SBLive Super 7 Arkansas softball rankings: Select ranked teams play for state championships

By Kyle Sutherland | Photo by Braeden Botts 

The final week of the season will conclude in Benton at the Benton Sports Complex with six state championship games split up with two games each day from Thursday through Saturday where the best team from each respective class will be left standing. 

Four champions from last season make their way back to Saline County to defend their title. 

It was a beautiful, but hot, week statewide where plenty of surprises and lopsided games occurred, along with complete madness in Class 3A.

Here are the SBLive Arkansas Super 7 softball rankings for May 16-23.

6A

1. Bentonville (23-3)

2. Cabot (21-5)

3. Rogers (19-5)

4. Bryant (22-7)

5. Conway (14-12)

6. North Little Rock (17-10)

7. Bentonville West (18-11)

Analysis:

-Bentonville rolled through the state tournament and will play in the championship game for the sixth time in a row, and the Lady Tigers are hoping to win back-to-back titles up against Cabot to whom they lost in the 2019 championship game.

-Cabot started the season 13-0, and then had some slip ups down the stretch losing four of the final eight regular season games, but the Lady Panthers shut out Rogers Heritage then won a pitcher’s duel with Rogers. They beat Bentonville in 2019 to win the title and will try to duplicate that on Thursday.

-Rogers shut out Conway out in a close 2-0 quarterfinal contest but was not able to duplicate that in another tight game with Cabot falling 2-1 in the semifinals.

-Bryant defeated Bentonville West by five runs in the quarterfinals but defending champion Bentonville was too much for the Lady Hornets in the Final Four.

-Conway played much better during the second half of the season but could not get any offense going against Rogers in the quarterfinals after cruising past Fort Smith Southside in the first round.

-North Little Rock squeaked past Har-Ber and came to play against Bentonville hitting a two-run homer to take an early lead, but it was short-lived as the Lady Tigers would not be denied another trip to Benton to play for a championship.

-Bentonville West shut out Central to kick off the state tournament but did not have an answer for Bryant falling 7-2 in the quarterfinals.

5A

1. Benton (31-0)

2. Greene County Tech (26-4-1)

3. Sheridan (23-6)

4. Van Buren (20-7)

5. Vilonia (16-9)

6. White Hall (18-9)

7. Greenwood (19-9)

Analysis:

-Benton was essentially perfect in just about every category during the state tournament tossing two no-hitters and outscoring three opponents 17-0. The Lady Panthers have proven just about all they can this season and hope to finish it off with back-to-back state titles.

-Greene County Tech is on an 11-game win streak since falling to Benton on the road in a close 3-0 contest on April 14 and are looking to steal a state title away from the overall No. 1 on the Lady Panthers’ field.

-Sheridan ran out of gas in the semifinals of the state tournament and that, plus Greene County Tech executing well, made it a tough Saturday afternoon for the Lady Jackets who found themselves down 6-0 at the bottom of the third and could not rebound following a successful season they were at least a year ahead of schedule.

-Van Buren ran into the buzzsaw that is Benton and just as is for pretty much any team who faces the Lady Panthers, it was just too much. The Lady Pointers do lose three or four key seniors, but with plenty of talented underclassmen on the roster they should be in strong contention to make another deep postseason run in 2023.

-Vilonia earned the biggest upset of the state tournament in Class 5A upsetting previously No. 4 Beebe in the first round with great play at the plate but Sheridan was able to cool the Lady Eagles down offensively falling 4-0.

-White Hall played about as tough with Benton as you could ask, but the Lady Panthers chipped away with a run here and a run there that was too much for the Lady Bulldogs to overcome.

-Greenwood fell in the quarterfinals to finalist Greene County Tech after defeating Little Rock Christian in the first round thus ending the 11-year tenure of Ronnie Sockey who won state with the Lady Bulldogs in 2015.

