By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Rain washed away the 6AA district softball tournament Monday at Hazen.
The one-day qualifying tournament for regional play has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 26.
The tournament will begin at 4 p.m. at Hazen.
The Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots will play at 7 p.m., against the Elaine-Carlisle winner.
The tournament championship game will be played at 8:30 p.m.
The Lady Patriots are 10-1 overall for the year and won their side of the conference -- which was split into East and West divisions.
The top four teams from the 6AA district will advance to Saturday's Region 3 Tournament to be played at Pocahontas, where they will face the top four teams from the 3AA-North, which includes Brookland, Corning, Hoxie, Pocahontas and Highland.
Last year, the Lady Patriots finished third at the district tournament, losing to Cross County 10-9 in a loser's semifinal game.
Advancing to regional play, the Lady Patriots defeated Bradford and Barton before losing to McCrory in the tournament finals, but still made the Class AA state tournament cut.
The team lost to Cedarville 11-1 in the first round.
The Forrest City Mustangs and Lady Mustangs will be in action today at the Sports Complex.
The Mustangs will host Jonesboro today for a varsity-junior varsity AAAAA-East game at 4 p.m.
Forrest City defeated Jonesboro 11-8 in 11 innings two weeks ago.
The Mustangs, who have been eliminated from postseason play, will host the Cabot Panthers next week in a season ending doubleheader.
Forrest City is 5-13 overall and 2-9 in the league.
The Lady Mustangs will host Little Rock Central today at 4 p.m. for a varsity-junior varsity doubleheader.
The Lady Mustangs have one regular season game left to play -- against Little Rock McClellan on Thursday -- before beginning Region 4 Tournament Saturday at Region Park in Pine Bluff.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City Junior High boys and girls track teams will take part in the AAAAA-East District Meet today at Jonesboro.
For the first time, Forrest City is sending two junior boys' teams and two junior girls' teams into the competition.
A year ago, the Junior Mustangs finished fourth in the conference meet while the Junior Lady Mustangs finished eighth.
The Blue Junior Mustangs are coached by Chuck Sartin and the White Junior Mustangs are coached Stan Siler.
Gwen Franklin coaches the Blue Junior Lady Mustangs and Karen Carrier coaches the White team.
6AA District Reset
The 6AA District Meet, which was scheduled for today at Wynne's Yellowjacket Stadium, has been pushed back to Thursday, April 26, according to officials at Wynne.
The 6AA meet includes the Palestine-Wheatley junior and senior high boys' track teams.
The Palestine-Wheatley girls are not scheduled to compete.
AAAAA-East Conference
The Forrest City Mustangs and Lady Mustangs will take part in the AAAAA-East Conference Meet which will be run Thursday at West Memphis.
The Mustangs are the thre-time defending conference meet champions.
A fast-pitch softball clinic will be held on Saturday, May 12, at the Forrest City Sports Complex from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The clinic is open to all participants, ages eight and up and will be conducted by former NCAA Division I coach Rose Kalisak.
The clinic will focus on the basics of hitting, bunting, base running and pitching.
Registration will be held the morning of the clinic beginning at 8:30 a.m. and the cost per person is $10. Participants are encouraged to bring a sack lunch with them.
For more information about the clinic, call Bill Baxter at (870) 633-0780 or Karen McQuirt at (870) 633-8537.
A coaches clinic will be held Friday, May 11, at the FCHS athletic complex from 7 until 10 p.m.
The third annual AYAA state youth track and field pentathlon will be held Saturday, April 28, at 1 p.m., at Cabot's Panther Stadium.
The event is open to athletes from kindergarten through the eighth grade and will offer several events.
For more information, contact AYAA Director John McGee at (501) 855-0620. Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m., and the meet fee is $4 per entrant.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Palestine youth softball and baseball program will hold one more final "Sign-Up Saturday, according to program director Mark Main.
The final day to register for T-Ball League (ages 4-7); Little League (ages 8-12); Pony League (ages 13-15) or for girls' softball, ages 8-15, will be Saturday, May 5, from 9 a.m. until 12 noon, at Palestine City Hall.
Registration fees are $25 for one child and $40 for two or more in the same family.
The girls' softball league will be affiliated with the Brinkley League and games will be played at Brinkley and other sites, including Palestine.
The softball league is divided into two age groups, 8-12 and 13-15.
A mandatory coaches meeting will be held at 1 p.m., following the May 5 final sign up date.
Main said the league will start play on May 22.
For more info, call Main at 581-2948, 240-7312 or 633-7986
Meanwhile, the Forrest City youth baseball and softball league program is set to begin play on Tuesday, May 1.
All games will be played at the Sports Complex.
by FRED CONLEY
Believe it or not, there are people in the Forrest City-Palestine-Wheatley area who have never seen Erica Smith play a basketball game.
I'm glad I'm not one of them.
Those who have never watched Erica drive the paint for one of her soft layups or hit an effortless three pointer or break down a defender off the dribble or orchestrate the fast-break, which more often than not ends with her patented behind-the-back pass to a trailing teammate for the finishing layup, do not know what they have been missing.
Erica Smith is the real deal.
Since getting into the sports writing business in the 1980s, I have had the opportunity to watch many outstanding high school basketball players who went on to attain greater heights at the college level.
But I can say without hesitation and without reservation, that Erica Smith is the the best high school basketball player -- male or female -- that I have ever had the pleasure to watch play the game.
Erica is a human highlight reel. The things she does on the basketball court makes you want to see it over and over again.
She is what the game of basketball is all about. She makes the game of basketball fun to watch and easy to enjoy.
Even my wife, who is not what you would call a "sports enthusiast" fell under Erica's spell as well as the spell cast by the Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriot basketball program over the past three years.
Erica loves the game with an unbridled passion. Not many players I know can say that.
Last week, Erica was the unanimous and only choice, in this writer's opinion, for the Arkansas Player of the Year award, which she won Thursday. She adds this latest honor to a list of lengthy awards that she has captured during her junior and high school basketball career.
There is no doubt in my mind that as Erica ends her high school playing days and looks forward to her college playing days at Louisiana Tech, there will be countless more awards waiting for her to reach out and grab.
But back to the people who have never seen her play. Good news. You have one more chance.
Erica has one last high school game to play and that will be as an All-Star team member for the East squad.
The All-Star games will be played in Conway on the UCA campus. The drive, albeit a long one, is well worth the opportunity to see Erica one last time before she heads to Ruston, La.
And fittingly, Erica will end her high school career alongside the one person who she began hooping with -- her niece, Melanie Baker.
Erica's one and only basketball coach -- Beverly Bass, who introduced her to the game of basketball -- will coach the East squad.
Following the All-Star games, Erica and Melanie will go their own ways. Baker finds the subject difficult to talk openly about.
The two have always been together. Some have said Melanie has played in Erica's shadow for six years. I say to those, don't under-estimate Melanie's talents on the basketball court.
Individually, Melanie has her own game. Side by side, aunt and niece have the unique ability to make basketball magic.
Erica's P-W shoes likely will never be filled.
Neither will her No. 50 jersey, which is certain to be retired.
The game of basketball will continue at Palestine-Wheatley but there will never be another Erica Smith.