Here are the final Fort Smith area Arkansas softball rankings

Bryant Roche, Fort Smith Times Record
·3 min read

The Arkansas fast pitch softball season has finished for Fort Smith area teams.

Here are the end-of-season rankings. Keep in mind that in previous rankings, only a top five was released.

1. Booneville (26-2): The Lady Cats’ Lexi Franklin hit a home run and won the decision in a rematch with Hackett to capture the 3A-4 district title. The regional champions defeated Rivercrest, 10-0, in the state tournament before losing to finalist Atkins in the second round. Previous ranking: No.2

2. Hackett (24-8): The Lady Hornets reached the 3A state semifinals in Jeff Oxford’s first season as a high school coach. Hackett defeated Baptist Prep 3-2 in the second round despite striking out 22 times. Makenzie Freeman pitched all eight innings with no earned runs. Previous ranking: No.1

3. Van Buren (20-7): The 5A West Conference champions reached the state semifinals for the first time since going back-to-back from 2014-15. Seven regulars batted at least .326 this season. Ashlyn Michael had a team-high six home runs. Previous ranking: No.3

4. Greenwood (19-9): Greenwood overcame injuries to win 13 straight at one point and tied Van Buren at 11-3 in the conference standings and reached the state tournament second round. Previous ranking: Not ranked

POSTSEASON SCORES: Arkansas Activities Association fast pitch softball postseason brackets and results

TOP PERFORMERS: Fort Smith area top performers in high school sports for the week of May 8

COACHING MOVE: Ronnie Sockey, who led Greenwood softball, named Poteau boys basketball coach

5. Northside (15-13): Senior Danessa Teague batted a Northside-best .423 while posting a .948 fielding percentage in 97 chances. The Lady Bears lost 4-0 to Rogers Heritage in the Arkansas 6A state tournament first round. Previous ranking: No.5

6. Clarksville (12-9): The Panthers were one of only three area teams to defeat Hackett. Clarksville finished second to Morrilton in Conference 4A-4 and Layla Pasley batted .493 and had 11 multi-hit games. Previous ranking: Not ranked

Booneville pitcher Lexi Franklin (2) warms up during the 3A-1 Regional finals against Lincoln at AJ Allen Park on May 9, 2022, in Greenland.
Booneville pitcher Lexi Franklin (2) warms up during the 3A-1 Regional finals against Lincoln at AJ Allen Park on May 9, 2022, in Greenland.

7. Alma (15-10): Just missed the 5A postseason with late losses to conference foe Mountain Home. Potent offense led by Makenzie Martin (batted .538) averaged 7.32 runs per game and batted .392 with runners in scoring position. Previous rank: No.4

8. Mansfield (19-8): Won the conference with an 11-1 league mark. Lost its home regional to Lavaca 1-0 which it had beaten in four previous meetings this season. Defeated Riverside 5-2 to reach the 2A state tournament second round. Previous ranking: Not ranked.

9. Southside (5-20): A lowly record but look more closely and see that the Lady Mavericks only lost to Greenwood and Northside by six runs combined. Lost in the 6A state tournament first round to Conway, 12-1. Previous ranking: Not ranked

10. Lavaca (14-10): Crowned regional champions with 1-0 win over Mansfield. It was the only time Mansfield lost when only allowing one run. Previous ranking: Not ranked

You can follow Bryant Roche on Twitter @BRocheSports and you can email him at BRoche@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Fort Smith high school softball rankings as season ends