CONWAY, ARKANSAS - Playing at her future college softball field, Emory Bowlin more than helped her own cause in the final game for her high school.
Bowlin, a senior pitcher for Pea Ridge, threw a three-hit shutout and struck out 12. She also drove in four runs, including hitting a two-RBI home run during a four-run top of the first as the Blackhawks - after finishing as runner-up three other times this decade - finally won their first state title with a 6-0 win against Bauxite in the Arkansas Class 4A state championship Friday at the University of Central Arkansas.
"I was just going out there trying to do the best that I could to help us win," said Bowlin, who has signed to play at UCA next season. "We've come here for the third year in a row, and we were all very determined to just go out there and do the absolute best we could and I was trying to do my job for the team as best as I could."
Bowlin certainly did that with her pitching performance. She threw 88 total pitches in her shutout while giving up three hits and just one walk. Her 88th and final pitch was Bowlin's 12th strikeout, as she and her Pea Ridge (22-5) teammates finally got that long-awaited championship dogpile.
"I was just trying to get out there and do the best we could, and I knew if I kept them off the bases and got easy groundouts and popouts for the team, we had a better chance of winning this game," said Bowlin, who was named the game's MVP. "(I was just) staying controlled and controlling what we can control, which is what Coach (Josh) Reynolds says all the time is control what you can control; you can't control the batters, you can't control the strike zone, you just go out there and play your game."
Buck Ringgold
Pea Ridge staked Bowlin to a four-run lead before she even threw her first pitch. Lexi Vigil led off the game with a triple and scored on an RBI single from Hailey Willey. Willey then scored on an error to make it 2-0.
Still with nobody out in the top of the first and Zaylee Warden on base following a single, Bowlin came up to the plate and on a full count, slammed a pitch over the wall in left to put Pea Ridge up 4-0.
"I went up there and, in my opinion, I had been struggling at the plate and I just went up there and was just loose and having fun at just swinging the bat," said Bowlin, who went 2-for-4.
For good measure, Bowlin added two more runs for the game's final tally, hitting a double to center that brought home Fallynn Hand and Willey.
Bowlin's battery mate, sophomore catcher Makenzie Whalen, raved about her pitcher's performance afterward.
"She mainly threw what she throws all of the time. ... I can always count on that, she's going to do a good job when she's on, and when she's on, everybody else is on," Whalen said.
But it was a good day for Whalen at the plate as well, as she was her team's top hitter, going 3-for-4, with two of those hits going for doubles.
"We talked all year about being a team and playing as one, and not letting the outside affect how we play," Whalen said. "I feel like (Friday) we really did that; we didn't let any outside noise come in and affect how we played."
Bowlin, Willey and Vigil also had two hits apiece in the win for the Blackhawks, who had a total of 13 hits. All three hits by Bauxite (22-12) went for singles.
And now Bowlin will return to Conway later on in the year possessing a state championship ring.
"It's really amazing, knowing that I feel very at home here, and I feel very calm out (in the circle), which is very helpful," she said.
Buck Ringgold
UPDATES
Pea Ridge takes on Bauxite for a state softball title in Arkansas.
The Blackhawks face the Lady Miners for the Class 4A championship as part of the Arkansas Activities Association's "Weekend of Champions" at the University of Central Arkansas.
Pea Ridge comes in with a record of 21-5, while Bauxite enters with a record of 22-11.
The Blackhawks are making their fourth appearance in the championship game, but are still seeking their first title. Pea Ridge was the runner-up in 2021, 2023 and again in 2024.
Bauxite is in its third championship game. The Lady Miners were runner-up in 2015 but won it all in 2018.
Follow The Sporting News correspondent Buck Ringgold (@Bucks_Ballpark) for all of the live updates and scoring from Conway.
Scroll down for live score and game updates from first pitch to the postgame. Refresh this page for the latest.
PEA RIDGE 6, BAUXITE 0 FINAL
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SEVENTH INNING
- PEA RIDGE HAS DONE IT. Emory Bowlin finishes off a shutout win with her 12th strikeout on the afternoon, and the Blackhawks take home their first state title.
- Bauxite is down to its final out but has runners on first and second.
- Bauxite's MJ Bermingham singles with one out.
- Emory Bowlin retires the first batter in the seventh, and now has retired the last 10 Bauxite hitters.
- Double play ends the top of the seventh for Pea Ridge. But Emory Bowlin returns to the circle seeking to get three more outs and give the Blackhawks their first-ever state title. (Pea Ridge, 6-0 | B7)
SIXTH INNING
- Pea Ridge 3B Halle Parker spears a line drive for the first out. Pitcher Emory Bowlin goes on to retire the side in order, and now has 11 strikeouts through six scoreless innings. Blackhawks are three outs away from securing their program-first championship. (Pea Ridge, 6-0 | T7)
- Pea Ridge strands two on base to end the top of the sixth, but the Blackhawks take a six-run lead into Bauxite's half of the inning. (Pea Ridge, 6-0 | B6)
FIFTH INNING
- A clean bottom of the fifth for Pea Ridge pitcher Emory Bowlin, including a strikeout to end the inning. Bowlin has now struck out 10 batters and has allowed no runs on two hits and has thrown 66 total pitches. (Pea Ridge, 6-0 | T6)
FOURTH INNING
- Bauxite's Emma King hits a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth and goes to second on a wild pitch, but Pea Ridge P Emory Bowlin strikes out the next two hitters and then gets the following batter to foul out, throwing shutout ball through four innings. (Pea Ridge, 6-0 | T5)
- RBI HIT PEA RIDGE. Emory Bowlin, who will be playing her future softball here at UCA, continues what has been a huge day for her for the Blackhawks. Bowlin doubles home two more runners as she now has four RBIs on the afternoon. (Pea Ridge, 6-0 | T4)
THIRD INNING
- What a nice catch from Pea Ridge LF Lexi Vigil, who grabs the ball sno-cone style, and the Blackhawks have shut out Bauxite through three innings. (Pea Ridge, 4-0 | T4)
SECOND INNING
- Bauxite's London Cunningham gets a two-out single in the last of the inning, but the Lady Miners can't bring her home. Still a four-run Pea Ridge lead through two. (Pea Ridge, 4-0 | T3)
FIRST INNING
- Pea Ridge jumps out early by scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Lexi Vigil led off things with a triple and scored on Hailey Willey's RBI single. Willey then scored on an error, and the Blackhawks topped things off with a two-run homer off the bat of pitcher Emory Bowlin. (Pea Ridge, 4-0 | T1)
- Bauxite will be the home team. The starting lineup for the Lady Miners: Zoey Hicks (CF); KB Jacks (LF); Emma King (3B); Lexi Childress (C); MJ Bermingham (1B); Avery Green (SS); London Cunningham (DH); Alysia Garner (RF); Kim Smith (2B). Bianca Battisone is the starting pitcher.
- Pea Ridge is the visiting team. The starting lineup: Lexi Vigil (LF); Hailey Willey (CF); Zaylee Warden (2B); Emory Bowlin (P); Makenzie Whalen (C); Hope Konkler (SS); Halle Parker (3B); Abigail Rogers (DH); Ashlynn Short (1B); Paisley Tillman (RF).
PREGAME
- Here at Conway, as Pea Ridge gets set to take on Bauxite for the Class 4A state championship.