LINCOLN -- Momentum during a see-saw battle swung toward Lincoln in crunch time, with the Lady Wolves winning, 6-5, over Gravette in eight innings on Monday, April 9.
"I'm proud of our effort," said Lincoln coach Beau Collins. "We made a couple of errors, but they kept their heads and found a way to overcome it."
With the win, Lincoln improved to 10-6 overall and 5-2 in league play.
"It puts us in good position for the end of the year," Collins said, noting the Lady Wolves will host the District 4A-1 softball tournament at the end of the month.
Gravette came in 11-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play. The Lady Lions owned an 11-0 win over Lincoln at home on March 12.
"They, Lincoln, ought to be proud of the way they played," said Gravette coach Taos Jones. "We're a team to beat."
In the eighth, senior Malorie Pershall battled back from called-strike for a 2-2 count, fouling a pitch off, then taking ball-three before driving in the winning run with a single.
The Lady Wolves scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to extend the game. Madison Jones coolly took a 3-2 pitch to draw a leadoff walk and moved to third on Kinley Webb's single into right center. With runners at the corners, Hollie Webb delivered a sacrifice fly pulling Lincoln within 5-4 with one out. With a runner in scoring position, Lincoln senior Tristan Cunningham connected and Kinley Webb (2-for-3, 2 runs scored) charged for home.
The play at the plate could have gone either way and Kinley Webb was ruled safe, tying the game.
Gravette coach Taos Jones made his second trip out, having unsuccessfully argued a base runner did not leave early as the Lady Lions' at-bat in the fifth ended. Taos Jones wanted the runner out at the plate, but the safe ruling was upheld.
Gravette pitcher Bailey Elmore induced a fly out with a runner at third to prevent Lincoln from taking the lead and the game went into extra innings.
The Lady Lions went down in order in the top of the eighth and could not advance a base runner from second. Massey bunted her way on as Gravette missed a tag and Lincoln's base-runner stationed at second to start the inning moved to third. Pershall came up with runners at the corners and contributed a productive at-bat. She took ball-one, allowing a double steal before belting the seventh pitch for an RBI single to end the game with Lincoln winning, 6-5.
Gravette took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Lincoln rallied to take a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. The Lady Lions went back in front with back-to-back solo homers by junior Sumer Kaba and senior Jaki Chalk to begin the fourth inning. They would get two more hits in the inning, a one-out single by Taylor Snow and a two-out double from Gabbi Scott that moved a runner to third, but Lincoln starter Massey, who allowed 3 runs on 8 hits in 4 innings, got Shylee Morrison to hit a line drive that was gloved by Hollie Webb playing third base for Lincoln.
Always one to help her cause at the plate, Massey (2-for-4) led off Lincoln's half of the fourth with a single into left field. Katie Lankford followed with a bunt that Lincoln coach Beau Collins argued was touched on the line by Gravette. Instead the hit was ruled foul and Lankford was out on a called strike-three.
Lincoln's Paige Umberson doubled off the center-field wall, moving courtesy-runner Chloe Dawson to third. She scored on Madison Jones' RBI ground-out to tie the game at 3-all.
Neither team scored in the fifth. Chalk singled to lead off the sixth. Following an out, Snow hit into a fielder's choice and was safe at second, while Lincoln recorded a force out at second. Hannah Cole put the Lady Lions back into the lead at 4-3 with a double into center field.
Gravette added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Morrison beat a throw to first, but Umberson, who pitched the final four innings for Lincoln in relief, got Elmore to fly out and caught Emily Ellis' pop-up. Kaba's hot bat continued as she stroked a triple to drive in a run, giving Gravette a 5-3 cushion. Chalk was unable to bring her home as Umberson induced a ground-out to get out of the inning.
"We've got Pea Ridge tomorrow at home," Taos Jones said. "We've got to suck this one up and go and play. They're another tough team."
Gravette lost 5-4 to Pea Ridge on Tuesday, April 10, which dropped the Lady Lions into fourth among 4A-1 teams with three league opponents remaining in the final seven games of the regular season.
Sports on 04/18/2018