PRAIRIE GROVE -- Dustin Beck, now in his second year at the helm of Prairie Grove softball, remains optimistic even though the Lady Tigers have been tested by adversity last week.
Prairie Grove went into extra innings at Pea Ridge before losing 10-8 on a walkoff home run Thursday, then experienced more late inning difficulty in two losses on Saturday, 11-7 against Gravette and 6-2 to Scranton during a pink-out game. Freshman Laney Laymon took the loss against Pea Ridge but the Lady Tigers didn't go easy. Anna Kidd lead off with a solo home run in the first inning and Parker Lopez, who Beck praised with a good day batting (3 of 4 with a walk), was in the Prairie Grove scoring mix.
"She's been hitting the ball real well the last two weeks," Beck said.
Savannah Stearman also produced a clutch hit, belting a two-out 2 RBI single in the top of the sixth to give the Lady Tigers an 8-6 lead. Pea Ridge scored single runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh to tie the contest and force extra innings, then won 10-8 on a walkoff homer in the eighth.
Kylie Scott started against Gravette in the first game of a double-header for the Lady Tigers playing on the Lions' home field on Saturday and did well before tiring in the latter innings.
"We led early but they came back and put 5 [runs] on us in the bottom of the sixth. We came back with some runs in the top of the seventh but we just ran out of time," Beck said.
A similar scenario occurred in the 6-2 loss to Scranton. Prairie Grove led early but couldn't sustain their advantage.
"We had an error in the sixth that cost us two runs that made it 6-2," Beck said.
With the tying run at the plate, Prairie Grove left the bases loaded in the seventh.
"We need just a little more consistency," Beck said. "The girls are playing hard. They are doing a lot of great stuff but we need to be more consistent. There are a lot of things to still be excited about. We still have time to get out of the season what we want to get out of the season."
Prairie Grove continues 4A-1 play this week against Berryville on Thursday, then takes on 7A Springdale on Friday.
Sports on 04/15/2015