The Greenwood Lady Bulldogs softball team has been busy since traveling to Hope in Southwest Arkansas for a tournament to start spring break the weekend of March 17-18. They finished a long run of games this past Tuesday by sweeping a doubleheader at Harrison and now stand at 10-6 on the season and 3-3 in 5A West conference play. They travel to Gentry on Thursday for a non-conference contest before going to Siloam Springs next Tuesday for another league doubleheader.
Hope tournament
The GHS ladies opened tournament play on Friday the 17th with a 1-0 loss to the Bradley (AR) Lady Bears in a classic pitching duel. There were only three hits in the game, two by Bradley and one by Greenwood in the five inning affair. Junior Haley McAdams went the distance in the circle for the Lady Bulldogs and was magnificent. Besides allowing just two hits, she also walked just one Bradley batter and struck out nine enemy hitters among her 91 pitches, 61 for strikes. The winning run scored on a double following a hit batsman in the third inning.
At the plate, the Greenwood ladies were baffled by Bradley starting pitcher Ainslee Moore, who gave up a lone single to GHS hitter Paige Pugh in the second inning and a walk to Morgan Coryell in the bottom of the third. The Bradley defense was perfect behind Moore as well, limiting Greenwood scoring opportunities and contributing to the shutout.
Game two on Saturday the 18th was against Nashville’s junior varsity team, a 6-0 shutout win for the Lady Bulldogs, who scored in each of the first four innings. Due to some late cancellations, last minute changes were made to the tournament bracket to allow every team to get their allotment of games. The Greenwood varsity girls played the Nashville JV team, while Greenwood’s JV squad played the varsity squads from both Magnolia and Carlisle.
Junior Tori Howard was the GHS starter in the 10 am contest against the Lady Scrappers, and she allowed just one hit over five frames of work. She was very efficient as well, needing just 54 pitches to mow down 15 opposition batters, walking none and striking out eight. The GHS defense was also good behind her, making just one error.
The Lady Bulldogs scored once in the top of the first inning and again in the second. They added three more runs in the third and another in the fourth. Greenwood had six hits and took advantage of five walks and three Nashville errors. Senior Ireland Cooper and Haley McAdams paced the GHS offense with two hits each. McAdams also had an RBI while sophomore Morgan Coryell had a hit and two runs batted in on a double. Juniors Natalie Horn and Tori Howard also had RBIs.
Freshman Daisy Parker pitched both junior varsity games against Magnolia and Carlisle, nine innings in total. She and her GHS teammates lost in five innings to Magnolia, 7-3, and defeated Carlisle in four innings, 4-3. The GHS hurler allowed just two earned runs against Magnolia and gave up just one hit in the decisive fifth inning when the Lady Panthers plated four runs. The game had been tied at 3-3 after four frames. Parker fanned three Magnolia hitters and went 3-for-4 four at the plate for Greenwood. Team student manager Miley Schwartz also saw action and went 2-for-3 in the contest.
Against the Lady Bisons of Carlisle, Parker threw 59 pitches, 39 for strikes, also striking out three while yielding four hits and giving up two walks and one earned run in the 4-3 GHS victory. The Lady Bulldogs scored three times in the bottom of the first inning and once more in the third. Carlisle scored twice in the second and once in the four.
Among Greenwood’s total of five hits was a double by sophomore Brilea Rofkhar and a triple by junior Lani Coryell. Rofkhar had two hits and two RBIs to lead the team. Senior Rylee Cowart also had two knocks and an RBI. Freshman Victoria Griffith also drove home a run. Designated runner Emmy Burton, a junior, scored two runs for the Lady Bulldogs.
Greenwood’s tournament finale was against Texarkana’s Genoa Central High School, a 2-1 win for the Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Dragons scored their only run (unearned) in the top of the first inning on a single and a pair of Greenwood errors. But that was the only hit given up by starting hurler Haley McAdams, who had to pitch around three walks and five GHS errors. She threw 76 pitches over five innings and fanned four enemy batters.
At the plate, the Lady Bulldogs managed just five hits themselves, scoring twice in the third inning on a pair of walks and a 2-RBI double by Tori Howard, who also singled in the game. The other three hits came off the bats of junior Bri Taylor, a double, and singles from Ireland Cooper and Haley McAdams.
