shot that cut Fayetteville's lead to 7-2 in the seventh inning.
Welton's first RBI double in the fourth inning broke up Summerford's 73-inning stretch without allowing an earned run this season.
"She had something good inside that was getting us. I thought it might be like a screwball. We haven't seen too much of that this year," Bryant head coach Lisa Dreher said. "We've learned how to hit the outside stuff, and I think we adjusted to her a little bit.
"But she's definitely solid."
Fayetteville took a 2-1 advantage early. Sadie Callison's single drove in Summerford and Jessika Booher in the second, then Morgan Keller drove in Katie Petrino with a double from second in the third.
With Fayetteville scattering hits and runs, and Summerford keeping Bryant off balance in the pitcher's circle, the seventh inning proved brutal for the Lady Hornets. A double and hit batter gave the Lady Bulldogs an opportunity to play small ball and what resulted were three perfectly lined bunts, hard running, a forced error and three more runs.
"They took advantage of us being rattled on defense," Dreher said. "They started the small ball and there was a good chance it would snowball. And it kind of did."
"That was an opportunity to put some pressure on them," Shirey said of the seventh inning. "... It's nice to be able to put that kind of pressure on an opponent instead of them doing it to us."
Bryant (20-7-1 ) had its chances, though, to tie or even take advantage in the first four innings. The Lady Hornets left three runners in scoring position, including two at third base to end the third and fourth. Mo McDaniel finally scored Bryant's first run in the fourth off Welton's first double of the afternoon.
The Lady Hornets had their most productive inning in the top of the seventh with 2 runs. There was no pressure, however, Shirey said. Summerford ended the game with style, tossing a strikeout.
"They got out in front of a couple pitches there at the end, but with a 6-run lead it's just a matter of getting outs," Shirey said. "However that happens, that's what we need to do. Our kids executed in the situation and they understood it. I trust them."
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
