Lady Bison start season 3-1

Carlisle's Raegan Mills stands at third base during the Lady Bison's 15-0 win over Des Arc in the season opener. (Photo by Cara Parker)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

The Carlisle Lady Bison softball team is off to a  3-1 start under first-year coach Jonathan Buffalo, who previously coached the softball team during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. 

“We’ve been playing well at times,” Buffalo said. “I’m please with the way the season has started but we’ve got a long ways to go.”

Carlisle beat Des Arc 15-0 in the season opener March 5. The Lady Bison beat Class 5A Jacksonville 7-2 on March 7. They lost to Riverview 8-7 on March 11 before beating Midland 12-6 on Thursday.

In the win over Des Arc, Carlisle scored 14 runs in the bottom of the first. Ansley Terry, Mackenzie Raper, Shelby Hancock, Raegan Mills and Caty Parker each scored two runs in the inning. Also scoring were Heather Bowlan, Bailey Crump, Hailey Thrift and Gracie Brown.

Thrift scored Carlisle’s 15th run in the fourth inning. 

Hancock got the win, striking out four in two innings. Crump pitched two innings, striking out three.

In the win over Jacksonville, Carlisle led 5-1 after three innings. 

Raper led Carlisle with two runs scored. Also scoring were Terry, Hancock, Mills, Parker and Crump. 

Hancock struck out four in five innings of work to get the win. Crump struck out three in two innings of work to get the save. 

In the win over Midland, Raper hit a grand slam in the third inning. 

Parker, Hancock and Shea Alberson each scored two runs. Also scoring were Raper, Mills, Bowlan and Emma Cook.
Hancock got the win, allowing two earned runs in four innings of work. She struck out three. Crump pitched the last three innings, striking out five.

The Lady Bison will host Bigelow in the conference opener on March 25. 

Bison win third straight, beat Episcopal in 8 innings

Carlisle's Blake White delivers a pitch against Midland. White picked up a win in relief against Little Rock Episcopal on Friday. (Photo by Micah Moody)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LITTLE ROCK — The Carlisle Bison won their third consecutive game Friday, beating Little Rock Episcopal 7-2 in eight innings at history Lamar Porter Field.

Carlisle is now 3-2 on the season following the victory. 

The score was tied 2-2 after seven innings. Coby Brown led off the top of the eighth and scored on a triple by Blake White. Creed Carter followed with a sacrifice fly to score White with the second run. 

Also scoring in the eighth were Ian Seidenschwarz, Noah Seidenschwarz and Jasean Harper. 

White allowed a walk to start the bottom of the eighth then retired the next three batters to end the game. 

“Pitchers and defense did a great job making plays,” Carlisle coach Steven Tew said. “Paxton Hitchings, Noah and Blake all threw really well. Our defense made great plays behind them. Ben Orton made a couple of really outstanding plays in center and Ian Seidenschwarz made a key play, picking off a runner on third after a pitch from behind he plate.”

Carlisle scored two runs in the top of the first to lead 2-0. Scoring were Brown and Ben Orton. 

The Wildcats scored single runs in the fourth and seventh innings. 

Brown led the Bison with three hits. Orton, Zac VanHouten and White had two hits each. Also collecting hits were Noah Seidenschwarz, Ian Seidenschwarz, Kamryn Taylor and Gauge Shaw.

White the victory in relief. He struck out seven in four innings of work. He allows five hits and one earned run. 

“To get out of the game in the bottom of the seventh was a huge boost to force extra innings,” Tew said. “In extras, Cody had a great at bat to start it then Blake drove him in with the go-ahead run. After that, we got several more big hits that inning, and it was nice to come out of there with a  big win going into spring break.”

Jackrabbits split DH with Stuttgart

Lonoke third baseman Dalton Smith skies to keep a throw from going into the outfield during the Jackrabbits' recent game with Joe T. Robinson. (Photo by Ashley McGowan)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LONOKE — The Lonoke Jackrabbits baseball team has gotten off to a slow start this season. 

After eight games, Lonoke is 1-7 under first-year coach Nick Smith, who previously served as interim coach during the 2016 season.

Lonoke’s lone victory came over Stuttgart, 17-9, in the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday at Stuttgart.

Lonoke led 6-1 after two innings but trailed 9-8 after five. The Jackrabbits scored nine runs in the seventh to get the victory.

Dalton Smith was 3 for 5 with three runs scored and four RBIs. He also hit a home run in the victory. 

Also scoring runs were Julian Median (2), Christian Cooper (2), Isaiah Thomas, Ryan Cleveland (2), Anderson Fletcher (2), Noah Mulligan (2), Daniel DeVinney and Spencer Pepper (2), who went 3 for 3 at the plate with four RBIs. 

Mulligan gets credit for the win as he pitched the last 2 2/3 innings of the game. He struck out four while giving up four runs, three of which were earned. 

Lonoke lost the opener 8-4.

The Jackrabbits led 3-1 after two innings but the Ricebirds scored five runs in the third and two in the fifth. Lonoke scored once in the seventh. 

Smith was 3 for 3 at the plate with a run scored. Pepper was also 3 for 3 with a run scored. 

