Page 28 - RVO Diamond Roundup March 2017

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SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2017 | RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE BASEBALL & SOFTBALL REVIEW
SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH HORNETS
New coach counts on team to mature and grow
BY DONNA LAMPKIN STEPHENS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Jeffery Liggin has embraced the base-
ball tradition at South Side Bee Branch in his first season with the Hornets.
Liggin came to South Side this school year from an assistant’s position at Carlisle.
The Hornets, Class 1A state champions in 2007 and ’14, finished 18-7 last year, winning conference, district and regional titles.
“The expectations for this team are to mature and grow,” Liggin said. “We hope by the end of the season, we will be playing our best baseball. South Side has a strong tradition of being successful, and we hope to continue that in the 2017 season by com- peting at a championship level.”
Conference: 1A-2 South
Coach: Jeffery Liggin
2016 record: 18-7
Mascot: Hornets
Returning starters: Jadon Price,
Payton Thomas, Griffin Smith, Makall Mosley, Eli Leonard and Riley Campbell
He knows what it will take to compete at that level.
“We have to be committed to compet- ing day in and day out in order to accom- plish the expectations here at South Side,” Liggin said.
Last season, the Hornets won the Class 1A Region 3 tournament, knocking off Nemo Vista in the final, 8-3. They beat Caddo Hills in the opening round of the state
SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH BASEBALL
MARCH 24 ......................... @HEBER SPRINGS MARCH 27 ........................ @SACRED HEART* MARCH 28 ...................................... CARLISLE MARCH 30 ................. @CONWAY ST. JOSEPH* APRIL 3 ..................................WONDERVIEW* APRIL 4 .......................................... MIDLAND APRIL 6 ......................................@BIGELOW* APRIL 7 .............................. @ABUNDANT LIFE
tournament, 11-1, before falling to Viola in the quarterfinals, 12-0. Viola went on to finish runner-up to Armorel.
Six returning starters bode well for South Side this spring. Seniors Jadon Price and Payton Thomas lead the group. Price is an outfielder/pitcher; Thomas, an infielder/pitcher, has the lowest returning
APRIL 10 ................. MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA* APRIL 11 .................................... @CONCORD APRIL 13 ....................@CONWAY CHRISTIAN* APRIL 17 ...................................... QUITMAN* APRIL 18 ....................................@ROSE BUD APRIL 24 ..............WEST SIDE GREERS FERRY
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
ERA on the staff at 1.87 over 15 innings. Three juniors also return to start. Griffin Smith, a catcher/pitcher, boasts a .970 fielding percentage behind the plate. Makall Mosley, an outfielder/pitcher, has the highest returning batting average (.286). Eli Leonard,
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SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH LADY HORNETS
Lady Hornets coach expects team’s experience to garner success
QUITMAN LADY BULLDOGS
Team’s passion, dedication raise high expectations
BY DONNA LAMPKIN STEPHENS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
South Side Bee Branch’s Lady Hornets
hope to build this spring on a suc- cessful 2016.
Greg Bradford’s team finished 18-9, conference runner-up and third in the Class 1A Region 3 Tournament to qualify for
the Class 1A State Tournament.
But 2017 could be even better.
“We will exceed our success from last year
because we will have more experience on the field,” Bradford said. “We lost three seniors from last year, but we played multiple players who had no high school experience prior.”
The Lady Hornets return five starters this spring — catcher Bethany Wilson, infielder MaKenzie Mosley and outfielders Maci Guinn, Hannah Hall and Madison Thorn.
Bradford, assisted this spring by Shannon Lawrence, said defense will be a team strength. “Our defense will be strong behind young pitchers,” he said. “We will be able to produce more runs this year with a wider range of of-
fensive skills.”
Conference: 1A-2 South
Coach: Greg Bradford
Assistant coach: Shannon Lawrence 2016 record: 18-9
Mascot: Lady Hornets
Returning starters: MaKenzie Mosley,
Madison Thorn, Hannah Hall, Maci Guinn and Bethany Wilson
The youth of the pitchers will be a weakness — at least early in the season.
“They are without many high school var- sity innings under their belts,” Bradford said. “They will improve over the course of the year and be much more effective at the end.”
Last year, South Side qualified for the state tournament with an 11-1 win over Guy- Perkins in the opening round of the Class 1A Region 3 Tournament. The Lady Hornets fell to Nemo Vista in the semifinals, 13-1, but escaped Wonderview in the third-place game, 13-12, to head into the state tournament as a No. 3 seed.
BY DONNA LAMPKIN STEPHENS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
With a new coach and plenty of ex- perience back from a 2016 state- tournament appearance, expec- tations are high for the Quitman Lady Bulldogs.
Without any seniors, Quitman finished 13-8 last season, runner-up in the 2A-4 East District Tournament, and fell to Hector, 3-2, in the championship game of the Class 2A West Regional. In the opening round of the Class 2A State Tournament, the Lady Bull- dogs fell to Spring Hill, 12-1. Spring Hill went on to knock off Hector in the state championship game, 2-1.
“This will be an exciting year for Quitman softball,” new coach Stephanie Davis said. “We will return the majority of last year’s team. There are high expectations set for these girls. They have the dedication and pas- sion to reach all of the goals they have set.”
Conference: 2A-4 East
Coach: Stephanie Davis
Assistant coaches: Halisha Stacy and Steve Lasley
2016 record: 13-8
Mascot: Lady Bulldogs
Returning starters: Maggie Webb,
Larra Goff, Reagan Rackley, Lexy Smith, Aspen Johnson, Josey Bradley, Marley Johnson, Trinaty Ellington and Emily Williams
include to stage a “challenge for the district and regional championships and make a lon- ger run in the state tournament.”
Davis is assisted by Halisha Stacy and Steve Lasley.
Returning starters are senior infield- ers Maggie Webb, Larra Goff, Lexy Smith and Reagan Rackley; juniors catcher Aspen Johnson and utility player Josey Bradley; and sophomore pitchers Marley Johnson and
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Davis said those expectations for 2017
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