The Woodlawn Bears and Woodlawn Lady Bears are both headed to the Class 2A state championship games after winning semifinal matchups Saturday at Palestine-Wheatley High School.
Both Woodlawn teams advanced by defeating their counterparts from Riverside High School during the state tournament semifinals, continuing strong postseason runs for the school’s athletic programs.
Weather permitting, the Bears baseball team will face the Palestine-Wheatley Patriots at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 21, at Majestic Park in Hot Springs. Palestine-Wheatley entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed from Region 3.
The appearance marks the 14th trip to the state finals for the Woodlawn baseball program, adding another chapter to one of the more established baseball traditions among smaller Arkansas schools.
Meanwhile, the Lady Bears softball team is scheduled to play the Tuckerman Lady Bulldogs at 1 p.m. Thursday at Majestic Park. Tuckerman entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed from Region 2.
The championship appearance is only the second in program history for the Lady Bears softball team. Their first trip to the state finals came in 2002 when Woodlawn advanced to the combined Class 1A/2A state fast-pitch championship game.
Woodlawn has long been recognized as one of the earlier small-school programs in Arkansas to transition from slow-pitch softball to fast-pitch competition, a move that helped establish the foundation for the current program.
The simultaneous championship appearances place both Woodlawn programs on one of the state’s biggest stages during the final week of the high school sports season.
Community support has continued to grow throughout the tournament runs as students, families and fans prepare to travel to Hot Springs for Thursday’s championship games.
The Bears and Lady Bears each entered the postseason facing strong competition through regional and state tournament play before advancing to the finals. Their victories Saturday guaranteed Woodlawn representation in both the baseball and softball championship games in Class 2A.
Majestic Park in Hot Springs has become a regular destination for Arkansas state championship events and is expected to host teams and fans from across the state throughout championship week.
Both championship games are scheduled for Thursday, weather permitting.
