FARMINGTON -- For the third consecutive season Farmington earned the right to play in the semifinals of the State softball tournament with a 15-0 thrashing of Malvern Friday in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
The Leopards (22-6) entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the South after losing 7-4 to Nashville in the 4A South Regional championship. Malvern received a first-round bye. Meanwhile, Farmington, which lost 3-2 in eight innings to 4A North Regional champion Morrilton in the semifinals of that tournament the previous week, came to state as a tough No. 3 seed. Valley View, No. 2 East, found that out during a 4-3 first-round win by Farmington on Thursday as did Malvern.
Shayley Treat showed no sign of cooling off with her red hot bat. Treat went 4-for-4, singling twice in the first, again in the third, and doubling in the fourth. Starter Carson Griggs helped her cause right off the bat. She singled on the first pitch, kick-starting a 6-run assault by the Lady Cardinals in the first inning. The Lady Cardinals added a run in the third inning expanding their lead to 7-0.
Carson Griggs (24-2) picked up her second state tournament victory in as many days for the Lady Cardinals. She threw a one hitter while striking out six with no walks in five innings. The Lady Leopards were a collective 1-for-16 while facing Carson Griggs.
Alicia Carr took the loss for Malvern. Farmington chased her after 3.2 innings. Carr allowed 15 hits and 13 runs while striking out one. She had Malvern's only hit, a single in the first inning. Katelyn Minge threw 1.1 innings in relief, yielding two runs on three hits with one strike out and one walk.
The Lady Cardinals ramped up their offense again with seven runs in the fourth inning to go up 14-0. Justine Davidson (2-for-3, 2 RBIs), Treat, Carson Griggs, and Remington Adams (3-for-4, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs) took turns driving in runs during the fourth. Treat and Adams hit doubles while Carson Griggs walked.
Farmington looked sharp at the plate going 18-for-32 as a team with only two strike outs and earning five bases-on-balls. Freshman Reese Shirey was 4-for-4 with a stolen base and scored a run. Drew Clifford went 1-for-2 while accounting for 2 of Farmington's 13 RBIs. The Lady Cardinals added a final run in the top of the fifth.
With the win, Farmington advanced to the state semifinal contest against 4A-1 rival Pea Ridge on Saturday. The Lady Blackhawks beat Camden Fairview, 3-0, Thursday and blanked Stuttgart, 10-0, in Friday's quarterfinals. The teams last met May 1 in the District 4A-1 championship with Farmington winning 4-0.
State Class 4A Softball
May 13, 2021
At Morrilton
Farmington 15, Malvern 0
Farmington (27-3)^601^71x^x^--^15^18^0
Malvern (22-6)^000^00x^x^--^0^1^1
W -- C. Griggs, L -- Carr.