Page 44 - 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
CONCORD LADY PIRATES
Lady Pirates’ expectations high after best season
BY DONNA LAMPKIN STEPHENS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
With seven returning starters off a
33-5, Class 1A state runner-up team, Concord’s Lady Pirates look for a big 2017.
They couldn’t have come much closer in 2016.
Concord, which fell to Scranton in the 2015 Class 1A state final, won the 1A-2 South Con- ference and District titles last year; finished run- ner-up to Nemo Vista in the Class 1A Region 3 Tournament, 7-0; and fell again to the Lady Red Hawks in the state-championship game, 8-7 in eight innings.
Nemo Vista didn’t allow a run in the state tournament until the championship game at the University of Arkansas’ Bogle Field. The Lady Red Hawks closed on an eight-game winning streak as they won their third state title since 2007.
Concord’s Lady Pirates, state runner-up the past two years, could be the heirs apparent.
“I’m sure a lot of people will have us picked that way, but there are several really good teams out there,” 10th-year Concord coach Michael Strother said. “Armorel is going to be very, very good. Nemo beat them in the semifinals, 3-0, and
Conference: 1A-2 South Coach: Michael Strother Assistant coach: Gary Hardin 2016 record: 33-5
Mascot: Lady Pirates
Returning starters: Mallory Benton,
Karlie Stubbs, Rachel Mote, Kendall White, Kaleah Davis, Macy Morgan and Lizzie White
Armorel returns everyone. They’ve got a really good pitcher.
“I don’t know about Mount Ida and Dierks, but traditionally, those are pretty good, so I suspect they’re not bad again this year. And of course your regular ones — Wonderview, Mount Vernon-Enola, Scranton. There are about five or six of us who would probably stand a chance of winning it.”
Concord has never won a state championship in softball. The 33-5 mark last season was the best record in school history.
Strother said he expects his team to compete at a high level in 2017.
Anything else would be a surprise.
Returning starters include senior pitcher/ infielder Mallory Benton, senior catcher/infielder Karlie Stubbs, senior outfielder Rachel Mote,
CONCORD SOFTBALL
MARCH 27 ..................................BRADFORD* MARCH 28 ............................... @PANGBURN* MARCH 30 ..................................@MIDLAND* MARCH 31 ............ @HARRISON TOURNAMENT APRIL 3 ...................................... @CAVE CITY APRIL 4 .................. @MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA APRIL 6 .................................ABUNDANT LIFE APRIL 7 ...................................... BALD KNOB
junior pitcher/infielder Kendall White, junior infielder Kaleah Davis, junior infielder Macy Morgan and sophomore catcher/outfielder Lizzie White.
The Benton-White duo make up one of the best pitching pairs in the state. White was un- beaten last year with 11 or 12 wins, Strother said.
“They both do a really good job and are kind of different,” he said. “They have two different styles of pitching.”
Besides pitching, Strother said his team’s strengths in 2017 will include experience and the defensive infield. But the Lady Pirates will have to battle youth at some positions.
Strother said Benton, Stubbs, Kendall White, Davis and Lizzie White could play college softball.
APRIL 8 ....... @HEBER SPRINGS TOURNAMENT APRIL 10 ............................. VALLEY SPRINGS APRIL 11 ............... SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH APRIL 14 ................................. @MAYFLOWER APRIL 17 .................................. GUY-PERKINS APRIL 18 ...................................... MIDLAND* APRIL 24 ....................................@ROSE BUD
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
The Lady Pirates will compete against Bradford, Midland, South Side Bee Branch and West Side Greers Ferry in the 1A-2 South. During the regular season, they will play in combined classification 1A/2A District 8 with Midland, Pangburn, Rural Special, Shirley, Timbo and West Side Greers Ferry.
In regional play last year, Concord beat Mount Vernon-Enola in the first round, 6-0, and Wonderview in the semifinals, 12-8, before falling to Nemo Vista for the first time, 7-0, in the final.
At the state tournament at Mountain Home, the Lady Pirates knocked off Acorn in the opening round, 10-0; Viola in the quarterfinals, 8-1; and Scranton, which had beaten Concord in the 2015 state final, in the semifinals, 6-5.
MARCH 21 ............................. @CALICO ROCK MARCH 27 ....................................... SHIRLEY MARCH 28 ...............................@PANGBURN* MARCH 30 ..................................@MIDLAND* MARCH 31 ..................................NEMO VISTA APRIL 3 ...................................... @CAVE CITY APRIL 4 .................. @MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA APRIL 6 ......................................BRADFORD*
APRIL 10 ...............................ABUNDANT LIFE APRIL 11 ............... SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH
CONCORD BASEBALL
GUY-PERKINS SOFTBALL
MARCH 27 ......................................... BIGELOW* MARCH 30 ................. @MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA* APRIL 3 .............................@CONWAY CHRISTIAN APRIL 6 .......................................... @QUITMAN* APRIL 7 ................................. @ABUNDANT LIFE* APRIL 10 ............................ CONWAY ST. JOSEPH APRIL 11 ................................. @RURAL SPECIAL APRIL 13 ...................................... NEMO VISTA* APRIL 17 ......................................... @CONCORD APRIL 18 ............................... @SACRED HEART* APRIL 20 ........................................... @SHIRLEY
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
DARDANELLE SOFTBALL
MARCH 27 ..................................@BOONEVILLE* MARCH 28 ...................................... TWO RIVERS MARCH 30 ....................................... @CLINTON* MARCH 31-APRIL 1 .. @VAN BUREN TOURNAMENT APRIL 4 ............................................... @ATKINS APRIL 7 ................................................@LAMAR APRIL 10 ...............................................HECTOR APRIL 11 ....................................... POTTSVILLE* APRIL 13 ............................................@DOVER* APRIL 17 ......................................... PERRYVILLE APRIL 18 ......................................@TWO RIVERS APRIL 21 ............................................ CLINTON* APRIL 24 ................................................ ATKINS APRIL 25 ......................................... MORRILTON
GUY-PERKINS BASEBALL
MARCH 27 ......................................... BIGELOW* MARCH 28 ...... FAULKNER COUNTY HOMESCHOOL MARCH 30 ................. @MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA* APRIL 3 ............................. CONWAY CHRISTIAN* APRIL 4 ....................................@WONDERVIEW* APRIL 6 .......................................... @QUITMAN* APRIL 10 ............................ CONWAY ST. JOSEPH APRIL 13 ...................................... NEMO VISTA* APRIL 17 ......................................... @CONCORD APRIL 18 ............................... @SACRED HEART*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
DARDANELLE BASEBALL
MARCH 23-25 .....@PULASKI ROBINSON TOURNEY MARCH 27 ....................................@BOONEVILLE MARCH 28 .................................... TWO RIVERS* MARCH 30 ....................................... @CLINTON* APRIL 4 ............................................. @ATKINS* APRIL 7 ..................................... @BAPTIST PREP APRIL 10 ....................................... POTTSVILLE* APRIL 13 ............................................@DOVER* APRIL 17 ....................................... PERRYVILLE* APRIL 18 ....................................@TWO RIVERS* APRIL 21 ............................................ CLINTON* APRIL 25 .............................................. ATKINS*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
APRIL 13
APRIL 17
APRIL 18 ...................................... MIDLAND* APRIL 24 ................... @ROSE BUD*DENOTES
............ WEST SIDE GREERS FERRY* .................................. GUY-PERKINS
CONFERENCE GAMES
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES