Blue Devils softball falls to Marked Tree

By BILLY WOODS

WM School District

The West Memphis Lady Devil softball team is making strides in the early going of 2022.

Although the strides seem small at times, they are positive steps nonetheless.

And it showed on Thursday afternoon at Tilden Rodgers Complex, where they rallied to tie the game late only to see Marked Tree put up four runs in the top of the seventh to secure a 10-6 victory.

The Lady Devils, 2-4 on the young season, showed a competitive spirit and some toughness, rallying twice from deficits.

“The effort was there,” said first-year head coach Mike Dobbins. “Sometimes in softball the players get in a rush to make the plays. Today, we slowed it down a little. Defensively, we were pretty flawless, and that’s a good thing. We just had too many walks and too many missed opportunities at the plate.”

The Lady Devils got a creditable effort from starting pitcher Bella Hinze, who gave all she could for as long as she could. She was relieved by Jordan Hightower in the top of the seventh after a lead-off walk with the score 6-6.

“Bella just got a little tired,” said Dobbins. “But she gave us all she had.”

The Lady Devils took a 6-5 lead with three runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by an inside-the-park home run by catcher Carli Steele.

The West Memphis bats showed some life as evidenced by two doubles from lefty-swinging Kayla Shaull, one of which split the left-center field gap and drove in a run. Senior Kolby Garey and Kennedie King had a double each and Kendall Brasfield and Haley Williams each had a single.

“Kayla Shaull battled with two strikes all day,” Dobbins added. “Kennedie, who has not been in the lineup very often, hammered a ball that was caught at second base. If that gets through, we score two runs and now we’re up two going into the top of the seventh instead of tied. Carli’s starting to come alive at the plate too. It’s just a matter of time before our bats really get going.”

Devils Split in Blast

Over the weekend, the West Memphis Blue Devils were back on the diamond, taking part in the Brookland Bearcat Blast in Jonesboro, where the team went 2-2 over the course of the tourney.

On Friday, West Memphis beat Piggott 10-2. Haley Williams blasted a 2-run homer to cap the victory. The Saturday opener saw the Devils fall 5-1 to Harding Academy. West Memphis then outslugged Armorel 10-8 in an extra-inning affair before falling to Sloan Hendrix 8-4 in the finale.

“These girls battled and fought all day and grew tremendously as both softball players and as a team,” said Coach Dobbins. “One word comes to mind about today: proud. The coaches would go to war today with these ladies anytime, anywhere … Great things are in store for them.”

Photos by Billy Woods

Pitcher Bella Hinze has emerged as the Blue Devils’ top hurler.

The West Memphis defense was on display against Marked Treee

The Blue Devils score on a play at the plate.