ROGERS -- Rachel Allgood hit a home run and Kaitlyn Felder pitched a two-hitter as Cabot defeated Van Buren 4-0 in the semifinals at the Class 7A state softball tournament Saturday at Veterans Park in Rogers.
Cabot (27-4) will face two-time Class 7A state champion North Little Rock in the championship game. North Little Rock defeated Bryant 6-1 in the other semifinal game on Saturday.
Felder struck out nine and both Van Buren hits were singles in the fifth inning. Felder had at least one strikeout in every inning.
"Felder came out and had a great outing and kept them off balanced," Cabot Coach Chris Cope said. "Our defense played good behind her."
Allgood set the tone with a towering home run over the right field fence for a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Lady Panthers then upped the lead to 3-0 in the third on RBI singles by Megan Goodnight and Erin Eckert.
"The home run woke us up a little bit and got us going a little bit," Cope said. "We had some good two-out hits and the girls stepped up with runners in scoring position. It was a good team effort for us. These girls have earned this."
Cabot's Heather Hill's double scored Macee Abbott to give the Lady Panthers a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning. Goodnight and Hill both had two hits.
Van Buren (24-5) put the leadoff runner on in the third and fourth innings but failed to score while stranding five runners.
"They beat us, and Cabot got some bigger hits," Van Buren Coach Andy Williams said. "We had chances, and we were right there. We just didn't put any pressure on them. In games like this, you have to put pressure on the other team."
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 6, BRYANT 1
ROGERS -- Two-time defending state champion North Little Rock worked out of several jams and scored five runs with two outs to defeat Bryant in the semifinals of the Class 7A state softball tournament Saturday afternoon.
North Little Rock (21-7) will face Cabot in the championship game at 10 a.m. Friday at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.
"You can't win it again if you don't get there," North Little Rock Coach Anthony Cantrell said. "We have a chance."
North Little Rock scored its first four runs with two outs for a 4-0 lead after three innings and the Lady Charging Wildcats finished with nine hits. Reagan Sperling had three hits and two RBIs while freshman Cassidy Tucker had a pair of doubles and one RBI for North Little Rock.
"We preach two-out hits, two-strike hits," Cantrell said. "Those things are demoralizing for the other team. We had some big from pretty much everybody. Cassidy Tucker had a great game. The defense played well again."
North Little Rock took a 1-0 lead in the second inning before taking control with three more runs in the third inning. Tucker scored Sperling with a two-out double for a 1-0 lead and Sperling then followed an RBI single by McKenzie Escovedo with a two-out, two-run single that upped the lead to 4-0.
Sperling hit another double in the fourth and gave the Lady Charging Wildcats a 5-0 lead on an RBI single by No. 9 hitter Lydia Belew.
Bryant (17-6) put the lead-off runners on in the second and third innings and they left the bases loaded in the fifth inning. The Lady Hornets scored a single run in the bottom of the seventh but they left nine runners stranded.
"We had our chances, but we couldn't get that big hit," said Bryant Coach Debbie Clark. "But I am so proud of these girls for fighting to the end."
Softball at a glance
CLASS 7A AT ROGERS
SATURDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 5 North Little Rock 6, Bryant 1 Game 6 Cabot 4, Van Buren 0
FRIDAY’S GAME Championship At Bogle Park, Fayetteville
North Little Rock vs. Cabot, 10 A.M.
CLASS 6A AT MARION
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Greenwood 5, Lake Hamilton 0, ppd. (completion of suspended game) Marion vs. El Dorado, ppd. Benton vs. Game 7 winner, ppd. Sheridan vs. Game 8 winner, ppd.
MONDAY’S GAMES
Game 7 Greenwood 5, Lake Hamilton 0, 10 a.m. (completion of suspended game) Game 8 Marion vs. El Dorado, noon Game 9 Benton vs. Game 7 winner, 2 p.m. Game 10 Sheridan vs. Game 8 winner, 4 p.m.
CLASS 5A AT HOT SPRINGS LAKESIDE
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Game 9 White Hall 3, Beebe 1 Game 10 Vilonia, 4 Greene Co. Tech 3 Game 11 Paragould 6, Greenbrier 1 Game 12 De Queen 11, Sylvan Hills 0
MONDAY’S SEMIFINALS
White Hall vs. Paragould, noon Vilonia vs. De Queen, 2:30 p.m.
CLASS 4A AT MENA
SATURDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 5 Mena 8, Brookland 0 Game 6 Bauxite 2, Nashville 1 (8)
FRIDAY’S GAME Championship At Bogle Park, Fayetteville
Mena vs. Bauxite, 3 p.m.
CLASS 3A AT HARRISON
SATURDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 9 Harding Academy 4, Benton Harmony Grove 2 Game 10 Bald Knob 10, Genoa Central 0
FRIDAY’S GAME Championship At Bogle Park, Fayetteville
Harding Academy vs. Bald Knob, 5:30 p.m.
CLASS 2A AT NORPHLET
SATURDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 9 Spring Hill 5, Foreman 3 Game 10 Buffalo Island Central 5, Parkers Chapel 1
SATURDAY’S GAME Championship At Bogle Park, Fayetteville
Spring Hill vs. Buffalo Island Central, 3 p.m.
CLASS 1A AT ARMOREL
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Viola vs. Concord, ppd. Scranton vs. Nemo Vista, ppd.
MONDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Game 9 Viola vs. Concord, noon Game 10 Scranton vs. Nemo Vista, 2:30 p.m.
Sports on 05/17/2015