Round 1 of the State Softball Tournament got underway on Thursday, May 13. With a Conference, District, AND Regional Championship under their belt, the Mansfield Lady Tigers were ready for world domination! Ok, maybe not the world. But they were definitely ready to load the bases and Take State. First on the agenda for the Lady Tigers was the Fordyce Lady Redbugs. Both teams came out swinging as the first inning ended with the Lady Tigers up 4-3. But as the game hit a stalemate in the second, third, and fourth innings, Alyson “The Extreme” Edwards sent Mansfield into the winners circle on a homered fly ball in the fifth inning ending the game with a final score of 5-3. Edwards led the day with two runs.
On Friday, May 14, the Lady Tigers marched into the quarterfinals for a battle against the Quitman Lady Bulldogs. And battle it was. By the bottom of the sixth, the score sat tied 3-3. At the top of the seventh, the Lady Bulldogs pulled ahead with one run bringing the score to 4-3 Quitman. With the game now in Mansfield’s corner, Frank Sinatra sang it best as “Luck Be A Lady” (Tiger) was the name of the game. With Brooklyn Adams on first, Alyson “The Extreme” Edwards stepped up to the plate. And doing what she does best, Edwards yet again homered to take the win 5-4. Senior, Chloe Creekmore, opened the game with a homer of her own. In runs were Adams (2), Edwards (2), and Creekmore (1). The Lady Tigers committed zero errors and made 21 putouts with Creekmore and Skylynn Harris leading with 7 each followed by Natalie Allison with 4.
To close out the weekend, the underdog Lady Tigers inched their way closer to State’s home plate as they went face-to-face with the #5 Parkers Chapel Lady Trojans from El Dorado in the semifinals. The Lady Tigers took the lead in the top of the fourth inning 2-1 and never.looked.back. With the Lady Trojans only able to tally two more runs in the game, the Lady Tigers delivered five runs and after seven innings, Mansfield advanced to the State Championship with a final score of 7-3. Cousins, Kiara Thomas, and Kynslee Ward were the big runners in the match with 2 each followed by Natalie Allison, Chloe Creekmore, and Alyson “The Extreme” Edwards with 1 apiece. Cole Smith led with 2 hits while Creekmore and Skylynn Harris led with 8 PO’s each.
Now the (18-4) Mansfield Lady Tigers prepare for the BIG DANCE as they take on the Tuckerman Lady Bulldogs for the 2A State Championship on Thursday, May 20 at 10 am in Benton, Arkansas at the Benton Athletic Complex. If fans are unable to attend, they may watch the 1A-6A State Finals on PBS myarkansaspbs.org/sports.
Photos courtesy of Summer Martin
