By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
BRINKLEY -- The Forrest City Mustangs went down for the 15th consecutive time this season on Tuesday, but they went down fighting.
And with four games left -- all AAAAA-East Conference matchups -- the Mustangs showed they are not yet ready to be someone else's patsies.
With no hope of making the state tournament cut, Forrest City will be on a mission in the final four games to put up a "W" in the win column.
Trailing 9-3 going into the top of the seventh inning Tuesday at Brinkley, the Mustangs scored three runs in their last at-bat before finally falling 9-6. Preston Echols went down swinging for the game-ending out with two runners on -- which could have made it a one-run game had Forrest City been able to bring the two runs home. Tuesday's win at Brinkley Park gave the Tigers a sweep in their home-and-home nonconference series against the Mustangs.
Brinkley has already nailed down third place in the 6AAA Conference and are headed into the Class AAA regional tournament which starts Saturday, April 26, at Burns Park in North Little Rock.
The Mustangs stranded 10 runners in the game and scored their six runs on just eight hits off Tiger starting pitcher Dustin Freeman, who picked up the win.
Freeman, a lanky 6-0 sophomore kept the Mustangs off stride with his sweeping, sidearm fast ball. He fanned eight Forrest City players, including three straight in the top of the fifth inning to quiet a potential Mustang rally.
Trailing 6-2, Forrest City loaded the bases in the fifth when Terrence Ware used a Tiger error to get on base, Echols singled to center and Danny Flowers walked. Freeman then fanned David Machen, Rashad Williams and Catfish Hankins to get out of the jam.
Sophomore third baseman Justin Corbin provided what would be the game-winning cushion in the bottom of the fifth when he sent a wind-aided two-out, three-run, home run over the short left field fence off Ware, who had replaced Flowers, the Forrest City starter on the mound. Corbin's homer put Brinkley on top 9-2.
The Mustangs fought for a run in the top of the sixth, scoring Chris Autry on an RBI single by Echols, to cut the Tigers' lead to 9-3.
Senior outfielder Roger Privett accounted for four of Brinkley's runs, driving in four runs with a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the first inning and then delivering an RBI sacrifice ground out in the fifth.
Flowers, who took the loss, gave up six runs on four hits.
Forrest City led briefly when Flowers brought in Ware with an RBI double after Ware walked to open the game. Princeton Davis scored twice to lead the Mustangs run production.
The Mustangs were coming off an 11-1 conference loss to Searcy on Friday.
Up next for Forrest City is a nonconference game at Barton on Thursday before ending the season with conference games at Jonesboro and hosting Searcy and Cabot.
*Palestine-Wheatley Coach Dan Cockrell coached what may have been his final game Tuesday as the Patriots hosted Gillett for a conference doubleheader.
Cockrell has already submitted his resignation, effective at the end of the current school year, which has been accepted and approved by the Palestine-Wheatley School Board.
Cockrell said he is going to complete his college education and plans to attend the University of Central Arkansas in the fall.
"Right now, I'm going to to just be in the classroom," Cockrell said. "I've tried coaching and for now I've decided that is not what I want to do. I'm not ruling out a return to coaching, but for now I'm content just to teach."
The Patriots lost both games Tuesday, the first by a final of 12-3.
On Monday, the Patriots lost 19-10 to Barton and last week P-W was shut out 24-0 by Clarendon.
The Patriots are winless for the year at 0-9.
*Meanwhile the Hughes Blue Devils won their first games of the year last Friday when they swept Turrell in a conference doubleheader at Hughes.
The Blue Devils fell to Bay Monday and concluded their regular season Tuesday with a 17-5 loss to Marked Tree.
Hughes finishes at 2-9 and will begin 3AA South district tournament play Saturday at Marked Tree.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
And the ride continues for Forrest City Arkansas Concrete.
The 12-year-old youth traveling team rolled through the Super Pretzel Shootout last weekend played at Southaven, Miss., winning five games on their way to the tournament championship.
Arkansas Concrete improves to 14-0 and has won three consecutive tournament titles already this season.
Concrete has won the Covington Mudcat Invitational and the Drew Lawrence Memorial tournament played at Collierville.
At Southaven, the Concrete team opened pool play with a 5-4 win over the Germantown Sox in which Concrete did all their scoring in the first inning.
Baker Aldridge, Turner Norsworthy, Ray Patillo, Jameson Weaver and Brent DeVazier each scored single runs.
On Saturday, the team downed the Tennessee Giants 4-0 led by Norsworthy's two runs. A 9-0 shutout win over the Memphis Saints put the team into Sunday's championship round. Against Memphis, the team scored three times in the second inning and six times in the third, paced by two runs each from Weaver, Price Holmes and Barrett Astin. A four-run second inning helped the team to an 8-2 semifinal victory over the Germantown Sox. Weaver and Joey Bonds scored two runs each in the game while DeVazier was 3-for-3 at the plate and scored one run.
Arkansas Concrete won the tournament title by downing the Mudcat team from Brighton, Tenn., 9-5.
The Mudcats led briefly 1-0 before Arkansas Concrete plated four runs in the second inning as Bonds, DeVazier, Holmes and Astin each scored. They added two runs in the third and finished the deal with a three-run fifth. Weaver, Bonds and DeVazier each finished the game by scoring two runs each.
Both teams were unbeaten going into the finals.
Twelve teams competed in the tournament with Arkansas Concrete being the only team from Arkansas.
The team is coached by Greg Bonds, Tommy Norsworthy and John Aldridge.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Missing two of their five varsity members, the Forrest City Mustang golf team competed as individuals Tuesday rather than a team in a tri-match played at Jonesboro.
Two Mustang seniors, Josh Coleman and Jake Wade, were involved in the Top 10 Banquet held Tuesday night.
Jonesboro stayed unbeaten for the year by turning back Batesville 303 to 331 as all three schools played an 18-hole format instead of the normal nine-hole card.
"It was our first time this season to play 18," said Forrest City Coach Tommy Wheetley. "And we needed to do that to get ready for postseason play."
Brian Hacker led the Mustangs with a round of 83, 11 strokes over the par 72 course for 18 holes. Sawyer Ramsey finished with a 91 while John Scott Carroll carded a 102.
Jonesboro's Willie Little earned the medalist honor with a round of 73.
Forrest City will host Searcy Thursday for conference matches at Forrest City Country Club and will host West Memphis on Monday.
The Hughes Lady Blue Devil slow-pitch softball team will play at Marked Tree today.
The Lady Blue Devils are 0-3 for the year, following recent losses to Cross County and a 12-8 setback against McCrory on Monday.
Hughes loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning with two outs but couldn't get the runs across in the McCrory loss with a line drive out ended the threat.
Hughes has five games remaining on the schedule.
JONESBORO -- Jonesboro broke open a tight game with a five-run, sixth inning to take a 7-1 victory over West Memphis in AAAAA-East Conference baseball action at Woodland Field Tuesday.
Jonesboro (15-5, 8-1) kept pace with Cabot and Mountain Home in the race for the East conference title.
All three teams have one loss and Jonesboro finishes with doubleheaders against the co-leaders, along with a single game against Forrest City.
The Blue Devils are 4-11 overall and 2-7 in the East.
Jonesboro will host Forrest City on Tuesday, April 22. Forrest City is winless in the AAAAA-East.