LINCOLN -- A season-ending 13-7 loss to Berryville at the District 4A-1 softball tournament held at Lincoln Thursday proved bittersweet for Gentry coach Paul Ernst.
"They (Berryville) walked out there and hit the ball fairly well," said Ernst, who praised his girls for their progress.
"The first of the year we couldn't field a fly ball. The first of the year we couldn't hit a ball in play," Ernst said. "We've really improved over the course of the year. Our seniors are really hurting right now because they're not going to benefit from what they brought this season."
Alexis Droddy, who played various positions, infielder Gracie Potts and outfielder Lynzey Sikes all played their final games as Lady Pioneers. They didn't go out without a fight as Gentry proved it could play.
Berryville led 5-2 after four innings, then upped its lead to 8-2 only to have Gentry rally with five runs in the fifth. Beyond that, the Lady Bobcats steadily pulled away and claimed a 13-7 win to advance to Friday's 5 p.m semifinal against No. 1 Pea Ridge, which had a first-round bye.
Sophomore Eve Linz started a 5-run Berryville blitz in the sixth with a single. Kate Powell plated her with a triple. Lora Grace Hill turned a Gentry error into a triple. The next batter was hit by a pitch and Maleah Bryant drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly. Lexi Woods' smacked a solo home run to cap the scoring.
Ernst is optimistic about the future of the program, declaring, "We've got to have kids that want to be here," while encouraging the girls to practice fielding and throwing in the offseason.
"Don't just wait until February," Ernst said. "We went through this season and its probably one of the funnest seasons I've had coaching. We had three pitchers (Makayla Case, Raegan Jude and Allee Sweeten), who gave us a chance to win every time. We had a freshman catcher (Taylor Norman), who by the end of the year was blocking like a senior. Our team got a lot better throughout the year."
Gentry lost six of its first seven games by a 67-48 margin, then went 6-9 the rest of the way. The Lady Pioneers finished 7-15 overall and 4-8 in conference play.
Sports on 05/02/2018