Lonoke will host the Carlisle Bison on Monday at the Lonoke Ball Park. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.

Carlisle enters the game at 2-2, riding a two-game winning streak. 

Bison rout Riverview for second win

Carlisle's Ian Seidenschwarz  waits on a pitch during action against Des Arc. (Photo by Micah Moody)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

The Carlisle Bison baseball team is now 2-2 after beating Riverview 15-1 on Thursday and Midland 11-7 on Monday. 

Carlisle had started the season 0-2 with losses to Atkins and Des Arc before getting on a winning streak this weeks. 

In the win over Riverview, the Bison scored twice in the first, six in the second, four in the third and three in the fifth. The Raiders lone run came int he bottom of the second. 

Coby Brown, Ben Orton and Blake White each scored three runs. Zac VanHouten scored twice. Also scoring runs were Creed Carer, Ian Seidenschwarz, Braiden Wakefield and Jasean Harper. 

The Bison had 13 hits. Getting two each were Brown, Orton, White, Carter,  Noah Seidenschwarz and VanHouten.

The Bison used three pitchers. Paxton Hitchings pitched the first inning while Noah Seidenschwarz and Wakefield pitched two innings each. Seidenschwarz got the win. He struck out give. 

“Tonight, we did a good job with a little adversity too,” first-year Bison coach Steven Tew said. “Paxton was scheduled to start. He went out there and stuck out the first two guys on six pitches, but after his third strikeout of the inning, he said he just didn’t feel right out there. We shut him down and had to go to our relievers a little earlier than expected.”

Tew said Seidenschwarz and Wakefield pitched well in relief.

“They threw a lot of strikes,” Tew said. “Our hitters did a great job shining the bat and continued to score runs. It made it a lot easier for those pitchers, who hadn’t gotten whole lot of experience pitching in varsity games yes.”

In the win over Midland, the Bison banged out 18 hits. 

White, Hitchings and Ian Seidenschwarz had three hits each. Carter and Noah Seidenschwarz had two hits each. Also getting hits were Eli Moody and Orton. 

White got the win, pitching four innings. He gave up one earned run while striking out eight. Hitchings got the save, pitching 2/3 of an inning in the bottom of the seventh.

“I’m very proud of how well the kids are playing right now,” Tew said “They’ve shown me a lot of positives and done a good job of trying to do things that we’ve been working on — a lot of what is new to them. We’ve definitely got some things to clean up and work but that just gets us something to focus on.”

Bison end streak with OT win over Hornets

Carlisle's Jasean Harper is fouled while making a move to the basket against Hazen. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

CARLISLE — For the first time in over two months, the Carlisle Bison basketball team finished a game with a victory.

Carlisle outscored Hazen 11-6 in overtime to defeat the Hazen Hornets 63-58 at Bison Arena. The win broke Carlisle’s 15-game losing streak.

The Carlisle Lady Bison were also victorious Friday night, defeating Hazen 47-26.

The Bison opened the 2018-19 season with 56-42 win over Glen Rose on Nov. 13. After some turnover with the roster, Carlisle had struggled at times but everything came together against Hazen even though the start of game wasn’t a good one.

Hazen led 10-1 with 4:41 left in the first quarter. Carlisle outscored the Hornets 12-3 the remainder of the quarter to tie the game at 13-13.

Carlisle's Jasmyn McElyea attempts
 a three-pointer against Hazen.

Carlisle led 28-27 at halftime and 41-33 after three quarters. Carlisle led 52-48 following a free throw by Jasean Harper with 27.5 seconds left. 

Hazen’s L.J. Magee hit a basket with 22.7 seconds left. He was fouled on the play but the Hornets got the rebound. That led to Ay’Jon Green scoring on a putback to tie the game at 52-52.

Carlisle had a chance to win it in regulation but T.J. Henderson missed a three-point attempt with 3 seconds left.

Hazen took a 54-52 lead early in overtime. Harper tied the game at 54-54. Carlisle’s Creed Carter hit 1 of 2 free throws then Davarius Allen scored on a putback to give the Bison a 57-54 with 1:33 left.

Hazen pulled to within one twice, the last coming at 59-58. Carlisle’s Will Carter then hit four free throws in the final 20.7 seconds left to seal the victory. 

Will Carter led the Bison with 23 points. Harper had 16. Creed Carter had 10. Allen scored six. Ben Orton had four. Embry Thornton and Henderson had two points each. 

Green led Hazen with 14 points. 

The two teams will play again Monday night at Hazen. The game was postponed from December when the Hazen football team was playing in the Class 2A state championship game. 

Lady Bison win 12th game

The Carlisle Lady Bison improved to 12-7 on the season with a 47-26 win over Hazen.

Carlisle led 17-6 after one quarter and 40-9 at halftime. 

Kiara Milled led Carisle with 10 points. DeShaye Ricks and Leigh Ann Wolfe had eight points each. Shelby Hancock and Jasmyn McElyea had five points each. Heather Bowlan, Josie Fortner and Kate Faucett had three points each. Taylor Cullum scored two. 

