Page 32 - RVO Diamond Roundup March 2017

32VV
SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2017 | RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE BASEBALL & SOFTBALL REVIEW
QUITMAN LADY BULLDOGS
HEBER SPRINGS LADY PANTHERS
QUITMAN SOFTBALL continued from 28VV Trinaty Ellington and utility player Emily
Williams.
Outfielder Jessa Selsor is another senior. “We will have a more experienced group
of girls by returning seven-plus starters, and a very athletic freshman class gives us more depth than we’ve had in previous years,” Da- vis said. “The bench will have more depth and, in turn, make the girls work harder to earn positions and prepare us for the season.”
The team’s experience, athletic freshman class and deeper bench will provide strengths for the Lady Bulldogs.
Weaknesses the team will face include “having a new coach and trying to adjust to that, along with the high expectations laid out for the girls,” Davis said.
Quitman plays in the 2A-4 East Confer- ence, along with Bigelow, Conway Christian, England, Hector, Jacksonville Lighthouse, Pangburn, St. Joseph and White County Cen- tral. That district tournament will send four teams to the regional.
During the regular season, the Lady Bull- dogs will play in combined classification 1A/2A District 7 against Bigelow, Conway
QUITMAN SOFTBALL
MARCH 27 ............... MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA* MARCH 30 .................. @CONWAY CHRISTIAN* MARCH 31 ......... @WEST SIDE GREERS FERRY APRIL 1 ...............................ROSE BUD @UCA APRIL 3 ........................CONWAY ST. JOSEPH* APRIL 6 .................................. GUY-PERKINS* APRIL 7 ..... FAULKNER COUNTY HOMESCHOOL APRIL 10 ............................... @NEMO VISTA* APRIL 11 ............................. SACRED HEART* APRIL 13 .................................... @CONCORD
LADY PANTHERS continued from 31VV Another leader is senior second baseman Toni
Bryant.
“She is one of our best position players on the
team,” West said. “She has a good bat and has probably been our best hitter the last couple of years.
“She produces runs and hits and has the power to go deep.”
West said sophomore Abbi McBroome, who plays at short, is a “sure hand on defense.”
“She also has a decent bat and is a real intelli- gent softball player,” West said.
Sophomore third baseman Hailey Vaughn has “a lot of power and explosiveness,” the coach said. “She is possibly our best softball player on the
team,” West said. “She is very solid for us.”
West said it is important for Heber Springs to
not fall behind early in games.
“We need to be focused and ready to go,” West
said. “If we have a slow start to a game, or are having a hard time due to the speed of the pitcher or something like that, then it is going to be tough for us to come back.”
In the loss to Sylvan Hills, Heber Springs fell behind 3-0 in the first inning, and West said the team just didn’t adjust quickly enough.
“It is all mental,” West said. “These girls are capable to play with anyone, and we are good in close games.
APRIL 14 APRIL 17
........................... @HEBER SPRINGS ........... @SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH* *DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
Christian, Guy-Perkins, Mount Vernon-Eno- la, Nemo Vista, Sacred Heart, South Side Bee Branch, St. Joseph and Wonderview.
“We are in a new conference this year with a lot of talent and good coaching,” Davis said. “It would be hard to try to pinpoint certain games to watch.”
The new coach said she could have several college prospects.
“I am still getting to know which girls want to continue their softball careers in college,” she said.
WILLIAM HARVEY/RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION
Heber Springs senior Hannah Ford warms up.
“But if we fall behind five or six runs, then we have to be mentally strong to come back from that.”
For Heber Springs, expectations are high for the program, thanks to a senior-led team.
“Our goal is to make the postseason, to make the regional tournament,” West said. “The last two years we have made state, and this year, we would like to make another run.
“Our ultimate goal is to play for a state championship.”
SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH HORNETS
SOUTH SIDE BASEBALL continued from 28VV
an infielder/pitcher, had a team-high on- base percentage of .487.
Sophomore Riley Campbell is the other returning starter.
Liggin knows what he wants to see in his debut season.
“For us to match the level of success that has been achieved in the past, we will be rely- ing on guys gaining experience and growing up as the season progresses,” he said. “We will have to have some of our freshmen play key roles, and some of our older guys will need to step into roles that they haven’t had to fill in the past.”
He said the early part of the season will feature some experimentation.
“It will be a feeling-out process until we find the right combinations and fits on the field,” Liggin said. “We hope by tournament time, we will have guys step up and meet the challenge.”
Team strengths, he said, will include ex- perience — in the outfield, middle infield and behind the plate. But half of the Hornets’
roster is made up of freshmen, so youth and pitching-staff experience will be weaknesses, at least early in the season.
After the Arkansas Activities Associa- tion’s realignment cycle, the Hornets will join Bradford, Concord, Midland and West Side Greers Ferry in the 1A-2 South Conference. Four teams from that district tournament will advance to the Class 1A Region 3 tour- nament, with the top four from there moving on to the Class 1A State Tournament.
During the regular season, South Side will play in the combined classification 1A/2A District 7, joining Bigelow, Conway Christian, Guy-Perkins, Mount Vernon-Enola, Nemo Vista, Quitman, Sacred Heart, St. Joseph and Wonderview.
With a young team, Liggin said, he knows growth would be an important factor in his debut season with the Hornets.
“Our season will go as our growth and maturation go,” he said. “If we mature and gain experience, then we can have a success- ful season. If we fail to mature and step up to the opportunities that come before us, then we will fall short of our goals.”
HEBER SPRINGS PANTHERS
HEBER SPRINGS continued from 31VV Senior Sam Lee will move to shortstop after
catching last season.
“He is level-headed and even-keeled,” Bise
said. “He brings a great work ethic.”
No. 2 in the starting rotation is junior Jacob Bremmon. Bise said Bremmon will be expected to “contribute highly both on offense and on
the mound.”
“Junior Brandon Loethen has been assum-
ing the catching duties so far,” Bise said. “We need him to hit and continue to work hard and be a leader.”
Bise said Loethen caught some last season, and the coach said he feels comfortable with Loethen in that starting role.
“He has gotten better,” Bise said. “[Lee and Loethen] have both proven they can do it, and they will help us when I need one of them to pitch and the other to catch.
“We shouldn’t miss a step.”
Senior Clayton Cox suffered an injury
during football season, but Bise said he expects Cox to provide some innings on the mound once he is 100 percent.
Junior Jacob Blasingame will either play at first base or in the outfield, depending on who is pitching, the coach said.
“Junior Seth Jenkins is swinging the bat as well as anybody I have,” Bise said. “He will also get some innings on the mound.”
Senior Carter Kelley returns at second baseman after having a good year at the plate. “I’m looking forward to him doing that in the leadoff role,” Bise said. “He has good
speed when he can get on base.” Sophomore Nick Chaney started every
game at third base last year, and Bise said, hopefully, “he can eat up some innings on the mound this season.”
“We just want to be playing our best baseball by conference and the regional tournament,” Bise said. “We want to be playing our best going into the end of the season, because it is not how you arrive, but how you finish.”