By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City Lady Mustangs run-ruled the Little Rock Central Lady Tigers 20-5 Tuesday in a tune-up slow-pitch softball game at the Sports Complex.
Saturday, at Pine Bluff's Region Park, the two teams will meet in a more meaningful game -- a first-round match up in the Region 4 Tournament.
Forrest City is the No. 1 seeded team into the Regionals from the 6AAAAA-East Conference while Central is the fourth-seeded team from the 5AAAAA.
At stake is a berth into the state tournament, which begins on May 5 at Izard County.
After spotting the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning Tuesday, Forrest City went ahead 6-0 in the bottom half of the inning.
The inning was highlighted by a two-run triple by Kimberly Hoots, who came around to score after an overthrow by the Lady Tigers.
FCity increased that lead to 10-1 after two innings.
Central scored four times in the top of the third inning to cut the Lady Mustangs' lead to 10-5.
Forrest City ended it in the bottom of third by sending 14 batters to the plate to score 10 runs ending the game under the run-rule provision.
The inning was highlighted by Leslie Jayroe's two-RBI double and Rachel Sims' run-scoring double.
Jayroe and Jessica Long led the Lady Mustangs offensively by scoring three runs each.
Tyeshia McDaniel, Kimberly Hoots, Jessica Lewis and Kanetra Pendleton crossed home plate twice while Katie Murry, Kannisha Aldridge, Krystal Weaver and Sims scored one run each.
The Lady Mustangs junior varsity lost in three innings 25-2 to the Central JV.
Up next for the Lady Mustangs, 9-5 overall for the year, will host Little Rock McClellan on Thursday in the final regular season game.
The Lady Mustangs and Little Rock Central will play at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, April 28.
The top two teams from regional advance to state.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Jonesboro's Neil York worked six strong innings Tuesday, scattering nine Forrest City hits to help lead the Hurricane past the Mustangs 5-3 in AAAAA-East Conference baseball action at the Sports Complex.
Brian Skaug hurled the seventh to nail down the win.
The victory leaves the Hurricane at 4-7 in the league and still in contention for postseason play.
Forrest City falls to 5-14 for the year and 2-10 in the league. The Mustangs have a doubleheader left to play next Tuesday against Cabot.
Sylvan Hills continues to lead the East conference at 10-1.
Marcus Hancock went the distance for the Mustangs against Jonesboro, allowing the five runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out five along the way.
Jonesboro opened a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when Joe Sugg connected for a one-out single and came around to score.
The Hurricane made it a 2-0 game in the fourth when Drew Merryman used a Forrest City error to get on base and eventually came around to score.
Forrest City stranded four baserunners through the first three innings, but finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut Jonesboro's lead to 2-1.
Drew Vaccaro led off with a bloop single and was replaced by pinch-runner Brad Taylor. Logan Knight's sacrifice bunt moved Taylor to second. Mark Lewis followed with a single and caused a Jonesboro throwing error after being caught momentarilly in a run-down between first and second.
That allowed Taylor to round third, drawing the throw to third base, which sailed into left field. Taylor scampered home to score.
Jonesboro made it 3-1 in the top of the sixth when Merryman tripled to start the inning and scored on Doug Brimhall's RBI single.
Forrest City threatened in the bottom of the sixth when Daffy Norment used a one-out error to get on base. Dustin Gore singled and Vaccaro's two-out single appeared to have scored Norment. Norment's run was taken away and the inning ended when he was called out after the home plate umpire ruled he missed touching third base.
Jonesboro added two more runs in the top of the seventh when Brimhall and Sugg each scored on Forrest City miscues.
Forrest City got a lead-off single by Knight in the bottom of the seventh, who was replaced by runner Brian McKissick. That forced the Jonesboro pitching change.
Lewis reached base on a Jonesboro error and Brandon Cochran's sacrfice fly brought in McKissick to cut the Hurricane lead to 5-2. Lewis scored from third on Will Harris base hit before Danny Flowers and Norment made the final two outs of the game.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
JONESBORO--The Annie Camp Whirlwinds walked away with the AAAAA-East Junior District boy's title Tuesday at Cooksey-Johns Field in Jonesnoro, but the Forrest City Blue and White Junior Mustangs made it interesting.
Annie Camp won the title by scoring 132 points. The Blue Mustangs ran second with 93 points and the White Mustangs took third with 66 points.
Chavelle Wilson brought home the high point award, scoring 33 points for the Blue Mustangs.