4A

1. Nashville (26-4)

2. Valley View (24-5)

3. Stuttgart (23-3)

4. Harrison (20-8)

5. Bauxite (26-6)

6. Gravette (22-8)

7. Morrilton (20-9)

Analysis:

-Other than a first-iinning grand slam by Morrilton in the first inning of the quarterfinals, Nashville basically cruised through its two games in the state tournament that included a 10-0 win over previously No. 3 Stuttgart. With Maci McJunkins in the circle and a one through nine lineup that is as dangerous as any in the state, the Scrapperettes are set up to claim the 4A state title.

-Valley View is about as tough as any team in the state (not named Benton) to beat when playing up to top potential. The Lady Blazers are heading to Benton looking to take down No. 1 Nashville and win a state title in what should be a great matchup of two teams that can really swing it.

-Stuttgart scratched and clawed to take down Gravette 1-0 during the quarterfinals in extra innings and the grind of that game likely was a key reason for the tough day against Nashville in the semifinals falling 10-0 but that does not take away from a great season that saw the Lady Birds win a lot of games against a very tough schedule.

-Harrison was the surprise of Class 4A in the state tournament taking down conference foe Farmington in the first round, the second time they have defeated the Lady Cardinals this year, and then walked off Bauxite 2-1 before falling to Valley View in the quarterfinals.

-Bauxite’s season came to an end in the most devastating way for any player in this game losing on a walk-off to Harrison with a trip to the semifinals on the line after the Lady Miners had escaped a close 5-3 contest with Southside Batesville in the first round.

-Gravette was on the losing end of a hard-fought pitcher’s duel against Stuttgart that went into extras playing seven innings to a 0-0 score after crushing Hamburg 12-0 in the first round.

-Morrilton was down 4-0 after one inning to Jonesboro Westside then rallied in the fifth and seventh to squeak by with a two-run victory. It looked like the Lady Devil Dogs had an upset on their mind after smashing a grand slam against Nashville early in the quarterfinals, but that was short-lived as Nashville rolled winning 16-6 eliminating the defending state champions.

3A

1. Ashdown (24-5)

2. Atkins (21-8)

3. Hackett (24-8)

4. Mayflower (19-7)

5. Baptist Prep (25-5)

6. Booneville (27-2)

7. Lincoln (29-7)

Analysis:

-Ashdown looks to win the school’s first state title since 2008 on Saturday. The Lady Panthers had to fight hard to get to the finals after briefly trailing CAC in the first round and winning by one run, then a back-and-forth brawl with Lincoln in the next game before shutting out Hackett in the semifinals.

-Atkins was a major sleeper coming into the tournament as a young, but talented, squad who has been extremely battle-tested. In the state tournament, the Lady Red-Devils hung on to beat Bismarck, ended Boonville’s long win streak, and took down fellow underdog story Mayflower to punch their ticket to the finals.

-Hackett earned the biggest upset likely in all of Arkansas high school softball this season defeating defending champion and ultra-loaded Baptist Prep in the quarterfinals but were unable to keep going in the semifinals getting blanked by Ashdown.

-Mayflower has a very bright future ahead and got that success started early by opening a lot of eyes and reaching the state semifinals after coming from behind to beat Smackover in the first round. The Lady Eagles then put up 16 runs to beat Bald Knob before falling to conference foe Atkins.

-Baptist Prep was a shoo-in on paper to win back-to-back state titles with a roster full of college prospects but the talent and will of Hackett prevailed in the quarterfinals and the Lady Eagles were sent home much sooner than anticipated.

-Booneville was playing out of its mind on a 24-game win streak but Atkins had other plans and completely caught the Lady Bearcats off guard. Booneville is another young team with plenty of great things ahead led by clutch ace pitcher Lexi Franklin.

-Lincoln played extremely consistent all season and continued that in the postseason showing the will to fight, but the Lady Wolves came up just short in the regional championship against Booneville then in the quarterfinals falling by one run to Ashdown.