Fort Smith Southside
Upon returning from Hope and enjoying some time off during spring break, the Lady Bulldogs hosted the Lady Mavericks of Fort Smith Southside on March 27th. The same two teams scrimmaged in the pre-season with Greenwood getting the best of it, 13-7, in extra innings. But the Lady Mavs turned the tables the second time around, winning 7-3, scoring all their runs in the last three innings after trailing 3-0 through four frames. Southside got three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings and another in the seventh. Greenwood scored twice in the first inning, adding one run in the third.
The Lady Bulldogs’ defense didn’t do any favors for pitchers Tori Howard and Haley McAdams, committing six errors in the games. Only two of Southside’s seven runs were earned, given up by McAdams who relieved Howard after four innings. An error and a wild pitch helped the Lady Mavs score three times in the fifth inning and four consecutive errors started the Southside rally in the sixth. One more GHS error followed in the seventh.
With the bats, Greenwood had just five hits, though the Lady Bulldogs did receive five walks in the game. Five players had one hit each, two of them extra-base hits. Rylee Floyd had a double and Tori Howard whacked a homerun. Morgan Coryell, Ireland Cooper, and Charlize Taylor all had singles. Besides Howard, Coryell and Taylor also had one RBI each.
Van Buren
The Lady Bulldogs returned to 5A West conference play the following day on March 28th at Van Buren, and the Lady Pointers were not very hospitable, winning both ends of the doubleheader, 3-0 and 10-8. The two games could not have been more different in nature. The opener was a pitching duel that hinged on a single offering in the fourth inning, a pitch that led to a three-run homer for Van Buren. Game two featured a 1-1 contest through four frames that ended with a combined 29 hits and 18 total runs. The twin losses dropped the GHS girls to 1-3 in league play.
Both teams got four hits in game one and both squads were sloppy defensively, especially Van Buren, which made four errors to Greenwood’s two. But the Lady Bulldogs were unable to take advantage of those extra runners, including one walk, striking out nine times against Van Buren starting pitcher Emberline Caldwell, who needed 123 pitches to complete seven innings of work. She was opposed by Greenwood’s Tori Howard, who also threw a complete game with a pair of Ks. Daisy Parker had two hits for the Lady Bulldogs, while teammates Ireland Cooper and Howard also had solo hits.
Caldwell also pitched the nightcap for Van Buren, throwing another 155 pitches. Starter Haley McAdams (4.2 innings) and Tori Howard (2.1 frames) did the pitching for Greenwood in the crazy contest. The Lady Bulldogs scored once in the first inning and Van Buren tied the score in the home half of the third. But after a scoreless fourth inning, the dam burst with the two teams combining for five runs in the fifth and seven more in the sixth. Greenwood led 8-6 at that point, but the Lady Pointers scored twice in the seventh to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Van Buren then won it in the eighth on a two-run walk-off homerun.
Greenwood finished with 13 hits and Van Buren with 16, and neither team committed an error in the field. McAdams fanned six Lady Pointers and gave up seven hits and three runs. Howard took the loss in relief, giving up six runs on nine hits. Each GHS hurler allowed one walk in the game. Van Buren’s Emberline Caldwell issued a pair of free passes to Greenwood and also fanned 11 GHS hitters, for 20 Ks on the day. She stranded nine Lady Bulldogs on the bases.
Offensively, four Greenwood players had two hits each, including Daisy Parker, Rylee Cowart, Ireland Cooper, and Charlize Taylor. Parker, Cowart, and Taylor all had doubles with Parker picking up three RBIs and Cowart one. Other players with RBIs include Tori Howard (2) along with sophomore Rylee Floyd and Emmy Burton with one each.
Pea Ridge
Still smarting from their twin losses at Van Buren, the Lady Bulldogs returned to the River City three days later to face the Lady Blackhawks of Pea Ridge in tournament play, notching a 6-3 come-from-behind victory. After trailing 2-0 early, the GHS girls broke out with three runs in the bottom of the third and three more in the fourth, taking advantage of seven hits and three Pea Ridge errors. Due to time constraints, the game ended with a walk-off three-run homer by Tori Howard with one out in the bottom of the fourth.
