Archive - 2013 - Sports Article
March 21st
TAMPA, Fla. – After splitting their first two tournament games in the Tampa Bay Spring Training Tournament on Monday, the Bryant Hornets defeated Poly Prep (NY) 4-0 and Lutheran South (Mo.) 14-7 on Tuesday. The Hornets will play four more games, two on Thursday and two on Friday, in Tampa before heading back to Bryant.
In their first game on Tuesday, the Hornets (9-5) received a three-hit, complete-game shutout from sophomore pitcher Jason Hastings. He struck out five and walked three.
“He was solid,” Bryant Coach Kirk Bock said. “He did a really good job. He had a good day.”
March 14th
POYEN - The 2013 softball season, though it is still early, has been good to the Harmony Grove Lady Cardinals thus far. After winning 6 of its first 7 contests, including a 6-1 win over Arkadelphia on Monday, Harmony Grove got back to work on Tuesday, adding yet another win to the stat sheet.
With red-hot bats and golden gloves, the Lady Cardinals took down the Lady Indians of Poyen with a 19-1 rout on the road. Led by great hitting and stellar pitching, the Lady Cardinals paced their way to a 7-1 start to the year.
BRYANT – For the baseball purist, Tuesday night’s 7A/6A South conference opener between rivals Benton Panthers and Bryant Hornets was the game to be at. The Panthers topped the defending 7A State Champion Hornets 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel between Benton senior left-hander Coulton Lee and Bryant senior right-hander Nate Rutherford.
March 6th
BENTON – After defeating Russellville 9-1 in the opening round of the Benton Panther Invitational, the Benton Panthers finished the tournament in third place, losing to North Little Rock 3-0 on Friday, but handling Hot Springs Lakeside 6-2 on Saturday.
The Panthers (2-1) ran into a buzz saw against North Little Rock as starting pitcher Preston Oberling and reliever Spencer Byrd combined to give up one hit against Benton, while striking out 15 Panthers.
GREENWOOD – The Benton Panthers fell to the Jonesboro Golden Hurricane 61-51 to end their record-breaking season in the semifinals of the 6A State Tournament in Greenwood on Saturday. The Panthers end the year with a school record 27 wins against just three losses and went undefeated in winning the 6A South conference.
RUSSELLVILLE – The Bryant Lady Hornets softball team saw their 37-game win streak come to an end in the first game of the 2013 season with a 2-0 loss to the Russellville Lady Cyclones on Thursday at Russellville. Bryant has won the past three 7A State Championships and went a perfect 34-0 last season.
Russellville pitcher Andrea Kindrick gave up just one hit to the Lady Hornets (0-1), dominating Bryant on the night.
GREENWOOD – The South No. 1 seed Benton Lady Panthers were down 7-0 early and never recovered in falling to a deep East No. 4 seed Greenwood Lady Bulldogs team 53-37 in the second round of the 6A State Tournament in Greenwood on Friday night.
Three different players for the Lady Bulldogs scored the first seven points before Benton senior Madi Brooks took a pass from sophomore Braylee Landreth for a layup for the Lady Panthers’ first points with 2:26 left in the first.
February 22nd
ARKADELPHIA - After winning the 7-4A district tournament, the Bauxite Lady Miners rolled into the South Region Regional tournament as the No. 2 seed with a chance to make history.
After a tough first half, the Lady Miners took control and blew past Dumas 51-41 in the opening round, advancing to the 4A state tournament for the first time since joining the conference in 2011. Bauxite made state in 2010 when it was a member of the 5-3A.
BENTON - The Benton High School Panther swim team was in the water Tuesday evening for one of the last practices they will have before the Arkansas State Swim and Dive meet on Saturday after the boys finished third (246 points) in the South District Meet championship on Friday, Feb. 8, and the girls (142.5) finished fifth. This is the first official year for the team as a part of the Benton High School athletics department, even though there has been a swim team representing the Benton Panthers for the last six years.
The Bryant Hornet swim team finished their 2012-2013 swim season at the South District Championship held earlier this month at Bishop Park. At the conclusion of the meet, the Hornets and Lady Hornets finished in first place and were named the South District champions for the fourth year in a row. The Hornets scored 418 points at the meet, with second-place Magnolia coming in with 260 points and third-place Benton with 246. The Lady Hornets finished with 474 points to second-place Magnolia's 259 points.
