By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills softball team went 2-1 in the Taylor Roark Memorial Tournament it hosted last weekend at Sherwood Sports Complex. After opening the tournament on Friday with a 4-2 loss to Texas High from Texarkana, Texas, the Lady Bears beat Maumelle 4-2 and beat conference rival Beebe 7-5 to close the tournament on Saturday.
The tournament was played on a strict time limit, which didn’t allow many games to go the full seven innings, and Sylvan Hills posted a four-run fourth inning to earn a comeback win over Maumelle on Saturday morning.
The Lady Bears got four of their six base hits in the game in the decisive fourth, starting with a leadoff double by Storm Ellis. Taylor Yeoman then singled to center field to score Ellis. Joy Franco then doubled to score Yeoman and tie the game.
Maumelle did much of the rest of the work for the tournament hosts. Lady Bears Damo’Nique Hunt and Lynlee Broadway reached on back-to-back errors, with Franco scoring when Broadway’s shot to left field was dropped.
After a strikeout, Broadway was replaced on the base paths by Anna Snyder. Anna Sigler put down a perfect bunt for a base hit that loaded the bases. Cara Pozza reached on a 5-2 fielder’s choice that got Hunt thrown out at home.
Tristen Goodson then walked on four pitches to score Snyder and set the final margin.
Maumelle made it interesting in its last at-bat. A one-out single and a two-out double was followed by a bases-loading walk, but Broadway got the next batter to pop up to left field to get out of the jam and preserve the victory for SHHS.
Franco was Sylvan Hills’ only player with multiple base hits. She went 2 for 2 with two RBIs.
Broadway gave up five hits and four walks in four innings of work. She struck out one and both runs allowed were unearned.
Roles were reversed against Beebe. Sylvan Hills posed a six-run first inning and had to hold off a Beebe comeback attempt.
After Beebe scored a single run in the top of the first, Sylvan Hills exploded in the bottom half. Pozza started the rally with a leadoff double to center field. Goodson singled to put two runners in scoring position.
Ellis then singled to right field to score Pozza and Goodson and give the Lady Bears a lead they would not relinquish.
Franco singled and Hunt reached on a Beebe error at shortstop that also allowed a run.
Broadway made the first out on a pop up to short. Sigler then walked to load the bases.
Another Beebe error off the bat of Snyder allowed all three base runners to score and left Snyder safe at second with a 6-1 SH lead.
A third Beebe error left Pozza and Snyder safe at first and third, but Goodson flew out to center field to end the rally.
Beebe scored one run in the second and three more in the third to pull within one run. Beebe scored three runs in the top of the third on one hit, two walks and three Sylvan Hills errors to make the score 6-5.
That’s how it stayed until the bottom of the fifth when the Lady Bears got a leadoff single by Goodson, a sacrifice by Ellis that advanced the runner, and a base hit by Yeoman.
Sylvan Hills won despite eight errors. Beebe committed five. Only four of the game’s 12 runs were earned.
Ellis pitched for Sylvan Hills. She gave up four hits and one earned run with one strikeout and two walks in five innings of work.
Faith Rose was in the circle for Beebe. She allowed eight hits and three earned runs with one strikeout and one walk.
