BENTON -- It was the gamble Kent Early had to take, and he was willing to take it.

Bentonville's third consecutive Class 7A state softball championship was on the line Friday, and the Lady Tigers' coach took his chances when he opted for McKenzie Vaughan to pitch against Bentonville West instead of usual starter Cailey Cochran.

The freshman responded to the challenge as she bailed herself out of jams and pitched five scoreless innings as Bentonville claimed a 5-1 victory over its newest rival at the Benton Schools Athletic Complex. It also was the Lady Tigers' third victory in four games over the Lady Wolverines this season and their seventh in eight tries over the past two years.

"It was supposed to happen this way," Early said. "She was supposed to be in the circle, and she stepped up and did what she's always been doing. She was made for this moment, and on the biggest game, she had the biggest day.

"We just felt they had seen Cailey three times, so we decided to mix up the game plan up a little bit. McKenzie throws a little harder, so we went with her. It was a gut feeling, and sometimes as a coach, you go with the gut feeling. That's what we did."

Vaughan (6-1), who found out Tuesday she was going to be the starting pitcher, allowed 6 hits and struck out 5 while issuing 4 walks in her eighth start of the season. Her only blemish came in the sixth inning when Ryen Rassi -- another freshman -- belted a leadoff home run, her fifth of the season, over the high left-field fence.

West (25-7) had other scoring chances, including the third when the Lady Wolverines loaded the bases. Vaughan, however, answered with a strikeout to end the inning.

"It was nerve-wracking, but I knew my team had my back," Vaughan said. "I can just let them work. I was just letting them hit the ball and not trying to strike everybody out, knowing my defense had my back. I just had to hit the spots, and the balls will go to them."

Vaughan helped her own cause when she hit a bases-loaded single with two outs in the first to drive in Tymber Riley with the game's first run. Keelah Griffith then scored on a wild pitch, and Megan Crownover added an RBI single moments later to give Bentonville (30-3) a 3-0 cushion.

That was all the scoring until Riley tripled to lead off the fifth and was still there when Haley Cornell walked and Griffith belted a line drive to second baseman Alyssa Cordell. Cordell tried to complete a double play with a throw to first, but the ball eluded first baseman Anna Griffin and went into the West dugout.

The error allowed Riley to score while Hendrix advanced to third, before Morgan Nelson added an RBI single to complete Bentonville's scoring.

"Vaughan did a great job in the circle," West Coach Anthony Cantrell said. "She's going to be a good one. We left a bunch of base runners, and we had some chances to get some hits here and there. They just did a great job of getting out of it.

"Emma Wood pitched a pretty good game, and that blunder in the fifth cost us a couple of runs. She battled and has battled all year along. But anytime you get a chance to play in the last game of the year, you obviously want to win it. They just played better than us today."
