BENTONVILLE -- Fort Smith Northside picked up a much-needed sigh of relief from Kylie Templemeyer and some extra breathing room from Shanoe Teague.
Templemeyer broke an eighth-inning tie with a sacrifice fly, then Teague's home run gave Northside an 8-6 victory over Rogers Heritage to open the Class 6A state softball tournament at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
"My assistant coach helped me with my swing," Teague said after the game. "She said I was trying a little too hard and to just let it come back a little bit more, relax and hit the ball. I finally got a hold of it. I knew it was gone right off the bat."
Northside started the eighth with Hannah Entrekin on second base because of the extra-inning tie-breaker. She went to third on a passed ball and easily came home when Templemeyer lofted a sacrifice fly to left field.
Teague then turned on a pitch and belted her shot over the right-field fence to give Northside (11-13) the two-run cushion. Heritage (6-17) also started its half of the eighth with a runner on second, but Lady Bears pitcher Cailin Massey retired the three Lady War Eagles pitchers she faced to preserve the lead.
"That gives our pitcher some confidence when she goes back out there and we have two runs to work with," Lady Bears Coach Kelly Nickell said. "She gets more comfortable in the circle, so it was nice."
Northside had to make a comeback in the fifth after Kayla Paulo's three-run home run in the fourth gave Heritage a 6-3 lead. The Lady Bears banged out four consecutive two-out hits, including a two-run home run by Mariady Dempsey and an RBI double by Templemeyer that tied the game.
CONWAY 10, FAYETTEVILLE 1
T'yaunna Rector hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run to lead Conway past Fayetteville.
Rector accounted for all three of Conway's runs in the second inning when she hit a ball over the center fielder's headed and scored standing up. Conway added five more runs in the fourth inning with the help of a two-run double from Addison Jordan.
Conway outhit Fayetteville 13-3 and the Lady Bulldogs committed all four errors in the game. Shalin Charles hit a double and scored Fayetteville's only run.
BRYANT 10, VAN BUREN 8
Bryant scored 10 consecutive runs to wipe out an early 5-0 deficit and eliminate Van Buren.
Meagan Chism hit a home run and Aly Bowers a three-run triple in the fourth inning when Bryant scored five runs to take an 8-5 lead. Chism tied the game with a home run to left field before Bowers put Bryant ahead with a bases-loaded triple into the right-center field gap.
Brook Fancher had a two-run triple and Leah Wilkins a two-run double for Van Buren, which led 5-0 in the third inning. Richelle Richey added an RBI double in the seventh for the Lady Pointers.
ROGERS 15,
FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 9
Emma Kate Jackson's two-run single in the third inning began a string of nine unanswered runs as Rogers outslugged Fort Smith Southside and prevented a 6A-Central sweep of the first-round games.
Southside (15-14) scored three runs in the top of the fourth and took a 4-3 lead on Piper Morgan's two-run double, but Jackson's hit put Rogers (16-6) ahead to stay. The Lady Mounties added an RBI double by Kaylin Melvin and a two-run single by Journee Zito to make it an 8-4 game, then added four more runs in the fifth to make it a 12-4 game.
Courtney Storey had four hits and scored twice to pace Rogers' 19-hit attack, while Jackson and Jordan Jeffrey each had three hits. Cassie Gonzalez and Zito drove in three runs apiece.
Hana Dingman had a solo home run for Southside, while Piper Morgan added an inside-the-park grand slam in the sixth and cut Rogers' lead to 12-8.
Class 4A softball
MORRILTON 3, NASHVILLE 2
BATESVILLE -- The Morrilton Lady Devil Dogs (24-6) scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the first inning to grab the lead before a light but steady rain began to fall for the rest of the game.
Shelby Tindall had a 2-run double and Mary Kate Kordsmeier hit an RBI-double for Morrilton which finished with six hits. Nashville (20-8) scored two runs on three hits and two walks in the top of the second, also finishing the contest with six hits.
POTTSVILLE 5,
SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE 2
The Pottsville Lady Apaches jumped on Southside Batesvile starter Katie Denison for four hits and three runs in the top of the first inning, and led by as much as 4-0 in defeating the host Lady Southerners.
Sadie Saul led Pottsville with three hits and scored three runs. Abbie Cain had two hits and scored a run. The Lady Apaches finished with 10 hits.
The Lady Southerners had three hits including a two-run home run by Shelby Warren in the bottom of the fourth that cut the deficit to 4-2.
DE QUEEN 11,
JONESBORO WESTSIDE 1
De Queen only trailed once before scoring at least one run in all but the fourth inning in defeating Jonesboro Westside in six innings.
The Lady Leopard (18-5) finished with 11 hits, three by Lex Taylor who also was the winning pitcher. Taylor gave up a solo home run to Westside's Scout Harrison in the top of the first inning but allowed two hits the rest of the way, sriking out 10.
GRAVETTE 6, MAGNOLIA 1
The Gravette Lady Lions scored three runs in the bottom of the third and three more in the bottom of the fifth after falling behind 1-0 to the Lady Panthers early in the game.
An RBI triple by Cara Taylor in the top of the third delivered Magnolia's only run. The Lady Panthers finished with six hits but only one after Taylor's triple.
Gravette finished with eight hits, three by Hannah Cole and two by Lizzy Ellis.
-- Scott McDonald
Sports on 05/10/2019