Friday’s highlights
7A SOFTBALL
NLR defense shines
North Little Rock made the plays when they counted most Friday.
North Little Rock outfielders Reagan Sperling and Hannah Lovercheck kept Rogers off the scoreboard with diving catches and the Lady Charging Wildcats scored the game’s only runs after two Lady Mounties errors in a 2-0 victory in the quarterfinals of the Class 7A softball state tournament at Veterans Park in Rogers.
7A BOYS SOCCER
Bentonville runs away
Bentonville Coach Mike Devaney couldn’t have asked for a better start from the Tigers in their Class 7A boys soccer state tournament match.
The defending 7A state champion and the 7A-West’s top seed, Bentonville scored 18 seconds into the match and dominated Fayetteville 6-0 at Panther Stadium in Cabot.
Cory Jones and Jose Castro each had two goals, while Josh Howard and Zack Estrada also scored for Bentonville.
6A SOFTBALL/BASEBALL
Benton erupts, rolls
Benton scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to clinch a 10-0, six-inning victory against Mountain Home in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A softball state tournament in Marion.
The Lady Panthers (23-4) struck for single runs in the first and third innings, as well as a two-run tally in the fourth.
In Texarkana, after sitting through a 39-minute weather delay in the sixth inning, Benton collected five of its seven hits on the way to an 8-0 victory over Marion in Friday’s quarterfinals of the Class 6A baseball state tournament at Razorback Field.
6A BOYS SOCCER
Russellville still alive
It took a free kick for the Russellville Cyclones to find a route around the Benton Panthers’ defense.
Junior William Crisostomo’s shot from 30 yards away bent left around goalkeeper Austin Dow and into the back of the net to give Russellville (13-6) the goal it needed in a 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Benton (13-4) in the Class 6A state tournament at Lion Stadium in Searcy.
5A BASEBALL
No. 1 seeds go down
It was not a good year to be a No. 1 seed in the Class 5A baseball state tournament as the final three top seeds were knocked off in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Sylvan Hills, second in the 5A-Central Conference, is the highest seed left going into today’s semifinals after knocking off 5A-South champion Watson Chapel 8-1 at Jack Williams Field in Harrison.