Spring break began on Friday, March 16th, but the Lady Bulldogs softball team still had some work to do as they competed in the Fayetteville-Farmington Fastpitch Invitational tournament on Saturday the 17th. When they returned to school the last week in March, they faced the Fort Smith Northside Lady Grizzzlies in non-conference play. And this past weekend, the GHS girls also placed second in tournament play at Van Buren.

Unfortunately for the Lady Bulldogs, they lost two of three games at Fayetteville against opponents Farmington, Gentry, and Fort Smith Southside. None of the three games went seven innings, due to time constraints. Greenwood’s Brooke Kiene doubled in the top half of the first inning in the opening contest, but it wasn't enough to get past Farmington, as the Lady Bulldogs lost 4-0 in five innings. Farmington scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead.

Farmington's pitching kept Greenwood off the scoreboard while striking out six GHS batters. Farmington added an unneeded insurance run in the fourth inning and had a total of seven hits for the game to five for Greenwood. On defense, both teams played errorless ball before the clock forced an early end to the action following Greenwood’s at bat in the top of the fifth inning.

In their second game, the Lady Bulldogs outlasted Gentry, squeaking out a narrow 3-2 win. Greenwood pulled out the win thanks to a strong fourth inning, after trailing 2-1. Gentry scored once in the first frame, and again in the top of the fourth to account for its lead.

GHS pitcher Jordan Mahan was a workhorse in the circle while earning the win. She pitched six innings and allowed one earned run, five hits, and gave one walk while striking out three hitters. The Lady Bulldogs scored once in the third inning and twice in the fourth, before holding on for the victory.

Batters Audra Schluterman, Allie Barnes, Kameron Brewer, Jade Pate, Mariko McCraney, Brooke Kiene, and Stephanie Brown each got hits for Greenwood, which had a total of nine hits in five innings. The defense for both teams was also a little iffy with a total of five errors - two for Gentry and three for Greenwood.

Greenwood’s final game in the tournament pitted them against a familiar foe in Fort Smith Southside, a team the Lady Bulldogs had beaten earlier this season. But this time the Lady Rebels got the upper hand in a truncated game that lasted just four innings due to tournament rules. Southside took the lead for the last time in the fourth inning and held on for the 7-6 victory.

Brooke Kiene reached base twice for Greenwood, including a triple in the first inning. Barnes, Schulterman and Abbey Lejong also had two hits each. After Kiene’s first inning triple, Allie Barnes singled, driving home the game’s first run. But the Lady Rebs countered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning as the game turned into a seesaw battle.

Greenwood scored four times in the second and added a single run in the top of the fourth inning to account for its six runs. Southside added a single run in the second and two more in both the third and fourth frames before the game was halted. Both teams had 10 hits and committed one error each.

Greenwood freshman Devyn Gregory had a good game at the plate last Tuesday, March 27th, helping to lift the Lady Bulldogs to a 6-3 victory over Fort Smith Northside in non-conference action. Gregory racked up two RBIs on two hits, singling in the third and fifth innings. Junior pitcher Kari Frick was in control on the rubber, holding Northside hitless over three innings, allowing no earned runs while walking five batters and striking out five more.

Greenwood started the scoring in the second inning with two runs on a pair of ground outs. Greenwood added a solo run in the bottom of the third, but a two-run fifth inning helped bring Northside within a run at 3-2. But Greenwood piled on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Allie Barnes started the frame with a single, plating Mariko McCraney. That was followed by a groundout off the bat of Audra Schluterman, scoring Brooke Kiene. One run in the top of the seventh helped Northside close its deficit to 6-3. The Lady Bulldogs ended the game on a heady triple play started by freshman centerfielder Abbey Lejong. The final line score showed the Lady Grizzlies with three runs on six hits and two errors. Greenwood scored six runs on seven hits, while playing perfect defense for seven innings.

This past weekend, March 30-31, the Lady Bulldogs took the short trip across the Arkansas River to Van Buren and placed second in consolation bracket of the River City Rumble Fastpitch Softball Invitational. Greenwood met Fayetteville in the finals of consolation play last Sautrday, after the two teams combined to play 13 games in two days. But fighting through their fatigue and the unusually warm spring temperatures, Fayetteville pulled out an 8-4 victory.

The Lady Purple Dogs started off slowly in the tournament, going 1-2 in the opening round of play as the traditional 7A power found itself in the consolation bracket. After losing to Vilonia and Rogers, Fayetteville won four straight games to claim the consolation trophy, defeating Alma in the semifinals to set up the game with Greenwood.

Greenwood, 9-8 on the season, went 3-3 in the tournament. The Lady Bulldogs defeated Booneville 4-1, topped Van Buren 9-2, and pulled out a 4-3 victory in their final at-bat against the Mansfield Lady Tigers in the semifinals. “This has been a long couple of days, but we improved a lot from where we were when we came in here,” said GHS assistant coach Kenny Barnes. “You’re pitching gets tired. Everyone gets tired. But we played hard and we hit the ball pretty well throughout the tournament.”

Fayetteville put up five runs in the top of the first inning against Greenwood, and it looked like the game might become a rout. But Greenwood rallied and scored four runs in the home half of the third inning to trim the deficit to 5-4. Fayetteville added three more runs in the top of the fourth before the game was called due to time constraints. Brooke Kiene, Devyn Gregory, and Abby Lejong all had doubles for Greenwood, with Gregory driving home two runs.

Specific results from the earlier tournament games were not yet available at press time. This week, the GHS girls were scheduled to play a junior varsity doubleheader at home against Waldron this past Monday. They will return to conference play at home against Huntsville on Friday, with the first pitch slated for 4:30 p.m.