By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
With three regular season games and two rain out games to make up in the Bambino 11-12 League, nothing much has been settled.
The leagues' "Big Four" all posted victories Monday night which means there is very little room at the top to maneuver.
Pearson Insurance maintained it's narrow grip on the league's top spot, disposing of Vaccaro Lumber 15-5. Pearson is 8-1 for the year.
Second place, as of Monday, belongs to three teams -- Taco Bell, Wholesale Metal, Lucas Trucking -- all knotted at 7-2.
Taco Bell defeated Rideout 8-4 Monday while Wholesale Metal rolled up H&H 15-1 and Lucas shut out Houser 13-0.
The road through the remaining five games is anything but a Sunday drive.
Pearson will face Taco Bell Thursday in a key matchup. Next Monday, Lucas will hook up against Pearson and then on June 19, Wholesale and Pearson will go head-to-head.
The two make up games include a meeting between Lucas and Taco Bell, who have not yet faced each other this season. Both scheduled games between the two teams have been rained out.
Monday night, Wholesale Metal sent 13 batters to the plate in the second inning to score 10 runs to turn a 1-0 lead into an 11-0 lead.
Taco Bell led 5-0 going into the fourth inning before Rideout rallied to score twice. Taco answered with three runs in the fifth and Rideout closed out the game by scoring twice in their final at bat.
Pearson got three runs from Quinn Powell and Chance Pearson and Kemario Tucker in their win over Vaccaro.
Pearson used a big six-run third inning to move a 6-3 lead to a 12-3 cushion. Lucas got three runs from Jerome McDaniel and Bruce Hurd and scored seven runs in the second inning to post their win over Houser. Houser suffered eight strikeouts as Louis Drive took the mound for Lucas.
*In the Junior Babe Ruth League, the teams played a makeup schedule Monday and have one more rain out date to complete on Thursday.
Union Planter's stayed in control of the league when they were awarded a 1-0 forfeit win over Twillies Tigers. The win leaves Union at 7-1 for the year.
Cochran Auto, in second place at 7-2, had an easy time against Taylor Glass, winning 8-1 while Freeman improved to 6-3 for the year with a 17-11 win over Rotary Club, 1-8.
*Finally, in the Minor League, T&J Properties rolled to 9-0 for the year with a 16-0 shut out win over Giffin's Grins while JB Sports handled the Lion's Club 14-0 to improve to 7-3 for the year.
Both the 12-under and 16-under fast pitch leagues played make up games Monday.
Airtherm stayed unbeaten at 9-0 in the 12-under league after drawing a 1-0 forfeit win over Giffin's Grins and Food Giant remained firmly in second place at 7-2 by turning back Dr. Beasley 12-7. Crowley's defeated Children's Clinic 13-10 in the final game of the night.
Sanyo improved to 7-1 for the year and remained in first place in the 16-under league by winning twice Monday -- 19-9 over Clay Funeral Home and 15-8 over Times-Herald.
The girls' slow-pitch and fast-pitch district tournament will be played Friday and Saturday, June 13-14, at the SportsComplex.
Forrest City will field teams in three of the five divisions.
See page 7 for the complete first-round listing of district games.
The tournament will feature 10-under, 12-under, 14-under and 16-underage divisions and willbegin Friday night.
The tournament will conclude with the playing of the championship games Saturday evening.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
For the first time in several seasons, the Forrest City American Legion baseball program is off to a solid start.
Under the reins of first-year coach Brett Bullard, the team is 5-5 for the year going into tonight's doubleheader against Brinkley at the Sports Complex.
Forrest City opened the year with consecutive victories over Trumann and Blytheville before suffering a doubleheader loss to Wynne.
Brad taylor, Danny Flowers and Curtis Cole combined to pitch Forest City past Trumann 7-1 in the season opener while Flowers handled the pitcxhing chores in a 12-3 win over Blytheville. Flowers, Cole and Landon Bullard led the scoring with three runs each.
Against Wynne, Forest City dropped the first game 11-1 andf then lost the second 8-0. Two more losses followed against Newport as the team dipped to 2-4 before rebounding to take a twinbill sweep over Lonoke last Friday to pull even for the year at 4-4.
Dustin Gore pitched Forrest City past Lonoke 9-8 in the first game while Flowers did the same in the second game as Forrest City won 8-7.
They split Sunday's doubleheader against Lonoke, winning 9-6 and losing 2-0.
The team will remain at home through Saturday.
The second annual 'Ralph" charity golf tournament will be played Monday, June 30, at the Forrest City Country Club.
The tournament, named in honor of the late Ralph Thompson, helps raise money to benefit the East Arkansas Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and like-minded charities.
Ralph Thompson is the father of Forrest City native, John Thompson, head football coach at East Carolina University.
For more information about the tournament, contact Mallory Parker at 870-633-3505.
This year, the tournament will include a tennis tournament and a 9-hole shootout to be played late late Sunday and a silent auction.
The tournament raised $10,000 last year.