Ridger Sports : Diamond ’Hawks end successful seasons; 5K run slated
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/tnebc/Sports/4458/
The boys made it to the baseball Sweet 16 with the girls reaching the softball Elite 8 before the respective squads were eliminated from further play in the 2008 State Tournament.
The boys lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to the Marmaduke Greyhounds Friday with costly errors providing the margin of victory for the eventual victors. While not playing as far into the state tournament as last year’s state semifinalist team from Pea Ridge, the ’Hawks still collected a lot of hardware, earning second place finishes in the conference and district competitions while also taking third in the Regional.
The loss to Marmaduke was especially disappointing as the Greyhounds got to play Mayflower in the next round, a team they just destroyed 18-2, the most lopsided loss in the state or regional tournaments. It seems that Mayflower High School scheduled their prom on the same day as the state tournament, a decision that resulted in most of the their key starters skipping the game to opt for the dance. Had the ’Hawks gotten by Marmaduke, it would have been most likely that Pea Ridge would have played Lincoln (a team they have beaten this year ) in the semi-finals with the winner there grabbing a spot in the 3 A state championship game to be played this weekend at Baum Stadium at the University of Arkansas.
Lincoln has been the surprise of the state in this year’s playoffs. After finishing fifth in the conference, the Wolves came out of nowhere to plow through the 3 A-1 West to claim the District Title. Lincoln kept it up for regionals, beating Mountainburg 5-2, Lamar 6-4 and then Shiloh 16-9 to claim the Region 1 title. In the state tourney, Lincoln bombed Cotter 10-5 before clobbering Genoa Central 11-2 in the second round. Lincoln then played last Monday for the right to play the winner of the Harding / Corning matchup this Saturday at 12: 30 p. m. at the U. of A.
The girls mirrored the boys results in the regional and district tournaments. The Lady ’Hawks lost the district title in a close game to the defending state champion Elkins Elks. The girls then whipped Lavaca in the regional opener 4-2 before losing to Charleston 3-1 in the semis. (That was the same team the ’Hawks lost to in the basketball regional semis. ) Pea Ridge got past Cedarville for third in the regional then won the state opener by smashing Brookland 10-2 at Pine Bluff. The Lady ’Hawks’ best season ever in fast pitch softball then came to a close last Saturday losing a tight one to Smackover 6-5. Smackover earned their quarterfinal berth by obliterating St. Joseph 18-3 in a run-shortened game.
Smackover then played 2007 state champ Elkins last Monday for a spot in the state finals against the winner of Bismarck / Cave City.
Elkins has been most impressive, with their strong pitching and defense holding all of their playoff opponents scoreless through district and regional competition. In the recent regional, the Lady Elks beat Lamar 13-0, Cedarville 7-0 and Charleston 9-0 to advance to state. In the state tournament’s first two games, Elkins won over Corning 9-1 and Horatio 6-2, combining for a whopping 44-3 edge in games played in regional and state competition. As a matter of fact, the last time that the Elks have had a worthy opponent was the last time they played Pea Ridge.
While the Lady Elks rise to the top this year again was no surprise, the meteoric rise of Lincoln’s Wolves is a bit of a stunner. Of course, the fun of baseball is that when teams start swinging the bat better or get better pitching performances, most anything could happen. Even to a “ usually in last place in most every sport ” team like Lincoln. Like they say, “ It’s a game of inches. ” Razorbacks go to precipice before turning it around
Talk about your game of inches... Arkansas had one foot in a grave and the other on a banana peel when they were down 11-8 against South Carolina Friday. A seldom used pinch hitter was up for the Hogs in the last of the ninth. Things looked especially bleak for the Razorbacks as the batter had two strikes against him and there were already two outs in their last chance to qualify for the conference tourney. Another loss and Arkansas would have probably missed playing in the conference tourney for the first time in a long time.
Well what do you know ? The pitcher got that third strike pitch just a few inches up in the strike zone and the Hog batter parked it over the outfield wall for a 12-11 Razorback victory. The U. of A. went on to win the next two from the Gamecocks and wound up the weekend jumping from 11 th in the SEC to seventh overall. The Razorbacks travel to lastplace Mississippi State this weekend for a three-game set. If they win two of three from the Bulldogs, it will probably be just enough to get into the tournament. Cochran adds to medal haul
Fifth-grader Mikhaela Cochran added to her medal haul for the 2008 season by taking gold, silver and bronze medals in the Golden Wings Invitational Track Meet last Saturday in Springdale. The meet featured athletes from northwest Arkansas as well as Little Rock, Conway, Jacksonville, Pine Bluff and Fort Smith.
Cochran copped a gold in the long jump (11-10 ) and was second in the 100 meters in 14. 9. Her bronze medal came in her first effort in the 400 meter dash which she ran in 1: 22. 0. Run For The Kids May 24
The first Run for the Kids 5 K will be in Pea Ridge May 24, starting on the old high school grounds.
Featuring a 5 K run for youth and adults, there will also a fun walk for anyone and a Kids Mile for youths 12 and younger. In addition, there will also be a Tot Trot for kids 3 through 6. The 5 K has a $ 10 entry fee with the fun walk $ 5 and the Kids Mile $ 3. The Tot Trot is free.
The adult run has standard 5-year age group with the youth 5 K having 9 and under, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-19 age groups. The Kids Mile has separate divisions for 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 year olds. The Tot Trot has separate age groups for each year 3, 4, 5, and 6.
All division winners get trophies with medallions to all second- through fifth-place winners. Additional medals are being given to all the other youth finishers.
The Pea Ridge Optimist Club is donating the awards for the event with several other businesses contributing materials toward the success of the goal.
All proceeds from the race will go to the Nancy Juarez family of Pea Ridge. The first-grader has been stricken with an inoperable brain tumor and has been in Little Rock Children’s Hospital for some time.