The Bryant Lady Hornets know they can beat the North Little Rock Lady Charging Wildcats but, like just about any coach you might encounter would say, it's tough to beat a good team three times in one season.

What that coach might not want to say is, it may be even tougher to beat a good team you haven't been able to defeat in two previous meetings.

That's part of the dynamic as the Lady Hornets and the Lady Wildcats, who finished 1-2, respectively, in the 7A-Central Conference, meet for the Class 7A State championship at Bogle Park on the University of Arkansas campus on Saturday, May 9, at noon.

By Rob Patrick

BENTONVILLE — Lisa Stanfield lobbied hard to get the game played. 

With rain falling for the sixth consecutive day in northwest Arkansas, officials at the Class 7A State softball tournament at Bentonville High School, having finally reached the semifinals, were considering postponing the last two games of the day on Tuesday. The quarterfinals had just been completed and the final four teams were all from the 7A-Central Conference, including Stanfield's Bryant Lady Hornets, who won the regular-season championship in that league, earning the top seed to the tourney.

In a tournament that featured a 30-1 Fayetteville team as the odds-on favorite, suddenly it was Bryant in the cat-bird seat. 

And having the top seed proved to be more of an advantage than usual when it was decided that the game would be played between the Lady Hornets and the rival Conway Lady Wampus Cats. Earlier in the day, the Lady Cats had dodged the raindrops well enough to eliminate the host Lady Tigers of Bentonville 4-1.  

With Conway and Bryant in one semifinal, and Cabot, which upset Fayetteville in a game suspended on Monday night and completed Tuesday morning, along with defending State champion North Little Rock in the other, there was the thought that the games could be postponed and to avoid forcing the four teams to travel so far again or stay another night, they could play at a neutral location in central Arkansas to determine which two teams would return to play the State title game in Fayetteville on Saturday. Having already played, Conway was lobbying for that decision and the chance to take on Bryant afresh on another day at another place.

"For one thing, we've been playing in this mess all week and there was no reason not to keep playing," Stanfield related. "I would've been fighting the same fight that Conway was fighting if I was in their position. They had to do what they had to do and I've got to do what I've got to do and push to play. It was tense. I think it was the right thing to do. And I think, tonight, we were the better team anyway.

"Being able to see live pitching (on Monday in a 12-2 win over Springdale Har-Ber) and then come out rested, and having had time to review my notes on Conway, it was really nice to come in fresh," she added. "We really didn't feel the rain coming in fresh like that." 

Yes, the game was played and, behind the five-hit shutout tossed by senior Christen Kirchner and a 14-hit attack on offense led by Jessie Taylor and Kayla Sory, the Lady Hornets earned a spot in the Class 7A State championship game this Saturday at noon with an 8-0 win over Conway.

There are still games to be played in the 7A-West Conference, but the seedings are just about set for the Class 7A State Tournament in Bentonville. In fact, Bentonville and Springdale play each other on Thursday, the eve of the State tourney which begins on Friday.

Tonight, Fort Smith Southside plays Springdale which should determine the fifth and sixth seeds for the West. 

The Bryant Lady Hornets, champions of the 7A-Central will play at noon on Saturday against the survivor of Friday's first-round game between Van Buren, the fifth seed from the Central, and Springdale Har-Ber, the fourth seed from the West.

Here are the unofficial brackets:

With Conway's 13-3 win over Cabot on Tuesday night and a sweep of a conference doubleheader by the Rogers Mounties over the crosstown rival Heritage team, the brackets are set for the Class 7A State Tournament to be played at Fayetteville High School and Randall Tyson Sports Complex in Springdale.

The Bryant Hornets, champions of the 7A-Central Conference, will open play on Saturday at noon against the winner of the Friday game between Rogers and Cabot. Rogers is the No. 4 seed from the West, Cabot the No. 5 seed from the Central.

Fayetteville has won the last three Class 7A championships. 

Here are the brackets:

VAN BUREN — Sparked by a big day from Christen Kirchner, the Bryant Lady Hornets clinched the undisputed 7A-Central Conference championship on Tuesday, April 28, with a doubleheader sweep of the Van Buren Pointerettes, 6-3 and 10-0.

Kirchner, at the end of a marathon at-bat, slugged a three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning of the first game to provide the winning margin. That win secured the No. 1 seed from the conference to the Class 7A State Tournament in Bentonville this weekend. The romp in the second game, which secured sole possession of first place in the league, was highlighted by freshman Peyton Jenkins’ no-hitter, the first of her high school career.

It’s the third conference title in the last four years for Bryant and head coach Lisa Stanfield.

The Lady Hornets finish league play with a 12-2 mark. They take a 20-7 overall record into State where they’re set to open on Saturday, May 2, at noon against the winner of the Friday contest between Van Buren (the fifth seed from the Central) and Springdale Har-Ber (the fourth seed from the West).

Bryant has won nine of its last 10 games.

By Rob Patrick

FORT SMITH — Yes, the Bryant Lady Hornets had the higher seed and a much better record but the Springdale Har-Ber Lady Wildcats had something valuable that the Lady Hornets did not:

State tournament experience. 

The Lady Wildcats were making their third consecutive trip to State, meaning all four of their seniors and all eight of their juniors had been there and done that.

It was a first for every Lady Hornet.

And, as most coaches will tell you, it's one thing to get there, another to stay there.

Har-Ber, using a zone defense to frustrate Bryant's leading scorer Alana Morris then a box-and-one in the second half to shut down hot-handed Hannah Goshien, brought a bittersweet and premature end to the Lady Hornets' turnabout season, 61-52. The first round game was played Wednesday, March 4, at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith's Stubblefield Center.