Lady Bison beat Malvern, fall to BK and England in Goldfish Classic

Carlisle's Shea Alberson looks for an open teammate in the Lady Bison's win over Malvern in the Goldfish Classic. (Photos by Mark buffalo

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LONOKE — The Carlisle Lady Bison went 1-2 in the sixth-annual Goldfish Classic last week at the Gina Cox Center.

Carlisle lost to Bald Knob 50-47 in the first round then beat Malvern 51-30 before losing the fifth-place game to fellow conference member England, 63-53 in overtime. 

In the loss to Bald Knob, Carlisle trailed 13-12 after one quarter and 27-19 at halftime. 

Carlisle outscored the Lady Bulldogs 16-8 in the third quarter and held a five-point lead in the fourth quarter before Bald Knob rallied for the victory. 

Shelby Hancock led Carlisle with 13 points. DeShaye Ricks had 12. Heather Bowlan added nine. Kiara Miller scored four. Jasmyn McElyea and Leigh Ann Wolfe had three points each. Taylor Cullum had two. Josie Fortner scored one. 

In the win over Malvern, the score was tied 9-9 after one quarter. Carlisle then outscored Malvern 16-9 in the second quarter and 18-5 in the third quarter to pull away for the win. 

Devon Buffalo shoots for three. 

Ricks led Carlisle with 16 points. Bowlan had eight. Miller scored six. Hancock and Shea Alberson had five points each. Cullum and Wolfe had four points each. Grace Lea added three. 

in the loss to England, Carlisle trailed by eight points heading into the fourth quarter. Carlisle outscored the Lady Lions 18-10 in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. 

England outscored Carlisle 16-6 in the extra period. 

In the loss, Carlisle struggled at the free throw line like it has much of the season. The Lady Bison made only 22 of 41 attempts. 

Ricks led Carlisle with 18 points but made only 10 of 22 free throw attempts. Wolfe had 11 points. She had three three-pointers. Bowlan scored eight. Miller added seven. Cullum had five. Hancock scored three and Alberson had one. 

Bison go 0-2 in Goldfish Classic

The Carlisle Bison lost two games in the tournament. They lost to Bald Knob 77-27 in the first round and Bradford 69-46 in the consolation round. 

In the loss to Bald Knob, Will Carter led the Bison with 14 points. Creed Carter had seven. Jasean Harper scored four. Embry Thornton scored two

In the loss to Bradford, the score was tied 12-12 after one quarter. Bradford then led 31-21 at halftime. 

Will Carter led the Bison with 19 points. Harper had 10. Devon Buffalo scored six on two three-pointers. Davorious Allen had four. Ben Orton scored three. Thornton and Xavier Contereras had two points each. 

Jackrabbits rout Ricebirds to win Goldfish Classic

The Lonoke Jackrabbits hold the championship trophy of the Goldfish Classic after beating Stuttgart in the championship game Saturday night. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LONOKE — The Lonoke Jackrabbits completed a three-game sweep of the sixth-annual Goldfish Classic at the Gina Cox Center.

Lonoke beat Malvern 71-69 in the first round, England 83-66 in the semifinals then beat Stuttgart 70-57 in the championship game Saturday night. 

Lonoke's Isaiah Thomas battles for the ball with
 England's Tyler Woods in the semifinals. 

“We had a good win at Wynne before Christmas,” Lonoke coach Dean Campbell said. “I told them it wasn’t just these three days. It started on Dec. 21. Then we came in on Dec. 26 and got some things done. We’ve grown defensively. Hopefully, we can grown and figure out that what we do defensively carries over to the offensive end. It gets us in a flow and gets us going. It gets us in a mindset to attack.

“I thought we did that this weekend. We’ve worked for it. We had a very good weekend.”

Lonoke is now 8-5 overall but they have a 1-3 mark in conference play with losses to Mills, EStem and Stuttgart.

The top four teams in the conference advance to the regional tournament. For the first time in recent years, Lonoke will not play a conference tournament. 

“We have nine schools … the southwest conference has seven,” Campbell said. “Five out of our conference stays home. Three out of theirs stay home. It doesn’t seem right. I don’t understand some of the geographical positioning, especially, when a team like Joe T. Robinson, who everybody in the southwest conference is their football opponents, but they are in our basketball conference.

“It is what is. Every night is a battle. There are no nights off in the conference.”

In the win over Stuttgart, Lonoke and Stuttgart were tied at 12-12 after one quarter. The Jackrabbits outscored the Ricebirds 17-7 in the second quarter to lead 29-19 at halftime. 

Tyriqe Jackson led Lonoke with 27 points, including three thunderous dunks. Tony Bryant had 24 points. Nick Tate had 10. Isaiah Thomas had 9.

In the win over England, Tony Bryant had 29 points. Jackson had 20. Chase Bryant scored six. Braidon Bryant had five. Tim Hunter had four. Tate scored three. L.J. Williams and Christian Thompson had two points each. 

Against Malvern, Jackson led Lonoke with 38 points. Tate had nine. Braidon Bryant had seven. Tony Bryant scored six. Chase Bryant had five. Thomas scored four. Hunter had two.