Haley McAdams started in the circle for the Lady Bulldogs and pitched 3.1 innings before being relieved by Howard, who recorded the last two outs against Pea Ridge in the top of the fourth inning. McAdams gave up all six hits to the visitors and issued three walks on 63 total pitches. Both GHS hurlers recorded two strikeouts.
Greenwood had just seven hits in the contest, two each by Ireland Cooper and Tori Howard and solo knocks by Rylee Cowart, Natilee Horn, and Charlize Taylor. The only extra base hits were the homer and a double by Howard, who had five RBIs in the game. Rylee Cowart drove home the other Greenwood run. Cooper and Howard both scored two runs.
Benton
If the Greenwood ladies still needed something to lift their spirits and help them forget their earlier trip to Van Buren, they got it on April Fool’s Day when they defeated the Benton Lady Panthers, winning a pitcher’s duel, 1-0. Benton is the defending 5A state champion and has one of the best programs in the state, so the GHS victory was quite the accomplishment. The tournament was played at Van Buren’s Field of Dreams complex.
Greenwood’s lone run came in the top of the second inning on a leadoff single by Ireland Cooper, who advanced to third on a wild pitch and an infield out before scoring on another wild pitch. The Lady Bulldogs had just three hits in the game, getting two additional baserunners on a walk and an error. Likewise, GHS pitching was just as tough, holding Benton to four hits, also with a walk and an error. Tori Howard went six innings for the complete game victory, striking out two on a total of 70 pitches. Cooper had two of Greenwood’s three hits, both singles. Rylee Cowart had the other hit.
Rogers
Greenwood’s final tournament game at Van Buren was against the Class 6A Lady Mounties of Rogers High School, a 3-0 GHS loss. The Lady Bulldogs had just two hits against a pair of Rogers pitchers over five innings. Haley McAdams filled the circle for Greenwood and pitched into the fifth inning before the game was called due to time limits. She gave up four hits, no walks, and yielded only one earned run. The GHS defense made two errors behind her. Rogers scored once in the fourth and twice in the fifth before the game ended. Ireland Cooper and Tori Howard had Greenwood’s only hits.
Harrison
Returning to conference play, the Lady Bulldogs evened their league record at 3-3 with a doubleheader sweep of the Lady Goblins this past Tuesday, 13-0 and 4-1. Starting pitcher Tori Howard went the distance for Greenwood before the mercy rule ended the game after six innings. She gave up just three hits and fanned seven Harrison hitters.
At the plate, Greenwood scored five times in the first inning, twice in the second, once in the third, and five times in the sixth inning. The Lady Bulldogs had 11 hits in the contest and were helped out by a whopping eight Harrison errors. The GHS defense made just one miscue while the offense had four players with two hits each – Daisy Parker, Bri Taylor, Ireland Cooper, and Tori Howard.
The only extra base hits were a pair of doubles by Parker and Taylor, both of which also had multiple RBIs. Parker drove home two and Taylor had three runs batted in. Rylee Cowart, Haley McAdams, and Paige Pugh also had solo RBIs. Only six of Greenwood’s 13 runs were earned against two Harrison pitchers.
Looking at the box score, game two appeared to be much closer, a 4-1 GHS win. But the Lady Goblins were never really in the game after falling behind 4-0 in the top of the first inning. The Harrison girls didn’t score until their last at bat in the bottom of the seventh. Haley McAdams started in the circle for Greenwood, going 5.1 innings on 104 pitches, striking out five and issuing three walks. Tori Howard relieved in the sixth and gave up Harrison’s only run. The two GHS hurlers allowed a total of seven hits and the Greenwood defense made two errors.
Howard singled to start the first inning rally for the Lady Bulldogs. Ireland Cooper also singled and Daisy Parker reached on an infield error, loading the bases. Rylee Cowart then singled home the game’s first run, leaving the sacks jammed. Cowart was then replaced on first base by courtesy runner Brilea Rofkhar. A wild pitch allowed the next run to score, moving the runners up to second and third. Bri Taylor then singled to drive home Greenwood’s third and fourth runs. Taylor led the team with three knocks, all singles. Morgan Coryell, Rylee Cowart, Ireland Cooper, Paige Pugh, and Tori Howard all had one hit each. Greenwood had no extra base hits.