Lady Tigers bounce back to take 3rd in Regionals

ARMOREL -- The Armorel Lady Tigers bounced back from a tough loss Saturday in the 1A Region 2 semifinals against Viola to defeat the Izard County Lady Cougars, 11-0, in five innings Monday.

Tiger pitcher Brooke Trout allowed just three base runners and only one hit in the five-inning shutout. Trout struck out 10 batters, including the final two in the top of the fifth to end the game.

Armorel scored four runs in the first inning, two in each of the second and third innings and three in the bottom of the fourth to help end the game early.

Luisa Towery's two-run double in the second and her one-run double in the fourth led the Lady Tiger offense.

Others picking up offense for Armorel were Madison Harris (2 runs scored), Amanda Skelton (double and 2 runs scored), Abigail McCauley (1 run scored), Trout (double and 2 runs scored), Emily Jo Gentry (2 singles and 2 runs scored), Tia Sellers (1 RBI), Rylee Nelson (1 RBI) and Katie Weld (1 run scored).

The Lady Tigers earned the third seed out of Region 2. They will open the 1A state tournament at 12:30 p.m. Thursday against the 2 seed out of Region 3 at the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex.

FROM 5-9 Viola 2, Armorel 1

The Armorel Lady Tigers dropped the semifinal game of the 1A Region 2 tournament Saturday night, 2-1, to the Viola Lady Longhorns.

Viola's Destiny Crawford held the Lady Tigers to just a run on two hits over seven complete innings of work. Crawford struck out five batters and allowed only four base runners all night.

Not to be outdone was Armorel's Brooke Trout. Trout gave up just two runs on two hits while fanning eight in seven innings.

Armorel scored its lone run in the bottom of the fourth and the Lady Longhorns answered with two in the top of the fifth with two out.

Picking up hits for the Lady Tigers were Amanda Skelton (double) and Abigail McCauley (triple).

afitzpatrick@blythevillecourier.com