IN SHORT: Beebe High School’s softball team beat Sheridan in a non-conference game last Friday, moves to within one game of a 20-win season at 19-4.
By Ray Benton
Leader sports editor
The Beebe Lady Badgers faced a sawrm of Yellowjackets last week, and ended it by beating the swarm from Sheridan Friday night outside of conference play. The Beebe ladies defeated the Sheridan Lady Yellowjackets 8-3 on a slightly soggy field in Sheridan.
The win Friday followed a conference doubleheader split with the Wynne Lady Yellowjackets on Tuesday at home.
Lady Badger leadoff hitter Brandi Burkhalter got only one hit in five at bats, but reached base three times and scored three runs.
The sophomore Burkhalter’s base rap came on the first at bat of the day. She singled to left field and moved to second on a base hit by freshman Emily Bass. Senior Crystal Robinson moved the runners up with a fly out. That set up a two-RBI base hit by freshman Chelsea Sanders.
Beebe made it 4-0 in the next inning after putting Sheridan down in order in the bottom of the first.
Sophomore Sara Flenor and freshman Bailey Thomas singled to leadoff the inning. Senior Heather Stroud and freshman Mykia Cox followed with two more singles with Cox’s hit scoring Flenor.
Three batters later, Robinson singled to drive in the final run of the inning.
Neither team scored in the third, but Beebe extended its lead to 6-0 in the top of the fourth with two more runs.
Again it was the two leadoff hitters that scored, but this time with a little help from Sheridan. Burkhalter reached on an error at first base while Bass got on via a mistake at second. That set up another RBI single by Robinson that scored Burkhalter. Two batters later Flenor got another base hit that scored Bass to extend Beebe’s margin to plus 6.
Trailing 6-0, the home team finally got on the board with a single run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Lady Badgers kept scoring in the fifth.
Cox walked to start things off and Burkhalter got on due to an error by the Lady Yellowjacket pitcher. Bass was hit by a pitch and Robinson walked to drive in one run.
The final run came two batters later on a base hit by sophomore Callie Mahoney.
Sheridan got two more hits and two more runs in the sixth inning, but never seriously threatened the Lady Badgers.
Beebe compiled 12 base hits, but left a dozen base runners stranded over the course of the game. Sheridan was held to just three hits over seven innings by Robinson.
The senior hurler also went 2 for 3 at the plate and drove in two runs. Sanders went 2 for 4 and also had two RBIs.
Mahoney and Flenor each had two hits and an RBI while Cox, Burkhalter and Bass each had one base hit in the contest.
The win lifts the Lady Badgers to 19-4 overall on the season. They played a conference doubleheader last night against Paragould after Leader deadlines, and will play another non-conference game at Lonoke Thursday. Look for details from both of those games in Saturday’s edition of the Leader.
