Pirates baseball picks up three more wins last week, Lady Pirates softball seeded fifth in district tournament

The Class 3, 10th ranked Ash Grove High School baseball team hosted Hermitage on Friday, May 1 and walked it off with a 13-3 win.

The Pirates took an early 4-0 lead after the first inning and increased that lead to 8-0 by the end of the second inning. The Hornets scored three times in the top of the third inning to cut the deficit to 8-3. After a scoreless fourth inning, Ash grove tacked on a single run in the bottom of the fourth inning, followed by four more runs I the bottom of the fifth inning to secure the victory.

Kyler Reece went 4-4 with a triple, a double, three runs scored and three RBIs, Ty Messley was 4-4 with two doubles, four runs scored and two RBIs, Brennan Murray went 1-2 with two RBIs, Jaden Shorter was 1-2, with three runs scored and two RBIs and Saxton Kinney finished up 2-3 with two RBIs.

Ash Grove hosted Pierce City on Wednesday, April 29 and defeated the Eagles 8-1.

Neither team could find the scoreboard until the Pirates put up three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-0 lead. Ash Grove added another three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Pierce City scored their only run in the seventh inning.

Shorter was 2-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs and Toby Barnes went 1-4 with an RBI.

The Pirates started their week by hosting Class 2, second ranked Miller on Monday, April 27 and defeating the Cardinals 2-1.

The Pirates scored their first run in the first inning only to see Miller come back and tie the game with a run in the third inning. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ash Grove scored their second run to take a 2-1 lead and to secure the win.

Reece was outstanding on the mound, going seven innings, allowing one unearned run on one hit with one walk and 15 strikeouts.

The Pirates are 19-3 on the season and were scheduled to play at East Newton on Monday before hosting Lockwood last night and Skyline tomorrow night. Ash Grove will end the week by traveling to Ava on Saturday.

Softball

The Ash Grove Lady Pirates softball team hosted Greenfield on Friday, May 1 and cruised to a 15-0 win.

Ash Grove scored six runs in the first inning, three runs in the second inning, four runs in the third inning and two runs in the fourth inning to win the game. The Lady Pirates allowed just one hit to Greenfield in the contest.

Lacey McCullough went 3-4 with a triple and three runs scored, Abby Stevens was 4-4 with a double, four runs scored and three RBIs, Addyson Murray was 3-3 with a double, a run scored and an RBI, Brooke Nicholson went 2-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs, Brooklyn Rowden was 2-3 with a run scored and four RBIs and Lillie Carter finished the game 2-3 with two RBIs.

The Lady Pirates began their week by traveling to Class 2, top ranked Skyline on Monday, April 27, but lost to the Lady Tigers 9-0.

McCullough was 1-4 and Oakley Dowling and Murray both finished the game 1-3.

Ash Grove is now 11-11 on the season and were scheduled to play at Pleasant Hope on Monday before hosting their final regular season game against Class 2, third ranked east Newton last night. The Lady Pirates will travel to Stockton on Friday to play their opening round Class 2, District 7 tournament game against El Dorado Springs.

Ash Grove is the five seed in this week’s district tournament in Stockton. Skyline is the top seed, followed by Class 2, seventh ranked Warsaw, Class 2, eighth ranked Fair Grove, El Dorado Springs, Ash Grove, Buffalo, Stockton and Conway. The tournament begins Friday, with the semifinals taking place on Tuesday, May 12 and the championship game set for Wednesday, May 13.