Van Buren ended its 7A-West schedule with a flourish.

Behind a grand slam home run by Baylor Miles in the top of the third, the Lady Pointers went in front and never looked back as they went on to a 7-4 win at Bentonville West on Friday as Van Buren closed out the conference slate with three straight wins.


Van Buren (17-9, 9-5) also clinched the No. 3 seed from the 7A-West at the state tournament in Fayetteville. The Lady Pointers will take on Southside, which ended Van Buren’s run last season in the 7A quarterfinals, at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

Miles broke a scoreless game by swatting her grand slam in the top of the third. Van Buren then made it 6-0 an inning later on a two-run single by winning pitcher McKennah Sikes.

Sikes went on to give up two earned runs on six hits over seven complete innings. She didn’t walk anyone and struck out six.

Caroline Davis was 3-for-4 and scored twice. Sikes was 2-for-3, along with Hali Bartholomew, who drove in Van Buren’s other run with an RBI single in the fifth.