Gentry girls win season opener

Photo by Randy Moll Jordan Olds, Gentry senior, pitched for the Lady Pioneers in play against Berryville on Thursday (March 13, 2014) at the Reynolds Memorial Complex in Gentry.
Photo by Randy Moll Jordan Olds, Gentry senior, pitched for the Lady Pioneers in play against Berryville on Thursday (March 13, 2014) at the Reynolds Memorial Complex in Gentry.

GENTRY -- The Lady Pioneers couldn't have asked for a much prettier day for a season opener, but the day got even prettier when the girls' softball team beat the visiting Lady Bobcats from Berryville, 6-3, on Thursday.

Jordan Olds, Gentry senior, pitched a full game for the Lady Pioneers and struck out seven Lady Bobcat batters. She allowed three earned runs, six hits and three walks over seven innings. She also drew first blood for the Lady Pioneers when she hit a double in the bottom of the first and drove in Jaime Pierce.

In the second, Baeley Metz doubled on a fly ball to right field and advanced to third on a passed ball and then came home on a ground ball by Shamere Corter.

In the fifth, Pierce singled on a fly ball to right field, and Olds put another one in right field for a double to drive in Pierce. Olds scored after making it to third on a passed ball and then home when Christina Campbell stole first base on a dropped third-strike ball. Campbell scored on a Samantha Curran ground ball to second, putting the Lady Pioneers up, 5-0, at the end of the inning.

Berryville remained scoreless through the sixth inning, but Gentry increased its lead to 6-0 when Corter was driven in by Pierce.

Berryville finally managed to get some runs on the board in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't enough and the Gentry girls won without going to bat in the final inning.

Nick Bartmier, head coach for the Lady Pioneers, was pleased with his team's performance in its first game.

"I was very pleased with the way we played, especially for our first game of the season," said Bartmier. "Our defense was solid, and Jordan Olds pitched a great game. Offensively, we put the ball in play consistently and were able to put some hits together."

Bartmier said he is looking forward to seeing how his team continues to develop throughout the season.

Sports on 03/19/2014