Pictured is Madi Taylor
After beating Charleston 10-6 for 3rd in District, the Hackett Lady Hornets strapped on their Regional wings and flew into the first round of the 3A Softball Region 1 Tournament. The Lady Hornets were prepped and ready to take on the West Fork Lady Tigers and after 7 hard-fought innings, the Lady Hornets stamped their ticket to State with a 15-5 victory. Madeline Freeman led the offensive invasion as she scored 5 RBI on 2 hits. Running as if they were being chased by zombies (the fast ones not the slow ones) was Kayla Richardson, Olivia Bouse, and Shayla Foster who each hooked triple runs. Madi Taylor, MacKenzie Mendenhall, and Richardson got their hands on one stolen base each. Pitcher, Kayla Richardson, helped with the win as she worked five innings, striking out six.
Moving on to the semifinal round of Regionals, the Lady Hornets knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park as they were tasked with taking on sports giants, the Booneville Lady Bearcats. Unfazed by what lie ahead, Hackett suited up and hoped for the best. With Booneville laying down 9 runs in the first inning, the Lady Hornets were unable to respond and the game ended 14-1 Booneville. Down but not out, Hackett had a chance for 3rd Place glory as they went head-to-head with the #4 team in 3A, the Valley Springs Lady Tigers. Both teams brought their A-games to the dirt during the fierce finale of Regional play.
After eight Herculean innings and being tied 5-5 at the close of the seventh, Hackett topped the eighth with one more run but took a fall when Valley Springs homered in the bottom securing two runs and ending the game 7-6. Madi Taylor was the head honcho in the runs category with twins while Richardson, Bouse, Foster, and Lexi Gann each netted a single. The Lady Hornets had 0 errors in the field and 21 putouts with Alona Rothwell and Sarah White tieing with 7 apiece. It’s now on to the State Tournament where the Hackett Lady Hornets will play on Thursday, May 13 at Ashdown against Baptist Prep at 3 pm. Should the girls carry on, they will then face the winner of the Ashdown/Rivercrest game.
Photos courtesy of Bridget Freeman
