By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
FORREST CITY -- The bleeding continued for the Forrest City Mustangs Tuesday afternoon.
Blytheville put up a "baker's dozen" runs in a scheduled AAAAA-East Conference game against the Mustangs and cruised to a 13-3 victory at the Sports Complex.
Scoring a dozen runs in the last two games wasn't enough for Blytheville -- which lost both.
Against the Mustangs, the Chickasaws added one more run and this time made it stand to win the game called under the run-rule provision after five innings.
Chickasaw starting pitcher, Chris Smith (2-1) pitched four solid innings and then gave way to relievers Kyle Thaxton and Brice Beck, who finished up as Blytheville ended the game after six innings to improve to 8-7 overall and 3-5 in the conference.
For the Chicks, who are still in the running for a state tournament berth, Tuesday's win was "a must for the team."
Smith hand-cuffed the Mustangs, allowing just two hits and walking only one batter, while striking out four and retiring the Forrest City side in order in three of the four innings.
Forrest City scored two runs in the third inning and added their third and final run off a Blytheville error.
In a scary play, Smith was taken out before the fifth inning after being struck in the head while at the plate. The pitch broke the ear hole on his helmet, but he was unhurt.
Blytheville plated two runs in the first inning when David Humphrey walked, stole second, moved to third on a ground out to second by Smith and scored on an infield hit by Joel Huffman. He scored on a two-out line drive up the middle.
The Chicks added two runs in the second after two walks, an RBI single and an infield fly out.
A hit batter, an RBI single and a two-run throwing error by Forrest City pitcher David Machen allowed Blytheville to push four more runs across the plate in the second inning. Machen's error came with the bases loaded.
The Mustangs' got on the scoreboard in the third inning with two runs using a one-out walk, a triple and a throwing error at short.
They added an unearned run in the fifth, and the game ended in the sixth when Beck pitched around two hits.
Left fielder Logan Rebstock made a fine running catch and ended the game with a perfect relay to shortstop and then home for the final out at the plate.
The Mustangs will host Brinkley Friday at 4:30 p.m., at the Sports Complex.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
OSCEOLA -- Rich Trail and Stan Siler aren't 100 percent certain, but they think their Forrest City Junior Mustang track team finished in the top three Wednesday at Osceola.
Seems there was a glitch in the school's system for keeping up with times and point totals. That left the coaches guessing and using their own devices to keep up with the scoring process.
What Trail and Siler do know for sure, is that they liked what they saw Wednesday from their Junior Mustang team.
It was the first meet of the season for the Forrest City junior boys track team. The meet attracted about a dozen junior high boys teams. The Forrest City junior girls did not run.
Trail and Siler are co-coaching the team since the school has returned to the one-team format at the junior high level for the track season.
"With just one team, we have more athletes and that's good," Trail said. "Sometimes you lose a few along the way for different reasons."
With 30 kids dressed out, Forrest City had an entry in every event Wednesday except the pole vault. And the Junior Mustangs scored points in every event except the hurdles.
"We are excited about that," Trail said. "We have some kids this year who are fired up about the season and we have a solid core of returning kids from last season who will help set the pace for us."
Trail said last year, the track teams struggled to put up points in the field and long distance running events. That has changed this season.
"We actually have kids who want to run the longer races," Trail said. "And we scored some points in the discus and the shot put yesterday."
Returning from last year are Cory Embry, Andre Stevens, Richard Flenory, Otha Hall, Ronnie Armstrong and Curtis Anderson.
Flenory and Hall finished third and fourth in the discus while Stevens ran third in the mile run. Eric Walker was first in the high jump and fifth in the long jump while Chris Barrett placed in the 400-meter run.
The Forrest City relay teams finished in a tie for first in the 2-mile relay, third in the 400-meter relay and fourth in the mile relay. Embry finished in a tie for first in the 100-meter run.
The Junior Mustangs will next compete at the West Memphis meet, scheduled for Thursday, April 10.
The Forrest City senior Mustangs will run today at Osceola.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Arkansas Concrete 12-year-old traveling youth baseball team ran its season record to 9-0 over the weekend.
The Arkansas Concrete team won four games to win their second tournament of the season, bringing home the trophy from the Drew Lawrence Memorial Tournament, played at Collierville, Tenn.
Arkansas Concrete won the Mudcat Invitational played at Covington earlier this month.
At Collierville, the team, comprised of players from Forrest City, Newport, marianna and Brinkley, opened the tournament's pool play with a 7-4 victory over the Germantown Sox.
They downed the Midsouth Crusaders 8-5 in the second game and then defeated the Collierville Patriots 6-3 to set up the championship game -- a rematch against the Patriots -- a game they won easily 13-4.
In the finals, Raymond Patillo, Jameson Weaver, Joey Bonds, Brent DeVazier, Price Holmes and Barrett Astin, each scored two runs.
Arkansas Concrete is scheduled to compete in the upcoming USSSA NIT tournament to be played at West Memphis in early May.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
HUGHES -- The Hughes Blue Devils ran into a buzz saw Wednesday in the form of Bay Yellowjacket pitcher, Robby Bollinger.
Bollinger hurled a one-hitter against the Blue Devils as Bay cruised to a 20-0 victory over Hughes Wednesday in high school baseball.
Hughes falls to 0-5 for the year and have been outscored 74-to-12 in those five losses.
Bay's Michael Nix had two hits, four RBIs and scored four runs to lead Bay. Brett Hogan added a solo homer and scored three times for the Yellowjackets (7-3).
Bollinger (2-0) struck out four in the five-inning game.
Hughes will host Riverside, Friday, April 4, for a conference match beginning at 4 p.m.
Charles Freeman of Forrest City, sank a hole-in-one on March 22, at the Forrest City Country Club.
Using a six-iron, Freeman aced the 167-yard fifth hole.
Freeman was playing in a foursome with John Lee Johnson, Larry Freeman and Dennis Harris.
Three days later, on March 25, playing at Western Hills Country Club in Little Rock, Forrest City Mustang Basketball Coach Dwight Lofton recorded his first-ever hole-in-one, acing the 156-yard second hole on the course, using a six-iron.