Heber Springs rallied from deficits of 4-0 and 9-7 to beat Southside Batesville 11-9 on Tuesday evening in a chilly season opener for both squads at Optimist Park.
Although the two are conference foes, this game didn’t count on league records. Many of Heber’s regulars, including Katie Dixon, Morgan Fires and Brooke Blankenship, are fresh out of basketball with little practice on the diamond.
Sami Hallowell got the Lady Southerners started in the top of the first as she reached on a 2-base error and scored when Jordan Hicks roped an RBI triple down the left field line. Haley Mouer knocked home Hicks on a grounder to Ashlee Barbee at shortstop. Barbee fired to the plate but Hicks slid around the tag, giving Southside a 2-0 lead.
Heber starting pitcher Katie Webb evaded further damage by getting Chelsea Harmon to groundout to Barbee at shortstop then she recorded a strikeout before Krista Beeler bounced out to Barbee.
Mouer, Southside’s starting pitcher, retired the Lady Panthers in order in the bottom half as Barbee bounced out to the right side, Webb grounded out to Tandra McPherson at shortstop and Hannah Hargis flied out to Hicks in deep center field.
K-Leigh Richardson singled down the third base line and stole second to begin the top half of the second but Webb retired the next three batters, including one by strikeout. Richardson was stranded in scoring position when Hallowell flied out to Hargis in center.
After Mouer fanned the first Lady Panther she faced in the bottom half, Whitney Graham ripped a single to right field but Mouer fired back with a strikeout then got Jordan Blasl to fly out to Hicks in center.
Webb stuck out the first batter she faced in the top of the third but Mouer worked a full-count walk and Harmon took a 4-pitch walk before McPherson bounced back to the mound, moving two runners in scoring position.
On a 2-2 count, Beeler looped a 2 RBI single into right field that plated Mouer and Harmon, extending Southside’s lead to 4-0. Webb used a changeup to strike out the next batter, ending the top half.
The Lady Panthers responded with a two-out rally in the bottom of the third. After Mouer fanned the first batter and got Tori Clegg to groundout back to the mound, Barbee got Heber stirring with a single to left field.
Webb beat out a roller to second by using her quickness out of the left-handed side of the batter’s box as Barbee sped around to third on the hit-and run single. Barbee swiped second then Hargis ripped a 2 RBI triple to right field that scored Barbee and Webb, leaving Southside with a 4-2 lead.
Haley Reed reached on an error as Hargis scored on the play then Graham stroked a double to right center that moved Reed to third. With runners on second and third, Reed was caught in a run down while trying to steal home as the Lady Southerners escaped the third inning with a 4-3 lead.
Webb retired the first two batters she faced in the fourth as Stephanie Palmer sharply grounded out to Barbee at shortstop and Lindsey Coe stroked a long drive into left center that Hargis tracked down near the wall. Hallowell followed with a walk but Webb got out of the top half when Hicks lined out to Barbee, who took the force at second.
Heber jumped in front in the bottom half as pinch-hitter Alexis Ingram led off with a single up the middle and pinch-hitter Courtney Verser worked a full-count walk but Mouer fired back with a strikeout.
Clegg drew a full-count walk that loaded the sacks then Ingram scored on a passed ball and Verser sped home on a wild pitch, giving the Lady Panthers their first lead at 5-4.
Barbee walked and Webb smashed a hit-and-run RBI single that scored Clegg as Barbee advanced to third.
Hargis followed with an RBI single to center field that plated Barbee as Heber’s lead grew to 7-4 but Mouer retired Haley Reed on a pop-out and Graham lined out to Coe in right field.
Hargis, Heber’s left-handed ace who recently signed to play softball at Crowder College, took over for Webb to begin the top of the fifth and got Mouer to groundout to Graham at shortstop before striking out Southside’s cleanup hitter.
But Hargis issued walks to McPherson and Beeler before striking out the seven-hole, leaving two stranded.
Beeler came on in relief for Southside to begin the bottom of the fifth and got help from Mouer, who robbed Ingram of a base hit with a diving stop at second. Beeler fanned the next hitter then Courtney Reed alertly reached on a dropped third strike. Reed stole second but Clegg lined out to third base, ending the fifth.
In the sixth, Southside reclaimed the lead with five runs despite only one hit. Kayla Brooks got the Lady Southerners going with a walk but Hargis retaliated with a strikeout before Hallowell drew a full-count walk as Brooks stole second and moved to third on a passed ball.
After Hicks worked a full-count walk to load the bases, Mouer reached on a throwing error as Brooks scored and Hallowell motored around from second, pulling Southside within a run.
With two runners in scoring position, Hargis got Harmon to pop out to Graham at shortstop but McPherson pulled a 2 RBI single through the left side that scored Hicks and Mouer, giving the Lady Southerners an 8-7 advantage. Another throwing error allowed McPherson to score before Hargis finally got out of the inning on a dribbler in front of the plate that she took herself.
Down 9-7, Heber battled back with four runs on three hits off Beeler in the bottom of the sixth. Barbee roped a stand-up double to the alley in left center to get the Lady Panthers’ rally started then Webb slapped a single past shortstop. Hargis followed with a 4-pitch walk but Beeler responded with a strikeout before Barbee scored on a wild pitch.
On a 3-2 count, Graham laced an RBI single off Beeler’s glove and up the middle as Webb scored, tying the game at 9-all. Ingram knocked home Hargis while reaching on an error and Verser laid down an RBI sacrifice-bunt that scored Graham, pushing the Lady Panthers’ lead to 11-9. Beeler escaped further damage with a strikeout.
Hargis made quick work of the Lady Southerners in the top of the seventh as Brooks and Coe bounced out to Dixon at second then Hallowell lined a foul ball that Fires hauled in from her first base position.
Heber Springs, Ark. —
