Rothrock Leads Lincoln To League Title

GENTRY -- Riding Ashtyn Rothrock's strong right arm and hot bat, Lincoln claimed the 4A-1 Conference Tournament title with an 8-3 win against Prairie Grove on Monday.

Rothrock struck out 10 while allowing one earned run on four hits to lead the third-seeded Lady Wolves to the victory against the fifth-seeded Lady Tigers.

Rothrock helped out her own cause by driving in three runs, including two when she sliced a triple down the right-field line to put Lincoln on the board during a three-run first inning.

"Ashtyn's of course pitching well for us and she's been hitting well for us all season, but her bat has really come alive the past two weeks," said Lincoln coach Beau Collins. "When I went out to talk to her, she was set on wanting to go tonight and did what she had to do to get it done."

Collins applauded the efforts of his offense. He said Madison Reed, Tristan Cunningham and Madison Jones had "nice hits" for the Lady Wolves.

"We're really lucky because it's been kind of spread out where they're all hitting well right now," Collins said. "It seems like we're getting that lineup to where we want it."

Prairie Grove plated two runs on two errors on the same second-inning play. Brooke Ketzler smashed a RBI double to center in the fifth to account for the only other run against Rothrock.

"[Rothrock's] a very good player," said Prairie Grove coach Dustin Beck. "She managed her [pitch] count well and she hit spots when she got behind to give herself a chance to get out of jams. And she hit the ball really well."

The third-seeded Lady Wolves pounced on No. 2 Pea Ridge by exploding for 15 hits during a 11-4 win in Monday's semifinal game, which was postponed because of rain in Gravette on Friday. Lincoln led 3-1 after four innings before the postponement.

The Lady Wolves plated three runs in the third inning on an RBI double by Cunningham and RBI singles by Rothrock and Lexington Dobbs.

Rothrock, who struck out 10 while tossing a four-hitter in a 6-0 shutout against Gentry on Thursday, didn't allow a hit until Hollyn Davis' leadoff double in the fourth inning. Davis scored on a double by Avery Dayberry before Rothrock retired the next three in order to escape the threat.

Prairie Grove upset two opponents on its way to the finals. The fifth-seeded Lady Tigers scored seven runs in the sixth inning to break a 5-all tie on their way to a 14-6 win against No. 4 Gravette. They then knocked off top-seeded Berryville 8-5 on Friday to advance to the title game.

"We're happy, but we're not happy with not getting this win," Collins said after the title game. "But I'm pleased with their effort. We won two big games to get to the finals and you start thinking that you made a couple of mistakes that may have cost us winning it."

The Lady Tigers scored three runs in the third and another run in each of the fourth and fifth innings before Berryville put up five runs in the bottom of the fifth to even the score at 5-all.

But the Lady Tigers regained the lead with three runs in the top of the sixth with Kylie Scott lining a two-run single to center field and Anna Kidd pushing another run across on an infield single to create the final margin.

Ketzler came on in relief of starter Maddie Stearman in the fifth after Stearman had pitched a one-hit shutout through four innings. Ketzler retired the final eight Bobcats in order to record the victory.