Softball Game Preview: Smackover Buckaroos vs. Ashdown Panthers

The Smackover Buckaroos are taking a road trip to face off against the Ashdown Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Smackover has ten straight victories, Ashdown has 13 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Smackover is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arkansas' top teams: Fouke, who was ranked 22nd at the time (Smackover was ranked 20th). The Buckaroos' pitcher stepped up to hand the Panthers a 3-0 shutout on Thursday.

Ava Walker

Batters Struck Out

04/10/25 vs Fouke	8
04/07/25 @ Centerpoint	8
03/17/25 vs Prescott	9
03/14/25 @ McGehee	11
03/11/25 vs Parkers Chapel	11

The result came thanks to Ava Walker's shutout, as she gave up just six hits and racked up eight Ks. She has been consistent : she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Smackover saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nataleh Goodwin, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, Ashdown fell victim to Genoa Central and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. They lost 18-0 to the Dragons.

Smackover's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Ashdown, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-10.

Smackover beat Ashdown 8-5 in their previous matchup back in March of 2020. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Buckaroos since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.