By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
CHERRY VALLEY -- The Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots spent Tuesday battling gale-force winds and a pair of conference opponents at the 3AA South District Tournament in Cherry Valley.
Hughes finished third, defeating Marked Tree in the consolation game.
The Lady Patriots defeated Marked Tree in the opener to advance to the finals where they lost to top-seeded Cross County for the third time this season.
Palestine-Wheatley heads into the Class AA Region 3 Tournament as a No. 2 seed after dropping a 13-0 decision to the Lady Thunderbirds.
The Lady Patriots (5-5) will play Bay at 1:45 p.m., Saturday at Rector,
A year ago, P-W lost to Gillett in the 2AA district finals and then lost to Gillett again in the regional championship game, but qualified for the Class AA State Tournament. The team lost in the first round to eventual state champ Benton Harmony-Grove.
Tuesday, the Lady Patriots survived a wild six inning opener against third-seeded Marked Tree, winning 30-20, in which the Lady Pats scored their 30 runs using 19 hits and taking advantage of 15 walks. Fallon Parker started and lasted just two innings, as Marked Tree scored 14 runs using seven hits and eight walks. Amanda Hoots took over in the third and finished out.
Palestine-Wheatley led 14-2 after one inning but fell behind 16-14 after the Lady Indians answered with 14 runs in the top of the second inning. P-W platted eight runs in the bottom of the third to regain the lead at 23-17 before Marked Tree closed the gap to 25-20 in the top of the fifth.
Kara Siler and Brittney Gordon each scored five runs in the game while Natalie Halbert, Parker and Cara Lansford scored four runs each. Chelsea Jumper added three runs while Keisha Stovall and Hoots added two runs apiece.
In the final, Cross County ended the game under the mercy rule by scoring seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as pitcher Robbi Guzman threw a five-inning no-hitter.
Guzman allowed three walks and struck out eight batters. Brooke Redman and Candice Halk each cracked triples.
Halk, Redman and Octavia Robinson also came up with two RBIs each, while Tabitha Morelock had six stolen bases. Sara Lopez, Samantha Stevenson and Halk took four stolen bases each.
*The No. 4 seeded Hughes Lady Blue Devils finished third at the district and will open play at the Class AA Regional on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. against either Rector or Riverside.
Hughes lost to Cross County 17-1 in the first game in three innings and then rebounded to turn back Marked Tree 20-18 in the consolation game.
Hughes is in their first full season of fast pitch softball after reaching the slow pitch state tournament last year.
Cross County plays Saturday at 3:30 p.m., against Crowley's Ridge Academy and Marked Tree will play at 12 noon.
The Class AA state fast-pitch tournament will be played in Harrrison.
*At Marion, former Forrest City Lady Mustang player, Alicia Kennedy recorded three hits and drove in two runs to help Wynne defeat Marion 6-5 in nine innings of senior high softball Tuesday.
Wynne dropped the second game of the doubleheader 5-1.
Jordan Nelson earned the win in game one. She allowed five runs on six hits and one walk while striking out six.
Emily Hanzlik and Nelson recorded two hits and an RBI, followed by Nicole Johnson with two hits. Nelson suffered the loss in the nightcap. She gave up five hits and one walk.
Jodi Stepp drove in the Lady Yellowjackets' (13-12, 6-6) only run.
JONESBORO -- Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Jonesboro took advantage of a bases-loaded error at shortstop, scoring six runs on the way to an 8-1 softball victory against Forrest City in a makeup game on Tuesday.
Jonesboro improves to 5-13 for the year while the Lady Mustangs fall to 6-11 and 3-10 in the conference.
Holly Simon scored Forrest City's lone run, when she used an error to reach base in the top of the first inning and scored on two sacrifice outs.
Stacey Gracey, pitching her third game in two days, went the distance for the Lady Mustangs.
Katie Osment went 3-for-4 with an RBI for Jonesboro. Amanda Berry got the pitching victory, giving up one run on three hits and three walks.
Leigh Anna Taylor, Risondra Deans and Rachel Sims had one hit each for Forrest City.
"We hit the ball and we only had three strikeouts in the seven innings," said Lady Mustang Coach Pam England. "We just continue to have that one bad inning and yesterday it was the fourth."
