Conway's softball coach Chad Longing noticed a handful of positives from North Little Rock's 6-2 victory at Lady Cat Field.
The last time the Lady Cats (19-8, 10-4) and the Charging Lady Wildcats locked up, NLR's ace, Jessica Sheldon, recorded 15 strikeouts in a commanding 3-0 win. This time around, Sheldon struck out 12, but Conway was much more active at the plate and on the bases.
"I'm not taking anything away from Sheldon because she's a good pitcher, but we had a much better approach today," Longing said. "Last time we played them, it was just boom-boom-boom. Today, we went up there and actually saw some pitches and we were able to put the ball in play."
The victory clinched the outright 7A-Central title for the Lady Charging Wildcats, who will carry the conference's No. 1 seed into the state tournament at Russellville.
With NLR (26-3, 12-1) leading 4-0 going into the bottom of the third, Conway rallied. Jordan Teetens and Mallory Fiddler reached bases after drawing a pair of walks. Then, Tia Houston created a bunt single to load the bases. Kaylen Stevenson drew a walk, causing Teetens to cross home for Conway's first run. The Lady Cats' final run came on the a wild pitch against J. B. Davis, which allowed Fiddler to slide home, just beating the tag. Sheldon retired the side, striking out the next three batters.
"Conway did a much better job this time because last time I noticed that a few of their players gave up," NLR coach Perry Parr said. "Conway battled back in the third. There's no doubt about that. They came out and scored. They had the bases loaded too. I told the girls that I was proud of them for holding them off."
The Charging Wildcats punched in their final two runs in the fourth inning. NLR finished with nine hits led by Natale Mosely and Molly Edwards. Both finished 2 for 3 at the plate.
"We didn't get any production out the middle of our order," Longing said. "Our 3-4-5 are not producing but I really thought the bottom half of our order really battled well. We can definitely take some positives away from this. We were a lot more focused and more disciplined at the plate than we were in the previous time we played them."
Conway, the No. 3 seed from the Central, is paired against 7A-West foe Fort Smith Southside in the first round of the state tournament. The game is slated for 5:45 p.m. Friday in Russellville.
"There's 12 teams left," Longing said. "You can't go into the games thinking that it's a laugher. So Southside will be ready to go. Hopefully, this weather will hold out so we can get a day to work out on Thursday. We just have to get ready and we expect a war."
