Page 46 - 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
HECTOR WILDCATS
Wildcats are searching for their identity in 2017
HECTOR LADY WILDCATS
HECTOR SOFTBALL continued from 45VV
offseason to hopefully get a chance at redemption. “I’ve had a bunch of girls working hard to get better,” he said. “We feel good, like we can go out and give our best shot. If that’s good enough to get
there again, so be it.”
Returning starters include senior pitcher Darci
Fountain, sophomore catcher Evelyn Riley, senior third baseman Cassidy Haley, junior shortstop Baylee Riley, junior second baseman Paige Lee, junior left fielder Sierra Cochran, senior center fielder Samantha Barton and sophomore right fielder Alyssa Gilliand.
Russell said his team’s best hitters for average are Baylee Riley and Haley. His best power hitter is Lee. She is also the team’s best fielder, Russell said.
Williams has the best speed, Russell said. Gilliand has the best arm defensively, and Fountain is the team’s best pitcher. Fountain struck out 12 in the Lady Wildcats’ 4-0 win over Parkers Chapel in the state semifinals in 2016.
Russell said Fountain and Lee are two players who could play at the collegiate level.
“Our girls, between basketball and softball, have played in a lot of big games,” Russell said. “We’ve got a really talented senior class. We’re hop- ing that this is our year.”
Hector did not play any games early this sea- son because of the girls basketball team playing in the Class 2A state-title game for the second con- secutive season. Four softball starters are on the basketball team, including Fountain, Haley, Evelyn Riley and Lee.
Russell said nonconference games against Rose Bud on March 31, Pottsville on April 1 and Bald Knob on May 2 will be tough games. Bald Knob is the three-time defending Class 3A state cham- pion. The Lady Bulldogs beat Rose Bud 1-0 in the state-title game. Pottsville was a state semifinalist in Class 4A a year ago.
“This should tell us where we are as a team,” Russell said.
BY MARK BUFFALO
STAFF WRITER
The Hector Wildcats are in sort of a rebuilding mode this season.
Hector finished 13-9 a year ago and 5-1 in the 2A-4 East, which was good enough for second place.
The Wildcats ended the season on a three- game losing skid after beating Mountainburg in the first round of the Class 2A West Region Tournament. They fell to Magazine in the semifinals and to Hackett in the third-place game. They lost to Woodlawn 10-2 in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament.
“The last three years, we’ve probably lost 15 or 16 seniors,” Hector coach Jeff Haralson said. “We’re trying to get kids in the right place.”
Haralson said he wants his team to com- pete this season.
“I think we should be able to compete,” he said. “We’ve just got to be able to get the right people in the right places. We’ve got to get our hitting down a little better. We’ll be OK as we get it going. Right now, we’re just scratching, trying to figure out where we are.
“We’ve got to find an identity. We’ve known what we could do the last two or three years. But we’ve had so much turnover, we’re just trying to find [our identity].”
The Wildcats return five starters, including senior all-state performer Tanner Gaines, se- nior Justin Walker, junior Camren Haralson, junior Parker Lee and sophomore Cody Day.
HECTOR BASEBALL
MARCH 28 ........ WESTSIDE JOHNSON COUNTY MARCH 30 .....................CONWAY CHRISTIAN* MARCH 31 ....................................SCRANTON APRIL 4 ...................................... @MAGAZINE APRIL 6 ........................................PANGBURN APRIL 7 .................... WESTERN YELL COUNTY APRIL 11 ........................................ DANVILLE APRIL 13 ....................................@QUITMAN* APRIL 14 ........@WESTSIDE JOHNSON COUNTY APRIL 17 ............................... ABUNDANT LIFE APRIL 18 ................................... @SCRANTON
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
Coach Haralson said Gaines is his best re- turning hitter. He hit .385 a year ago. Gaines is also the best power hitter, with nine dou- bles and two homers in 2016.
Gaines is also considered the best fielder.
“He’s got good range, soft hands and an accurate arm,” Haralson said.
Gaines and Camren Haralson combined to steal 31 bases on 34 attempts.
Senior Zachariah White has the best arm on the team, Coach Haralson said.
“He moved to the outfield and gives us an honest threat to shut down runners taking extra bases,” Haralson said.
The team’s best returning pitchers are Day, who had a 2.90 earned-run average in 2016; and Camren Haralson, who had a 1.94 ERA.
Haralson said a game to watch this year is March 30 at Conway Christian.
MARK BUFFALO/RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION
Hector’s Baylee Riley sends a pitch over the fence during preseason practice.
HECTOR SOFTBALL
MARCH 27................................... @DANVILLE MARCH 28 ...... WESTSIDE JOHNSON COUNTY* MARCH 30 ..................................SCRANTON* MARCH 31 ..................................@ROSE BUD APRIL 1 .............. @POTTSVILLE TOURNAMENT APRIL 4 .................................... @MAGAZINE* APRIL 6 .......................................POTTSVILLE APRIL 7 .................. WESTERN YELL COUNTY* APRIL 10 ................................ @DARDANELLE APRIL 11 ........................................DANVILLE APRIL 13 ......................................@QUITMAN APRIL 14 ......@WESTSIDE JOHNSON COUNTY* APRIL 17 ......................................PANGBURN APRIL 18 ................................... @SCRANTON APRIL 20 .................................. CHARLESTON MAY 1 ............................................. @ATKINS MAY 2 .........................................BALD KNOB
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES