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Extra practice pays off for Cabot third baseman
BY NATE OLSON | CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY STACI VANDAGRIFF | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
At least a couple of times a week, Cabot softball coach Chris Cope knows his workday may stretch
a little longer. That’s because star senior third baseman Grace Neal needs extra practice.
“She’s got a great attitude,” Cope said. “She is a very hard worker and one of the best kids we have. If she’s having a bad day or not having a very good practice, it’s not uncommon for her to say, ‘Hey, Coach, I need some more ground balls’ or ‘Can you stay
another 30 minutes to throw me some more balls in the cage?’ She is just one of those kids who wants
to get it done. That’s what she does.” Cope said Neal is often joined by oth- er players who also want extra swings or ground balls. It’s that work ethic that helped Cabot win its first state softball title in school history last season. Neal paced the Lady Panthers by hitting .474 with a school-record 12 home runs. She was walked 12 times and only struck
out 3 times.
“She was one of our better players on the team,”
Cope said. “We knew when she got to the plate, we had an opportunity to score some runs. Even if we needed her to bunt, she is a very good team player and someone we can count on.”
For her efforts, Neal was named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Three Rivers Edition 2020 Softball Player to Watch.
Neal, who owns a 3.8 cumulative grade-point average and 4.2 this year, fell in love with softball at an early age.
“I did a bunch of dance and stuff and didn’t like it,” Neal said. “My dad and grandpa played slow- pitch softball for a long time, and Dad put me in softball and coached the first team I played on. I just loved it and never stopped playing it since I was about 4 years old.”
Being the best was something that drove Neal even in the beginning. She said she’s played travel softball for as long as she can remember.
“I’ve always been really competitive, even at a really young age,” said Neal, who also played varsi- ty volleyball at Cabot. “I think I could be compet- itive in my own way but be on a team in softball. I picked it up really well, and it was something I knew I wanted to do.”
Neal was good enough as a freshman to crack the starting lineup. Cabot enjoyed team success but was bounced in the semifinals by Bentonville each year. Neal played a major role in getting the Lady Panthers the hardware last year.
She played multiple positions, including all of the outfield and second base. Cope said that in three years, the only positions Neal hasn’t played are catcher and pitcher. At the end of the season, Cabot was matched with arch nemesis Bentonville again — this time in the champi- onship game, which marked the third time a Cabot team had advanced that far. Most consid- ered the three-time defending-champion Lady Tigers an overwhelming favorite, including the Lady Panthers.
“They had won it before and weren’t as ner- vous as us. Statistically, it was all in their favor,” Neal said.
Before the team left for the state finals in Fay- etteville, Neal said, they met and discussed their nerves and that every player would need to play their part in the win.


































































































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