Top matchups, dark horses to follow in the Arkansas high school softball state tournament

By Kyle Sutherland  

It is down to a ‘win-or-get-your-summer-started early’ as state tournaments get underway on Thursday statewide. Prior to the district tournaments, we laid out some teams at random to watch in Class 1A-4A. 

This time the focus is on the top matchup from each class, as well as dark horses, who may play bracket buster early on. Keep up with bracket updates and scores on scorebooklive.com throughout the state tournament and you can also follow Kyle Sutherland on Twitter - @k_sutherlandAR - for game-by-game updates.

6A

Top Seeds: Bentonville, Bryant, Cabot, Rogers

Top Matchup: Har-Ber vs. Bryant

As of now, this is only a possible matchup considering Har-Ber has to get past Little Rock Central on Thursday to have a chance at playing tournament host Bryant. The Lady Hornets, who finished second in the Central, competed in the 6A crossover round-robin earlier this month, but did not see Har-Ber who earned their way into the conversation with Bentonville and Rogers as the top contenders from the West.

Dark Horse: Bentonville West

Being one of the younger teams in the state never fazed the Lady Wolverines as they earned the West four-seed. They dropped contests against Har-Ber and Bentonville to finish the regular season, but had previously won seven of their past eight. A favorable draw against Jonesboro gets the state tournament started with Cabot waiting in the quarterfinals assuming the Lady Wolverines take care of business.

5A

Top Seeds: Beebe, Benton, Greene County Tech, Van Buren

Top Matchup: Greenwood vs. Valley View

Greenwood took a big hit when Tulsa basketball signee Mady Cartwright decided to focus on her hoops career, but first-year head coach Donald Hart rallied the troops following a 6-6 start to 19-8 headlined by a solid one-two pitching combo and a much more consistent offense. 2022 4A state champion Valley View has held their own against 5A competition under interim head coach Joey Chavers and she has the Lady Blazers fully believing they can win another trophy as they also possess a great option at pitcher and plenty of good bats.

Dark Horse: Sheridan

Through the regular season the Lady ‘Jackets have won every game they are supposed to. The biggest struggle against quality competition in the big picture has been not scoring enough runs, but they showed it can be done by getting up five on Benton last Tuesday. Benton rallied for the 6-5 walk-off win, but Sheridan felt confident heading into Friday’s next matchup with the Lady Panthers. That did not go well as Stanford signee Alyssa Houston pitched a perfect game and blanked Sheridan 13-0. Despite multiple injuries, if they play up to their potential this could very well be another deep run for the Lady ‘Jackets.

4A

Top Seeds: Ashdown, Bauxite, Gravette

Top Matchup: Nashville vs. Brookland

These two squads met in the 2021 quarterfinals when Nashville bested Brookland 15-0. A banged up Brookland did not qualify for the postseason last year, while Nashville came up just short in the state finals. Nashville may still be young, but they quit using the ‘inexperienced’ excuse long ago and look to prove it against the state’s best, while Brookland hopes to show their first place finish in the 4A-3 regular season standings was not a fluke.

Dark Horse: Monticello

It was not a memorable finish to the 4A-South Regional for the Lady Billies losing back-to-back games for the first time this year, however they did accomplish the ultimate goal of earning their first state tournament bid since 2015. Not playing the strongest schedule has been pointed out multiple times, but the fact is this team is 22-3 and has another opportunity to show what they can be with a first round draw against a very powerful Farmington team.

3A

Top Seeds: Dumas, Lincoln, Mayflower, Tuckerman

Top Matchup: Baptist Prep vs. Tuckerman

Baptist Prep won the 3A championship in 2021 and was the heavy favorite all of last season before Hackett shut that down in the quarterfinals. Tuckerman is the back-to-back 2A state champion and hit a wall from mid through late March where they lost four consecutive games. The Lady Bulldogs turned things around and have won their past 12 games, but Baptist Prep is one of the more battle-tested teams in 3A while also possessing plenty of talent at their disposal.

Dark Horse: Lamar

Going off of their record it is a given that the Lady Warriors are a dark horse, but not so much if you have watched them play. With wins over Atkins, Baptist Prep, and a one-run loss to Mayflower in the past five games they have shown they can consistently compete with the best in the 3A-5 which likely means they can do it with the best in the state.

2A

Top Seeds: Magnet Cove, Mansfield, Riverside, Woodlawn

Top Matchup: East Poinsett County vs. Parkers Chapel

EPC is possibly the most battle-tested team in 2A and extra motivated after coming up short in last year’s state finals. Parkers Chapel has had no choice but to essentially limp through parts of the season, but they are as healthy as they have been all year. EPC has more depth, but do not be surprised to see the Lady Trojans keep it close as they have continued to get better since mid-April.

Dark Horse: Spring Hill

Playing a tough non-conference schedule paid off for the Lady Bears and they have won six of their past seven contests falling only to Woodlawn in the 2A-South Regional finals. They match up well in round one against McCrory with a possible showdown against West region top-seed Mansfield in the quarterfinals.

1A

Top Seeds: Calico Rock, Scranton, Taylor, Wonderview

Top Matchup: Concord vs. Wonderview

Wonderview has been as consistent as any team in Class 1A currently on a 10-game win streak and have not allowed more than three runs in any contest during that span. Concord has been streaky, but shown they can compete at a high level against quality teams. Wonderview has experience on their side, plus the sting of losing in back-to-back semifinal rounds as extra motivation. If the Lady Pirates play anything like they did in the first half of the season, or the team that won the district title, they will have a good chance to move on.

Dark Horse: Shirley

If there is anything we have learned in the 1A-2 over the past two seasons it is that anything can happen at any given time. The Lady Blue Devils finished fourth in the conference regular season standings, fourth in the district tournament, and then won the consolation game in regionals. Along with Taylor and Viola, they have the best pitching from their side of the bracket which could propel them to a deep run - especially if the bats stay consistent.