By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
MARION -- Forrest City's Lady Mustang softball team didn't win the Marion Invitational Tournament, played Friday and Saturday at Marion, but the girls did end a 13-game slide with a win in pool play.
The Lady Mustangs defeated R.A.G. 11-0 on Saturday to finish their tournament stay at 1-4.
Wynne defeated Tipton Rosemark 3-0 to win the tournament title while Marion finished third by defeating White Station 10-0.
Coach Amber Main noted the one major positive the team brought back from the tournament was the 50 base hits the team had in the five games.
"Hitting the ball is something we haven't been doing a lot of so to get that many hits in the tournament, even though we only had one win, is a huge positive for the girls," Main said.
And rightly so. The Lady Mustangs have two big conference games this week beginning with Sylvan Hills today and Jonesboro on Thursday.
Both are Forrest City home game at the Sports Complex.
Friday's scheduled nonconference game against Wynne has been cancelled due to the high school prom.
Eleven teams began pool play at Marion on Friday with the Lady Mustangs in Pool A with Marion, White Station and FACS, a private Tennessee school.
FACS won Friday's opener 11-3 over the Lady Mustangs, pounding out 17 hits.
Holly Simon, Stacey Gracey and Jamie Ballard accounted for the three Forrest City runs -- all in the fifth inning.
Returning to play Saturday, Marion handed the Lady Mustangs a 12-7 loss, even though Forrest City had 12 base hits in the game.
Marion led 8-1 after one inning but managed just four more runs over the final five innings.
Ballard, Mallory Nelson, Alicia Kennedy, Kim Hoots, Tyeshia McDaniel and Jessica Long each scored for Forrest City with Hoots crossing home plate twice in the game.
The Lady Mustangs played White Station (Memphis) close, losing 7-6 in the final pool game.
The Lady Mustangs led 5-0 after one inning with runs by Ballard, Simon, Gracey, Hoots and Kennedy and pushed that lead to 6-0 with a single run in the second.
White Station scored four in the bottom of the second, cutting Forrest City's lead to 6-4 and then added three runs in the bottom of the third to win the game.
The Lady Mustangs finally broke through in the first game of the consolation pool Saturday afternoon by shutting out Raleigh-Egypt 11-0 in four innings, ending a 13-game slide.
Before the win over Raleigh, Forrest City's last victory had come on March 6.
Simon and Hoots each scored three times in the win while Mallory Nelson and Rachael Sims scored two runs each. Ballard added a single run.
The Lady Mustangs ended the day with a 7-6 loss to Blytheville, in which a seventh-inning ralley fell just short.
Angela Williams scored twice for Forrest City in the final game.
Forrest City stands at 3-15 overall for the year.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Little Rock Mills pitching held the Forrest City Mustangs to just six runs on 11 hits Friday in a AAAAA-East Conference doubleheader played at the Sports Complex.
The latest losses leave the Mustangs at 3-11 overall and 0-8 in the conference and probably out of the state playoff picture with six league games remaining.
Mills broke a 1-1 tie after two innings in the first game to take a 5-3 win.
The Comets scored single runs in the third and fourth innings and two in the sixth.
Dustin Gore, Danny Flowers and Marcus Hancock scored single runs for the Mustangs. Hancock took the loss on the mound, giving up the five Mills' runs on nine hits and four walks.
Gore had three of Forrrest City's seven base hits -- two singles and a double.
In the nightcap, the Mustangs led 2-1 after one inning when Brandon Cochran and Dustin Gore each scored.
The Comets rallied for five runs in the second inning, using five base hits and two walks.
Mills added single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings while holding Forrest City to just one more single run in the sixth, when Gore collected hit fifth hit in six plate appearances, a single. Gore would work his way around to score later in the inning.
Brad Taylor got the pitching start for the Mustangs in the second game and lasted two innings before giving way to Colby McKennon in the bottom of the third.
Taylor was charged with giving up six of Mills' nine runs on five hits and four walks.
McKennon finished out the game, allowing three more runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five.
The Mustangs will travel to eighth-ranked Sylvan Hills on Thursday for a varsity conference doubleheader, beginning at 4 p.m.
The Forrest City American Legion baseball program will hold player tryouts, Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21.
The tryouts, open to youths 16-18, will be held at the Sports Complex in Forrest City and will begin at 12 noon on Saturday and at 1 p.m., on Sunday.
Anyone interested in playing American Legion baseball is encouraged to attend the tryouts, according to new Legion coach Darrell Gaskin.
Players need to bring their gloves and dress appropriately for the tryouts.
"I'd like to have about 40 good prospects to choose from for our A and AAA teams," Gaskin said. "We would like to pull players from Forrest City, Palestine, Hughes, Marianna and Brinkley."
Forrest City will open its Legion season on Saturday, May 18 with a home game against Newport.
"It will take a big commitment on the part of the players," Gaskin said. "We are going to play in excess of 50 games this summer, maybe a few more, if possible."
For more information call Gaskin at 633-7614 or Scott McKennon at 633-2052.
* PREP SPORTS
FAST PITCH SOFTBALL
Friday's Score
Humphrey vs P-W
Marion Tournament - Pool Play
Friday's Score
FACS 11, Forrest City 3
Saturday's Scores
Marion 12, Forrest City 7
White Station (Memphis) 7, Forrest City 6
Consolation Pool
Forrest City 11, Raleigh-Egypt 0
Blytheville 7, Forrest City 6
Championship Game
Wynne 3, Tipton Rosemark 0
Consolation Game
Marion 10, White Station 0
Monday, April 15
Sylvan Hills at Forrest City, 4 p.m.
Gillett at P-W, 4 p.m.
SLOW PITCH SOFTBALL
Tuesday, April 16
Hughes at Osceola, 4 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
Friday's Scores
Little Rock Mills 5, Forrest City 3 (G1)
Little Rock Mills 9, Forrest City 3 (G2)
Monday, April 15
P-W at Gillett, 4 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK
FCity at Lady Hurricane Relays - Jonesboro
(Junior Girls/Senior Girls)