Wilson won the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.3. Anthony Smith of the White Mustangs was second in a time of 11.5. Donta Nash finished sixth and Kawon Deshon ran seventh.
Goldie Hicks won the 200-meter dash finishing with a time of 24.4 for the White team. Wilson was second at 24.6 and Nash was fourth and Smith was sixth.
Forrest City Blue's Lee Bonner ran fifth in the 400-meter dash. Roy Parker ran seventh, Tremaine Collins finished eighth and Justin Jones was ninth.
The White team ran third using Nash, Anthony Smith, Andre Johnson and Hicks.
In the 800-meter run, Markee Ervin ran sixth and Quinton Hamilton ran seventh while Greg Watson was eighth. Nash, Smith, Johnson and Hicks ran the 800-meter relay for the White team and finished third.
The Blue Mustangs won both the 400-meter and the 800-meter relays.
Deshon, Wilson, Andrew Embry and Kenyaetae Chism teamed for the 400-meter victory in 46.1 while Deshon, Chism, Leo Drone and Wilson made the winning 800-meter team.
Collins, Chism, Embry and Bonner finished third in the mile relay while the White team of Jones, Tim Patton, Hicks and Nash finished fourth.
The Blue Mustangs used Ervin, Dexter Freeman, Collins and Bonner in the 3,200-meter relay and finished second.
Wilson picked up a first place finish in the high jump, clearing the bar at five feet, six inches. Ervin was second with a jump of five feet, four inches.
Smith gave the White Mustangs a win in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, one inch while Chism finished second at 18 feet and Nash was fourth at 17 feet, nine inches. Parker was fifth and Ervin was ninth.
Jeremy Holmes of the White team finished third in the shot with a throw of just over 41 feet. Collins finished eighth in the event.
Embry was second in the discus at 116 feet while Terrance Cook finished sixth and Holmes ninth. The Blue Mustangs won four events and had five second place finishes while the White Mustangs picked up two first-place ribbons, one second, four third-place finishes and two fourth place.
"To tell you the truth, I was not expecting a second-place finish," said Blue Mustang Coach Chuck Sartin. "But everything played out for us just like I had told the kids all season that it would."
In the junior girls' division, the Annie Camp Lady Whirlwinds rolled to the district title by scoring 168 points.
Jonesboro MacArthur finished second with 141 points while West Memphis East was third with 48 points.
The Forrest City White Junior Lady Mustangs held on to finish in a tie for fifth-place with West Memphis Wonder while the Blue Junior Lady Mustangs finished eighth.
The White Lady Mustangs got a first-place finish from Emily Harris in the discus with a throw of 75 feet, 10 inches. Precious Wilson of Blytheville East was second at 72 feet, four inches. Mary Jo Hymes was 18th in the event while Mary Dudley finished 21st.
Jessica Perkins finished sixth in the 100-meter dash and ran third in the 200-meter dash. Tasha Mills was 18th, Neeley Parker was 20th and Donna McKnight ran 21st.
Harris was fourth in the shot.
MacArthur's Aquasha Anderson won the high point award by winning the 100, 200 and 400-meter races.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
CABOT--It took a one-hole playoff to determine the Class AAAAA state golf title Tuesday at Cabot's Greystone Country Club.
Conway's Scotty Campbell hit three perfect shots to win the championship over Van Buren's Zane Black.
Campbell fired a two-over-par 74 to tie Black after 18 holes.
Campbell's tee shot left him just 100 shy of the pin on the playoff hole. His second shot came to rest six feet from the hole and he made the short birdie putt to end his year undefeated. Black needed two shots to get on the green but three-putted for bogey.
It was Campbell's fifth victory this season. The sophomore won at Benton, Harrison, earlier at Greystone and at Conway.
Josh Ferrell of Springdale finished with two others with scores of 75. Jonesboro's Matt Sullivan was eighth in the final standings with a 77.
Forrest City's state qualifier, Chad Halbert, a 14-year-old freshman, finished with a 102 in his first taste of state tournament competition.
After shooting in the low 90s during Monday's practice round, Halbert finished with a 45 on the front nine before running into putting problems on the back nine Tuesday.
Halbert shot a 90 last week at the AAAAA-East conference tournament to qualify for the state tournament.
Cabot won the team title with a 311 while North Little Rock finished second at 317 and Jonesboro held on for third with a score of 320.
The Panthers have won the team title the past five years. They were led by Matt Malham's 75 and Tyler Yazza's 76.
The AAAAA-East girls' conference tournament is next Tuesday at Greystone.