GENTRY — The Lady Pioneers played the Siloam Springs Lady Panthers Thursday in Siloam. Sikora Ruiz drew a walk and was brought home on a single by Rindy Hudson in the top of the first, with a strong defense keeping the Lady Panthers scoreless - three up and three down.
Siloam Springs scored five runs in the next two innings on four hits, before a nice double play by Cloie Sikes, Ruiz and Suzanna Sikes retired the sides with a score of 5-1 Siloam Springs at the end of three.
The fourth inning added four runs to the board for the Lady Pioneers, with walks by Snell, Courtney Folker and Suzanna Sikes and the three being brought in on a drive-tothe-fence triple by Hudson, who then scored on a single by Cloie Sikes. The Lady Panthers answered with a double, with the runner scoring on a wild pitch.
In the fifth, Jordan Olds hit down the first-base line for a nice single and scored on a sacrifice by Shannea Smartt. In the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Panthers opened up the game and scored six runs on four hits to increase their lead. Gentry added a run in the seventh when Cloie Sikes hit a nice double and was brought in on a fielder's choice when Olds was a bat.
The final score was Siloam Springs 12, Gentry 7. Gentry v. Southside
The Lady Pioneers took fourth in the Farmington-Fayetteville Tournament.
The Lady Pioneers took on the Southside Lady Rebels in the opening game of the tournament Friday. Sikora Ruiz reached base on a single to center but failed to score on a fielder's choice with Josie Graves-Long at bat. Rindy Hudson and Cloie Sikes reached base on Lady Rebel errors and scored on a double by Jordan Olds. Graves-Long and Olds were left standing when a hard hit to center by Metaya Snell was caught.
Southside scored two runs in the first, with a walk followed by two hits.
Suzanna Sikes got on base through an error and came home on a beautiful triple hit by Ruiz for the final score of the game. A nice double hit by Cloie Sikes left her standing in the third, and a tough defense on both sides held the game to the 3-2 final score, with Sarah Hogan picking up the win for the Pioneers.
Gentry v. Fayetteville
Saturday brought the 4A Lady Pioneers up against the 7A Fayetteville Lady Bulldogs.
Both teams remained scoreless until the second inning when Fayetteville scored three runs on four hits.
The Lady Pioneers went down one-two-three in the bottom of the second, and the Lady Rebels added another two runs to the board when R. Cantu hit a two-run homer.
Gentry answered in the bottom of the inning when Shannea Smartt drew a walk, McKenna James singled through second base, and Courtney Folker and Rindy Hudson walked, scoring Smartt. A fielder’s choice hit by Graves-Long brought James home. Olds singled to score Folker and Hudson, making it 5-4 Fayetteville.
Gentry failed to add runs, and an error allowed Ashlye Poole on base to be scored on a single by Lady Bulldog's Hoskins. Another two-run home run, hit by Fayetteville’s center fielder Breden, brought the score to a final 8-4 in favor of Fayetteville. A scrappy defense and excellent teamwork held the Lady Bulldogs to 8 runs.
Gentry v. Farmington
In Gentry's final game of the day, Farmington’s Lady Cardinals dominated with 12 hits to score 12 runs. Gentry Lady Pioneers failed to score on singles hit by Folker, Smartt and Graves-Long. Even the Lady Pioneers scrappy defense couldn't hold the Lady Cardinals hard hits and aggressive base-running. The final score was 12-0 Farmington.
Gentry meets Farmington again at Farmington on Tuesday, March 29.
Sports, Pages 9 on 03/23/2011