Fresh off winning their first 7A-Central game of the season Tuesday, the Northside Lady Bears wanted more.

On Wednesday, they did just that, picking up two more conference wins.

Behind a big day at the plate from several players, most notably sophomore Jazz Coleman, the Lady Bears got a doubleheader sweep against Mount St. Mary at Grizzly Field a day after winning at Little Rock Central.

In the opening game Wednesday, Coleman hit two home runs to help the Lady Bears to a 14-9 win. Coleman homered again in the second game, as Northside went on to a 12-4 win.

“I just had to do what I had to do, to try to get the runs going and to try to keep the team going so they could get more energy,” Coleman said.

Coleman’s first home run in the opening game took place in the bottom of the third and Northside trailing 4-3. She hit a drive down the right field line which got into the corner, and Coleman was able to round the bases and complete an inside-the-park homer.

That also got the Lady Bears going, as they went on to score four more runs that inning in taking a 7-4 lead.

After MSM scored twice in the top of the fourth to cut the Northside lead to a run, Coleman led off the bottom of the fourth and launched a solo shot over the wall in center.

“When she came from basketball, she was a little rusty; her batting average was about .150 or .180, so I kept her out of the lineup for the first couple of games,” Northside coach Kelly Nickell said. “Then with some key injuries, I put her back in the lineup and she has just dominated since she’s been in.


“Her batting average has gone from .400 to .600. ... She gets better and better as time goes on and she has such a smooth swing.”

Coleman nearly had her third home run in the opening game, as she hit a drive to deep left in the sixth. The ball fell short of the wall, but it still was good enough for an RBI triple, extending Northside’s lead to six runs, 14-8.

For the game, Coleman was 4-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs scored. Freshman Chloe Ray also went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs.

“We’ve been working on Chloe’s swing. ... We saw a couple of mechanical issues with her swing and we’ve been really working on that,” Nickell said. “Ever since, she’s been really focused on her swing and I’ve seen an improvement in the last two games with Central and Mount St. Mary.”

Nickell has also had to adjust her lineup due to injuries. Senior Jaleyia Perry recently sprained her ankle, but continued to play defense at shortstop. Then in Tuesday’s win at Central, sophomore right fielder Hailey Upton suffered an ACL injury, and is out for the season.

Upton was also the team’s lead-off hitter, so Nickell inserted freshman Hannah Entrekin into that spot. Entrekin ended up going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.

“It’s part of the game, everyone has injuries,” Nickell said. “But good teams can overcome that and I think we did that (Wednesday).”


Olivia Williams and Sydney Green also had three-hit games. Green was the winning pitcher, striking out seven in seven complete innings.

Northside 12, Mount St. Mary 4

GAME 2 — The Lady Bears, who were designated the visiting team in the second game, got things started with six runs in the top of the first. Meegan Jones had an RBI triple, while Ray, Green, Williams and Entrekin each had RBI singles.

After the Belles scored two in the bottom half of the first, Coleman came up leading off the top of the second and delivered her third homer of the day, a shot which cleared the wall in left center.

?(MSM pitcher Paige West) was a good pitcher, and I just had to keep my leg back and do what my coach says and just swing all the way through,” Coleman said.

Northside went on to build a 9-2 advantage in the third and added three more runs in the fifth. The game was called after six innings.

Williams ended up going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Maddy Worden was 3-for-3, and Entrekin was 3-for-5.

Green struck out five batters in six innings to win both ends of the doubleheader.

Northside continues 7A-Central play next Tuesday with a game at Conway.