By Rob Patrick

PEARCY — When the Bryant Lady Hornets needed to make a play, they made; when pitcher Peyton Jenkins needed to make a pitch, she made it; and when the team needed a couple of runs, they took advantage of the other team’s mistakes and got them.

The result was a 2-0 win over the Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves in a game that was a far cry from the 10-1 bashing the Lady Hornets handed the Lady Wolves at Bryant on March 2.

But the win improved the Lady Hornets to 3-0 going into the annual Bootsie Gordon Memorial Tournament at Benton this weekend.

PEARCY — The Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves junior varsity took advantage of a pair of Bryant JV miscues with two down in the second inning to plate three runs and that proved enough for a 3-1 win in four innings.

Carly Yazza was the hard-luck pitcher for the Lady Hornets. In three innings, she only allowed two hits. She walked two and struck out four.

Due to circumstances beyond the control of new head coach Debbie Stepp, the Bryant Lady Hornets softball team found themselves playing a 7A-Central Conference game in their second contest of the season on Thursday night.

And to make it even a little more tense for her, the Lady Hornets struggled early, falling behind 5-2.

But highlighted by home runs by Jessie Taylor and Cassidy Wilson along with some strong pitching down the stretch by Peyton Jenkins, the Lady Hornets rallied for an 11-5 win.

Drawing on the momentum of the booming offense that finished the varsity contest, the Bryant Lady Hornets Junior Varsity scored six times in the first inning and made that stand up for a 6-0 win over the Van Buren JV Thursday night.

Home sweet home.

The Bryant Lady Hornets softball team officially opened the 2010 season on Tuesday, March 2, with a 10-1 thumping of the defending Class 6A State champion Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves at Lady Hornets Field.

Jessie Taylor drove in five runs and Peyton Jenkins fired a five-hitter, striking out nine, walking just one and allowing a lone unearned run.

“I was really pleased,” stated Debbie Stepp, who notched her first win as Lady Hornets coach. “We did much better.”

By Rob Patrick

BENTON — The purpose of a pre-season benefit game is — besides providing funds for the Arkansas Activity Association’s catastrophic injury insurance plan — to get a team on the field against an opponent, somebody besides teammates. It’s a chance to see where a team is in its development and, when it's played against a quality opponent, a chance to measure itself.

Oh, and sometimes, like Monday night when the Bryant Lady Hornets softball team visited the rival Benton Lady Panthers, it’s to inaugurate a spanking new facility.

And, though you always play to win, the outcome is secondary (though that’s tougher to admit when you’re playing a rival.)

Though both teams were playing without key members of their respective teams who are still playing basketball, the Lady Panthers hit well enough and pitched out of jams well enough to open their new ballpark with a 7-4 win.

By Rob Patrick

Debbie Stepp was talking to a friend from her hometown in Wynne recently and they asked her about her new job as the head softball coach at Bryant High School.

“They said, ‘Well, coach, what do you think?’” she recounted. “I said, ‘The way I can describe them best? Beasts.’ I mean, I am really impressed with the power we have.

“In the past, I’ve had one or two power hitters and I’ve played the short game a whole lot,” she said, referring to her tenure as the head coach at Wynne, her alma mater, since 2003 that culminated in a State championship last spring. “But I’ve been real pleased with what I’ve seen hitting-wise. We’ve faced live pitching with our pitchers some and, of course, we’ve done all kinds of drills and it’ll be different when the other team is out there. We’ll see who can come through.

“I think this is a complete team,” Stepp asserted. “I think we can play short game, long game, we can steal on people. We’re going to be able to move the ball around and I’m excited about that. I’m so excited, we’re all so excited and we’re ready to play.”

The Lady Hornets are set to open the 2010 season in a benefit game that will inaugurate the new softball facility at Benton on Monday, March 1, at 5 p.m. They’ll officially open the season at home against Lake Hamilton on Tuesday.

Individual sign-ups for the Bryant Softball Association are now underway through Feb. 12. There will also be sign-ups at the ballpark on Shobe Road Saturday, Feb. 6, and Saturday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sign-up forms are available at http://www.bryantsoftballassociation.com/ or downloaded from below.

LITTLE ROCK — Along with the announcement that the Class 7A State basketball tournament will be played at Van Buren, the Arkansas Activities Association announced the venues for the State competitions for the spring sports and for the 2010 volleyball season this fall.

Van Buren’s Clair Bates Arena will be the site for the basketball tourney March 2-6 with the finals to be played at the Summit Arena in Hot Springs.

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THANKS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

rp