Van Buren, Southside square off once again at state tourney

Though both schools are less than 15 miles apart, Van Buren and Southside somehow still find a way to face each other in the postseason. For the fourth consecutive season, the Lady Pointers and Mavericks will square off at the 7A state softball tournament. Their latest game takes place at 3 p.m. in the opening round at Cabot. “The kids asked me earlier (in the week) how come we always play Southside (at state) and I said it’s just the luck of the draw,” Van Buren coach Andy Williams said. In 2015, Van Buren defeated Southside en route to the 7A semifinals. Southside returned the favor the following season, defeating a Van Buren team in the quarterfinals which had earned the No. 1 seed out of the 7A-Central. The Lady Pointers then got revenge last year, defeating the Mavs in the opening round at state. “I think it’s always fun, the kids know each other and that makes for a good game,” Southside coach Cassy Story said. “Of course, we’re coming out trying to advance in the state tournament, so that’s kind of our goal, to play our best and try to continue on.” The two teams also played a memorable regular-season game on a cold, windy day in March. Van Buren rallied from a 6-1 deficit to force extra innings before pulling out an 8-7 win in eight innings. “I’m sure they remember that and we remember that, it was the coldest game I’ve ever been in my life,” Willams said. “It was a miserable night, neither team I don’t think played to their potential and I don’t think it was a true barometer of how good either team was. “I’m sure they feel like they’re better than what they were that night because of that and I’m sure we feel like we’re better than we were that night. It’s going to be a little bit warmer (today), think the high’s going to be around 90 degrees, so that’s going to be a factor.” Van Buren (15-11), which once started 3-7 in 7A-West play, comes into state having won its last four games, the latest a 7-0 shutout at Rogers Heritage on Monday which gave the Lady Pointers the No. 4 seed from the West. “Even though we went 3-7 and we lost five games in a row, we weren’t playing bad,” Williams said. “Since our (River City Rumble) tournament, our last 12 games, we haven’t really played a bad game.” Senior Natalie Scherrey leads the Lady Pointers in hitting at .412, while junior Whitney Ellis is batting .381 and leads the team in RBIs with 29. A pair of underclassmen, Alexcia Trejo and Janelle Parga, both have two homers apiece, while sophomore pitcher Richelle Stacy comes in with a 9-7 record, a 3.03 earned-run average and 54 strikeouts in 97 innings. For Southside (13-12), it will be the first state tournament experience for several players, mainly freshmen. In fact, the top three hitters are all freshmen, as Madi Conklin is batting .524, Hannah Hogue .422 and Cailin Massey .372. Conklin also leads the team in homers (7) and RBIs (41), and freshman pitcher Meliah Hunter is 9-4 with a 2.37 ERA, striking out 55 batters in 85 2/3 innings. “I think they’ve done a lot of growing throughout the whole season and I’m excited to see them in that kind of environment,” Story said. “I think they will do well.” Today’s winner will take on 7A-Central champion Bryant in Friday’s quarterfinals.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

VAN BUREN, SOUTHSIDE SQUARE OFF ONCE AGAIN AT STATE TOURNEY

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 5/10/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Van Buren High School Athletics