FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.-In sports, repeating a championship is one of the most difficult feats to attain. Defending that repeat, or three-peating, is even more difficult, and Spring Hill found that out the hard way in the Class 2A state championship game on Saturday morning at the University of Arkansas' Bogle Park.
Upstart Rison emerged the victor, defeating the Bears 5-2 and winning its first state softball championship in the process.
Spring Hill got off to a hot start, plating two in the first inning and seemed to be firmly in control until the disastrous third inning, where it gave up three runs and lost the lead.
It sort of snow balled from there, as it gave up two more runs in the bottom half of the fourth and struggled with making clean plays in the field.
Meanwhile, the Bears couldn't get anything going at the plate, as Kristen Hurst had settled in after the early struggles and held them to just three hits while Rison committed only one error.
Spring Hill finished with six errors on the day, and had a chance to get something going in the last half inning when Cheyenne Bobo hit a one-laser over the centerfielder's head for a double.
She rounded second a little too hard, however, and got caught in a rundown for the second out, and Lakin Bobo struck out to end the game.
To get here, the Bears had shut out Poyen 2-0 in the semifinals, and defeated Marmaduke 5-1 in the quarterfinals following a first round bye.
Rison defeated Hector, 2-1 in the opening round of the state tournament, topped East Poinsett County, 7-1, and got past Parkers Chapel, 3-2, in the semifinals.
Spring Hill 200 000 0 - 2 4 6
Rison 003 200 x - 5 5 1
Kalyne Powell and Maegan Ward; Kristen Hurst and Julie Beck. WP-Hurst. LP-Powell.