After eight Saline County teams made the semifinals in their respective state tournaments, five will be advancing to the title game in Fayetteville next week.
Benton will be sending two teams to Fayetteville as the Benton Lady Panthers soccer team topped Mountain Home 1-0 in Saturday's semifinals of the 6A State Tournament in Russellville. The Lady Panthers secured their first ever spot in a state title game and will take on the Siloam Springs Lady Panthers in a date and time to be determined (as with all title games in all sports) at Razorback Field in Fayetteville.
The Benton Panthers baseball team also will be advancing to the 6A State Tournament championship after defeating rival Sheridan Yellowjackets 7-4 in the semifinals in Greenwood. The Panthers, which were 0-3 against Sheridan in their previous three matchups, will play the Greenwood Bulldogs, which beat Jonesboro 15-0 in the semis, at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville. The Panthers last trip to Baum was in 2015 when they fell 10-9 to Sheridan.
The Bryant Lady Hornets soccer team will also go back to the title game for the first time since 2015 (when they won it) after edging the Bentonville Lady Tigers 1-0 in the 7A State Tourney semifinals Saturday in Rogers. The Lady Hornets will go up against the Rogers Lady Mounties, which defeated Southside 2-1 in the semis, at Razorback Field in Fayetteville.
The Bauxite Lady Miners will also return to the 4A State Tournament championship after getting a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Scrapperettes in Nashville on Saturday. The Lady Miners' last trip to the finals came in 2015 when they fell to Mena. Bauxite will be facing the Pottsville Lady Apaches, which beat Gravette 9-3 in the semis, in this year's championship at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.
The Harmony Grove Lady Cardinals softball team also earned a trip to the 3A State Tournament title game with a 13-3 rout over rival Glen Rose Lady Beavers Saturday in Smackover. The Lady Cardinals last won the 3A State Title in 2013 and have fallen in the state semifinals the previous four seasons, the last two to to this year's opponent in the championship game, the Rose Bud Lady Ramblers, to be played at Bogle Park.
Saline County teams losing in the semifinals on Saturday were the Benton Panthers soccer team, 2-0 to Siloam Springs in Russellville; the Bryant Lady Hornets softball team, 3-2 to Bentonville West in Cabot; and the Benton Lady Panthers softball, 1-0 to rival Sheridan in Greenwood.
For Benton High School, it's the first time all four spring sports teams made the semifinals in the 6A State Tournament in the same season.