ASHDOWN, Ark.—Ashdown won’t have the best record among all the softball teams in Saturday’s state finals at Fayetteville. In fact, the Lady Panthers’ 23-11 mark might be the least impressive in the tournament.

However, compiling that record is the primary reason the Panthers will play Highland for the Class 4A championship at noon Saturday, according to Wylie Cunningham, the only head coach in Ashdown’s 11-year softball history.

“We’re never going to be ranked because we’re going to lose eight to ten games a year because of our schedule,” Cunningham said. “It’s made up ...