BY RAY BENTON
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: The Beebe Lady Badgers came away with wins over Malvern and North Little Rock during last weekend’s Mount St. Mary’s tourney in Sherwood, but lost to Benton.
The Lady Badgers softball team added two more wins to their season total over the weekend in the Mount St. Mary’s tournament in Sherwood, but they also added their first loss.
Beebe beat Malvern 6-2 in the first round, then knocked off North Little Rock 1-0 Saturday afternoon.
The loss came in the following game in the quarterfinals of the 35-team tournament against Benton. The Lady Panthers handed Beebe its first loss with a 1-0 decision.
“Our defense and pitching was really good that second day, but we just were a little off at the plate,” Beebe coach Terry Flenor said. “Our timing was just a little off and we just weren’t getting it done. We were going against good quality pitching, but hopefully as the season goes on, we’ll still do better than that.”
Beebe’s defense wasn’t so great against Malvern, but the bats were hot as the Lady Badgers scored six earned runs on nine hits.
The Lady Leopards took the lead in the top of the first inning. The first two batters to step to the plate got a single and a double for the first run of the game.
Beebe pitcher Callie Mahoney settled down after the rough first inning, and allowed just one bunt single over the next five.
Meanwhile, Beebe scored at least one run in every inning, and scored twice in the second.
Brandi Burkhalter got things started in the first with an infield single.
A stolen base and a sacrifice moved her to third, where Chelsea Sanders singled to drive in the run.
Burkhalter did some damage in the second inning as well, but instead of scoring the runs, she drove them in.
Mykia Cox and Laura Foreman singled to get on base, and moved up a base on a sacrifice grounder by Laura Tucker. That brought Burkhalter back to the plate, who singled for two RBIs and a 3-1 Beebe lead it would not relinquish.
The Lady Badgers had a chance to put together a huge inning in the fifth when they got the two leadoff hitters on base, but bad luck struck.
Mahoney and Sara Flenor each hit hard line drives to left field, but the Malvern outfielder made outstanding plays to get both batters out.
She made an overhead stab of Flenor’s shot that would have cleared the bases if the play wasn’t made.
Coach Terry Flenor said more of that same kind of luck struck on Saturday.
“We didn’t hit very well overall, but we did a hit a few really hard, they were just right at somebody,” Flenor said.
Beebe, 4-1, opened conference play last night at home against Marion, and will play a doubleheader on the road Thursday at Nettleton.
Look for details of those games in Saturday’s edition of the Leader.
