LINCOLN -- Lady Wolves' starting pitcher, junior Aayden Massey, made an impression during Lincoln's gut-wrenching, 1-0, loss to Heber Springs at the State 4A softball tournament May 11 at Lonoke.
For her valiant efforts, Massey was selected as part of the All-Tournament Team for State 4A softball. She pitched 7.1 scoreless innings against Heber Springs. She gave up only 4 hits and 2 bases on balls, striking out 4 among the 26 batters she faced against a battle-tested Panther squad.
Like Lincoln, which went into extra innings to win first-round games at district (11-10 over Gentry April 27) and Regionals (11-10 over Dardanelle May 5) to advance; Heber Springs won some hotly-contested tournament games to reach state.
Heber Springs starting pitcher senior Tess Temple has signed a letter of intent to play for Williams Baptist, and dominated opposing batters throughout the year. She pitched a complete game and retired all 21 batters in order, recording 13 strikeouts in a 5-0 win over Central Arkansas Christian during the 4A-2 District tournament.
After the 5-0 win over CAC, the Panthers sneaked past Southside Batesville, 2-0, in the District 4A-2 semifinal April 27. They got by Stuttgart, 4-2, in the district finals before experiencing deja vu at Regionals on May 6, slipping past Pocahontas, 2-1, to qualify for state. The Panthers defeated Trumann, 4-3, in eight innings in the Regional semifinal May 8, then lost 5-0 to Stuttgart in the Regional championship, setting up their matchup with Lincoln No. 4 seed from the 4A North.
During the May 11 first-round State 4A game, Lincoln managed just 2 hits. Tristan Cunningham was 1 for 3 and Kinley Webb was 1 for 3. Both had singles. As a team, the Lady Wolves were 2-for-25 in the batter's box and struck out 12 times. Madison Jones had a pair of bases on balls, and Cunningham had a stolen base.
In spite of their inability to push a run across the plate, Lincoln refused to go away quietly. Inspired by Massey in the circle, the Lady Wolves defense made the Panthers earn their 1-0 win the hard way. Lincoln didn't give the game away, committing only committed one error and forcing extra innings in the opening game of their third straight tournament.
Beginning the bottom of the eighth with a base-runner on second, per International Softball Tie-breaker rules, the Panthers were able to score a run to end the contest, ending Lincoln's season.
Yet, even that disappointment couldn't conceal Massey's outstanding performance in a season where she shined.
Pottsville 3, Lincoln 1
Against Pottsville, neither team scored in the first three innings of the 4A North Regional consolation game May 8. Massey gave up only 6 hits in the game. No Lady Apache had more than a single RBI with junior Aspen Campbell (1-for-3), senior Jordan Wright (1-for-2) and sophomore Sophia Hampton (1-for-2) driving in runs. Of the 6 hits allowed by Massey, 4 were singles, but she didn't get enough run support. The Apaches were able to push 3 runs across in the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead; while Lincoln's only run came in the seventh inning.
Lincoln 11, Dardanelle 10 (11 Innings)
In their first-round matchup at the 4A North Regional held at Dover, Lincoln and Dardanelle were tied, 5-5, at the end of seven innings. The game closely mirrored their 11-10 first-round win over Gentry the week before during District 4A-1 play. All of Lincoln's runs came in a single inning, then the Lady Wolves picked up their game once the contest went into extra innings.
The Lady Wolves had 5 runs in the top of the fourth to take a 5-0 lead before Dardanelle answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the fourth and added 2 in the sixth to tie the game. Neither team scored in the seventh, forcing extra innings. Both Lincoln and Dardanelle scored 3 runs in the eighth inning, and 1 run in the ninth and tenth innings. The Lady Wolves scored in top of the 11th inning with Tristan Cunningham's run. Dardanelle couldn't answer, and Lincoln earned a berth in the 4A state softball tournament.
Eight different Lady Wolves scored as Massey enjoyed the run support. Jada Corbit, Kaitlyn Lankford and Malorie Pershall scored 2 runs each. Cunningham was 4-for-6 with 2 doubles and 4 RBIs. Massey helped her cause at the plate, going 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Corbit, Lankford, catcher Lexington Dobbs and Hollie Webb all drove in 1 run, and Madison Jones had a double. Massey earned the win for Lincoln. She threw 10.2 innings, allowing 7 runs on 19 hits with 4 strike-outs.
Outstanding Season
Massey's ERA was .192 on the season, outstanding numbers for carrying the load in the chalked-circle for Lincoln. Massey pitched 186 innings, allowing 243 hits and 152 runs. Only about a third of those (51) were counted as earned-runs. Massey gave up 28 bases on balls and recorded 71 strike-outs. All this was accomplished while facing 867 batters in 835 at-bats.
Sports on 05/31/2017