BENTON -- Lilly Ward's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning helped White Hall (21-10) surge past Valley View 7-6 on Thursday during the first round of the Class 5A softball tournament at Everett Field.

The Lady Bulldogs, winners of three straight games, held a 3-0 lead after two innings behind a two-run double by Taylor Irvin and a run-scoring single by Maycey Langston. But Valley View (18-9) cut its deficit to 3-2 on a two-run double by Reese Riley.

White Hall extended its lead to 4-2 in the fifth following Bethany Roper's single but found itself behind in the sixth when the Lady Blazers scored four runs, led by big hits from Mackenzie Whitlock and Harlee Allison. The Lady Bulldogs scored twice off a pair of errors in the bottom of the inning and held off Valley View long enough until Ward brought the winning run home on her shot to left field.