The third inning of Wednesday's softball game might have been the best inning offensively that Siloam Springs has played all season.
Trailing 4-0, the Lady Panthers sent 13 batters to the plate, scored seven runs on seven hits to take a 7-4 lead and could have had more leaving the bases loaded.
Turns out, Siloam Springs could have used a few more runs as Russellville scored eight runs combined in the fourth and fifth innings and went on to defeat the Lady Panthers 12-9 in an important 7A/6A-Central Conference game at La-Z-Boy Sports Complex that lasted nearly 3 hours and 15 minutes.
"We battled and battled and battled," said Siloam Springs head coach Scott Wright. "Our girls don't quit. They have shown a lot of character and a lot of pride in what they're doing, and on top of that we have gotten better. And so have they. Both teams have gotten better. You could see that, but the biggest thing now is we've got to learn how to win a game."
With the win, Russellville (6-13, 4-8) improved to 1-3 against 6A competition -- the basis for postseason eligibility -- and moved into third place in the 6A standings behind Greenwood and Alma. Siloam Springs fell to 0-4 against 6A competition within conference and now the Lady Panthers must win at Russellville by more than three runs on Tuesday in order to advance to the 6A state tournament, which will be played May 14-16 in Marion.
"If they come down to our place and beat us by more than three, they go," said Russellville coach Harley Sisson. "That puts pressure back on us. We've just got to keep plugging along."
Siloam Springs starting pitcher Crissa Spry worked out of a bases-loaded situation in the first inning, but she wasn't as fortunate in the second inning.
After three runners reached on two walks and a hit, Russellville catcher Jocelyn Brown cranked a grand slam home run to give the Lady Cyclones a 4-0 lead.
Siloam Springs, which left two runners on in both the first and second innings, responded in the third.
Junior Heidi Fernandez led off with an infield single and junior catcher Morgan Curtis crushed a two-run home run to pull the Lady Panthers to 4-2.
"My first pitcher gave in to (Curtis) on a 3-1 count and threw a cookie up there," Sisson said. "I still don't think they've found that ball."
Sophomore Hannah Evans and senior Morgan Pack ripped back-to-back singles, and junior Shayla Simmons roped an RBI single to make it 4-3.
Simmons' hit chased Russellville starter Amanda Canada from the ballgame, and the Lady Cyclones brought in Katlin Betcanur. Russellville's ace pitcher, senior Andrea Kindrick, who struck out 294 batters in 2014 and signed with the University of Alabama, is out of the season with an arm injury.
Kenlie Noel followed with an RBI single and the Lady Panthers took the lead on an error off the bat of Spry. Fernandez, who became the 10th batter in the inning, reached on another infield single and scored a run. Curtis reached on a fielder's choice to make it 7-4. After Evans walked, Betcanur retired Pack on a ground ball to first base to end the Lady Panthers' threat.
Russellville answered with three runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game. After Spry struck out Katelyn Harrison to open the inning, Lady Cyclone leadoff hitter Victoria Teague reached safely after Noel dropped a fly ball in left field for an error. Spry then walked Haley Frost and Brown singled to load the bases. The Lady Panthers got the second out of the inning when Ashley Pizzolato grounded into a force out at home, but Shelbi Thompson singled up the middle to score a run to make it 7-5 and keep the bases loaded. Taylor Kilgore was hit by a pitch to make it 7-6 and Hannah Rickman had an RBI infield hit to tie it up 7-7.
The Lady Cyclones added to their lead with five runs in the fifth to go up 12-7. Harrison walked, Teague singled and Frost walked to chase Spry from the game with eight walks and two hit batters. Evans relieved and struck out Brown for the first out, but Pizzolato ripped a two-run double to make it 9-7 and Thompson followed with a three-run home run -- her sixth home run of the year -- for a 12-7 lead.
"Too many walks," Wright said. "Bottom line we had too many walks. You can't give them that many free passes. When you do that, you set yourself up for a big play or a big hit. When that happens, you want that big hit to be contained to one play, not with three runners on base or two runners on base."
Siloam Springs got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth. Kristen Barnett and Fernandez each walked and Curtis smacked a two-run double down the left field line to score two.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Panthers mounted another rally attempt when Spry reached on an error and Fernandez reached on a fielder's choice. Sisson opted to intentionally walk Curtis to loaded the bases with nobody out and bring the winning run to the plate in Evans.
"You don't let the best girl (Curtis) beat you by herself," Sisson said. "The next girl (Evans) could have hit one out, too. I'm not going to throw into the teeth of the lion."
Evans hit a rocket right at the Russellville shortstop, Frost, who doubled up Hernandez at second base for a quick rally killer. Betcanur then retired Pack on a fly ball to center field to end the game.
"That's a big win for us," Sisson said. "That's a good game. It was entertaining."
Betcanur picked up the win in relief for Russellville. Crissa Spry (2-6) took the loss for Siloam Springs.
Van Buren 16, Siloam Springs 0
VAN BUREN -- Van Buren completed the season sweep of Siloam Springs with a 16-0 win in three innings on Thursday.
The Lady Pointers scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and eight runs in the bottom of the second inning. Overall Van Buren had 16 hits.
Hannah Evans (1-8) took the loss for Siloam Springs.
Offensively, Siloam Springs had four hits, with Heidi Fernandez, Morgan Curtis, Evans and Ally Bunch each notching a hit.
Greenwood 11, Siloam Springs 1
GREENWOOD -- The Lady Panthers had a pair of costly errors that helped Greenwood score seven unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning in an 11-1 loss on Friday.
Greenwood added three runs in the fourth and a single run in the sixth to inflict the 10-run rule.
Siloam Springs' only run came on a solo home run by Morgan Curtis, her fifth home run of the year. Crissa Spry and Hannah Evans also had hits for Siloam Springs. Spry (2-7) was the losing pitcher.
Greenwood will be the No. 1 seed from the 7A/6A-Central Conference. With the loss, Siloam Springs dropped to 3-18 overall and 0-11 in conference play.
Up next
The Lady Panthers travel to Russellville on Tuesday for their final 7A/6A-Central Conference game against a 6A school. The Lady Panthers need to win by at least four runs to qualify for the Class 6A State Tournament.
Sports on 05/03/2015