2A

1. Tuckerman (24-5)

2. East Poinsett County (32-2)

3. Melbourne (19-9)

4. Quitman (18-7)

5. Fordyce (20-11)

6. McCrory (25-4)

7. Mansfield (17-8)

Analysis:

-Tuckerman has shut out five of its last six opponents and with three pitchers who can get the job done at any moment, plus a great defense and plenty of firepower at the plate, it is tough to bet against the Lady Bulldogs to win a second-straight state title.

-East Poinsett County has answered every call this season and has one more against Tuckerman who is on the verge of building a dynasty. Ace pitcher Keegan McCorkle will be relied on heavily as they tend to do well in games they are able to keep close and low-scoring.

-Melbourne came into the state tournament with plenty to prove and rode the heroics of Natalie Brightwell both in the circle and at the plate. The senior threw two straight shutouts before the Lady Bearkatz met that fate against conference rival Tuckerman.

-Quitman quietly put together a very good season and responded in a big way after a regional championship defeat to Tuckerman making it to the semifinals where the Lady Bulldogs lost a heartbreaking walk-off loss to East Poinsett County.

-Fordyce played one of the toughest schedules in Class 2A and still managed to eclipse 20 wins. The Lady Bugs earned a win over Cedar Ridge to open the state tournament but was stagnant offensively against East Poinsett County falling 3-0.

-McCrory regrouped following a very tough loss in the 2A North Regional championship to East Poinsett County and defeated Flippin 10-4 to open the state tournament before defending champ Tuckerman crushed the Lady Jags in the quarterfinals.

-Mansfield had a tough start to the season, then got hot at the beginning of April compiling a ten-game win streak that was broken in a 1-0 2A West Regional championship loss to Lavaca. The Lady Tigers recovered to beat Riverside in the first round of state, but all hopes and dreams ended in a 10-0 loss to Melbourne.

1A

1. Taylor (21-2)

2. Greers Ferry West Side (22-3)

3. Wonderview (14-8)

4. Guy-Perkins (13-5)

5. Mt.-Vernon-Enola (16-6)

6. Mammoth Spring (16-11)

7. Armorel (14-12)

Analysis:

-Taylor spotted Sacred Heart three runs in the first round of state but steamrolled through the rest of the tournament though Guy-Perkins did make the Lady Tigers sweat a bit in the semifinals. Taylor will play in yet another title game hoping to win a fifth straight championship.

-West Side came from behind to beat Wonderview when Lacy Baker doubled to walk it off and send the Lady Eagles to the finals. They are up against a brutal Taylor squad but having McKenna Bittle in the circle always gives you a chance to win.

-Wonderview lost a walk-off heartbreaker to West Side after leading in the top of the ninth ending any championship hopes but really turned it up a notch in the second half of the season. With Lydia Polk, Abbi Baker, and plenty of others coming back in 2023 you can expect to see plenty more from the Lady Daredevils.

-Guy-Perkins has been under the radar all season and the Lady Thunderbirds proved they fully belong in the conversation with the top teams in Class 1A. Alyson Rooney was dominant in the state tournament tossing two shutouts against Mount Ida and Armorel. They went toe to toe with No. 1 Taylor tied at zero through five innings in the semifinals.

-Mt.Vernon-Enola scored plenty of runs in the opening round of state against Bradley, but allowed the Lady Bears to almost come back and win, escaping 11-10. The Lady Warhawks’ luck would run out in the quarterfinals against West Side.

-Mammoth Spring got better as the season went along and made it to the 1A-2 regional semifinals then turned around and scored 28 runs in the opening round against County Line, by far the most any team scored in all classifications during the tournament.

-Armorel claims the final spot in the Super 7 rankings which guarantees they will end the season ranked. The Lady Tigers looked very good in a 11-1 first round state tournament win over Western Yell County but could not overcome the stellar pitching of Guy-Perkins in a 3-0 loss.