By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Forrest City and Paragould battled for seven innings Thursday in the opening game of the American Legion 'A' District Tournament at the Sports Complex.
The game was decided in one inning.
Paragould took advantage of four Forrest City errors -- three on the infield and one in the outfield -- in the bottom of the third inning to score five runs which helped seven-seeded Paragould take a 7-3 win over No. 10 Forrest City.
Paragould, already leading 1-0 going into the inning, had three hits in the inning.
Paragould advances to play second-seeded Mountian Home today at 3 p.m. while Forrest City took the field this morning in a loser's bracket game against Jonesboro.
Forrest City scored all three of their runs in the top of the sixth when Logan Knight got on base using a Paragould error and scored on Brodrick Gray's RBI double. Gray scored on Clyde Kennedy's RBI single and Kennedy completed the Forrest City scoring later in the inning.
Forrest City pitcher Colby McKennon went the distance and took the loss giving up all seven Paragould runs while allowing 10 hits and walking two. He struck out two along the way.
Paragould's Matt Posey got the win, holding Forrest City to the three runs on six hits and two walks while fanning two.
Gray and Kennedy each scored single runs for Forrest City and had the only RBIs.
Brady Duncan scored twice for Paragould while Caleb Livingston had a pair of RBIs for the winners.
Duncan scored Paragould's first run in the bottom of the second inning and scored again during the five-run third. Ryan Theilemeier, Andrew Gaskill, Erik Long and Livingston all scored during the third as well.
David Utley plated Paragould's final run in the bottom of the fifth.
Wynne 9, Newport 7
Wynne scored six runs in the fifth inning Thursday to erase a 7-2 newport lead on their way to a 9-7 win in the tournament's first round.
Newport led 4-0 after two innings.
Wynne faces top-seeded Blytheville tonight at 8:30 p.m.
Will Moore and Caleb Collier each scored twice for Wynne while Ryan Poole and Jonathan Welch scored twice for Newport.
Batesville 4, Jonesboro Fat City 1
Aaron Crossett went the distance from the mound to help Batesville to a 4-1 win over Fat City Thursday.
Crossett held Fat City to five hits.
Kyle Francis, Patrick Smith, Jeremy Burba and Justin Gude each scored single runs for Batesville.
Batesville will face the Blytheville-Wynne winner on Saturday. Fat City played Newport today in loser bracket action.
In Thursday's final game, third-seeded Searcy scored twice in the fifth inning to put away the No. 6 seeded Jonesboro Ricemen 2-1.
Searcy advances to play the Paragould-Mountain Home winner on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Derek Hamilton and Justin Haloway each walked and came around to score for Searcy.
Jarritt Reynolds went the distance on the mound for Searcy to get the win, scattering six Jonesboro hits.
Jonesboro got its lone run in the sixth when Steven Estell walked and scored. Jonesboro's Ricemen played Forrest City this morning.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
SHERWOOD -- The Forrest City (Smith) Minor League All-Stars picked up a win Thursday at the Arkansas South State Pitching Machine Tournament at Sherwood.
Forrest City used a pair of over-the-fence home runs by LaLoyd Hamilton to steamroll Beebe 16-6.
The victory brought Forrest City back Friday morning to face Pine Bluff International, who was given a first-round bye.
A win brings Smith back at 8:30 p.m. tonight and a loss gives the 5 p.m. game today.
Forrest City's Hanner All-Stars got a bye and will see first action this morning at 10 a.m., against Lakewood, a 12-5 winner over Marion Thursday.
A win brings Hanner's team back tonight at 6:45 p.m. while a loss brings the team back at 3 p.m.
The 46-team tournament is being played at Kevin McReynold's Complex.
All but one of Forrest City's starters scored runs led by Jacob Tittle, Dusty Smith, Cory Leslie and Jordan Chatters, who plated two runs each.
The game was called under the run-rule after Beebe batted in the top of the fourth inning.
The tournament will continue through Saturday.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
M&T Paving improved to 13-3 in the adult men's softball league Thursday, edging the Bulldogs 10-9.
The victory keeps M&T in third place, just ahead of Gym 2000.
The Gym 2000 team improved to 12-3 for the year Thursday night with a 14-4 win over Miller Insurance.
M&T trailed 5-2 after one inning and 9-4 after three innings.
The Bulldogs failed to score after the third inning which opened the door for M&T to score four runs in the fifth to get within one at 9-8. M&T tied the game at 9-9 in the sixth and won it with a single run in the top of the seventh. The Bulldogs went three and out in their final at bat in the bottom of the seventh.
The Young Guns held off Greg's 9-6 in other action Thursday while Sanyo stayed in second place in the league at 14-1 with an 18-10 win over TSM Computers.
Gym 2000 scored eight runs in the first inning to pave the way for their win over Miller.
Morgan rolled up Boar's Head 18-6 while Barnes Timber stayed unbeaten at 15-0 with an 11-2 win over Kerby's.
The men's league continues play next week.
The 22-team men's district tournament and the eight-team women's district will be played the weekend of July 19-21 at Forrest City.
Forrest City will host the 16-team girls' 14-under slow-pitch Class C state tournament beginning tonight at the Sports Complex.
Eight first-round games will be played tonight beginning at 7 p.m. on four fields.
Teams from all across the state are expected to compete in the double-elimination tournament which will conclude Saturday with the championship game at 7 p.m.
Forrest City, which does not field a 14-under girls league, does not have a prepresentatiove in the field but Wynne is sending two teams -- Backstreet Florist and Carter Trucking.
* CITY LEAGUES
Adult Softball
Thursday's Scores
Barnes 11, Kerby's 2
M&T Paving 10, Bulldogs 9
Morgan 18, Boar's Head 6
Young Guns 9, Greg's 6
Gym 2000 14, Miller Insurance 4
Sanyo 18, TSM Computers 10
11-Year-Old State Tournament at El Dorado Boys and Girls' Club
Friday, July 12
Wynne vs Crossett, 9 a.m. F1
Lake Village vs Dardanelle, 9:30 a.m. F2
Forrest City vs Cabot, 10 a.m. F3
Hot Springs vs LR Junior Deputy, 11 a.m. F1
West Helena vs Magnolia, 11:30 a.m. F2
Cleveland County vs N Garland Cty, 12 noon F3
Sylvan Hills vs Pine Bluff Seabrook, 1 p.m. F1
DeWitt vs Des Arc, 1:30 p.m. F2
West Memphis vs Maumelle, 2 p.m. F3
Hermitage vs Beebe, 3 p.m. F1
Russellville vs Monticello, 3:30 p.m. F2
Pine Bluff International vs Camden, 4 p.m. F3
Pottsville vs Star City, 5 p.m. F1
McGehee vs Vilonia, 5:30 p.m. F2
Dumas vs Sheridan, 6 p.m. F3
El Dorado vs Jacksonville, 8 p.m. F3