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Blytheville Chicks swept a conference doubleheader from the Forrest City Mustangs Tuesday at the Sports Complex.
Blytheville won the opener 13-5 and took the nightcap 14-4 in five innings.
Forrest City started Terrance Ware in the first game and finished with David Machen andSawyer Ramsey.
Cassiday "Catfish" Hankins took the mound to start game two but lasted only two plus innings after going the complete game last week against West Helena. Chad Doyle finished out the doubleheader.
Forrest City falls to 4-12 overall and 1-11 in the conference with one conference date remaining, a varsity doubleheader on Monday at West Memphis.
Forrest City is scheduled to host Wynne in a nonconference varsity-junior varsity doubleheader Thursday
The Mustangs fell behind in the first game against Blytheville but rallied to force a tie. The bottom fell out in the sixth as the Chicks regained the lead.
"The kids played hard and competed in both games," said Forrest City Assistant Coach Chuck Sartin. "We fought back in both games after falling behind."
Donnie Willis Jr. came off the bench in the second game and tripled. He came around to score on an overthrow by Blytheville.
In other conference games Tuesday, Jonesboro swept Cabot 5-1 and 10-2 to keep hold of second place in the AAAAA-East Tues
Cabot falls to 14-12 and 4-8.
JONESBORO -- After losing a key chunk of its state title team, there were some doubts that the Jonesboro Lady Hurricane would be as strong this season in track and field.
Three meets into the season, Jonesboro is still holding up trophies.
Jonesboro won its third meet in as many tries this season, blazing past the competition to roll to its third straight Lady Hurricane Relays title Tuesday at Cooksey-Johns Field, piling up 190 points to outdistance second-place Marion (108.5).
The Forrest City Lady Mustangs, after opening last Thursday with a third place finish at the Greene County Tech Eagle Relays, did not place.
The best finish in any event for the Lady Mustangs Tuesday was eighth place in the combined junior/senior girls meet.
While the senior high Jonesboro girls were on the way to the win, Annie Camp torched the competition to win the junior high meet with 158 points, well ahead of Rivercrest's 80.5 in second place, for its 12th straight Lady Hurricane Relays title.
It was a complete team effort from Jonesboro as sophomore Tarzanna Thompson sprinted to victory in the 100 meters (13.22) and won the long jump, qualifying for the state meet with a leap of 17 feet, 31/2 inches before anchoring the Lady Hurricane's winning 4x100 relay team.
Sophomore Tempestt Baggett was impressive as a double winner in both hurdle events, taking first in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.10 before racing to victory in the 300-meter low hurdles (49.96) while Leigh Ann Moore swept both distance events by easily winning the 1,600 (5:40.91) and the 3,200 (12:12.81), an event in which she had already qualified for the state meet.
Katie Stripling, a state qualifier, won the high jump (5 feet, 2 inches) and Karess Winston took first in the shot put (33-11) while the Lady Hurricane had winning relay teams in both the 3,200 and 4x100.
Sophomore Hannah Lark won the high-point award with 30 1/4 points for a Rivercrest team that hadn't fielded a girls' track team in six years.
Lark boasted state-qualifying times in winning the 400 meters (1:02.58) and finishing just behind Thompson in the long jump (17-3) despite falling back on her final attempt. Lark also finished third in the 200 (27.15), fourth in the 100 (13.64) and ran the first leg on the Lady Colts' fourth-place 4x100 relay. Lark just missed qualifying for state in the 200 by .11 of a second.
As a team the Lady Colts finished sixth but put forth a strong showing as they head into the district meet in two weeks.
While Jonesboro and Marion took the top two spots in the senior high division, Delaplaine finished third (68.5) as Courtnay Curtis won the discus with a state-qualifying heave of 107-5 while Cabot finished fourth (57) and Blytheville fifth (54) behind Patricia Shade's victory in the 200 (26.37) and her second-place finish in the 100 (13.23).
Jonesboro won two of the three relays with Natasha Durant, Alisa Stanback, Kara Taylor and Thompson winning the 4x100 (51.51) and Ashley Raborn, Nancy Field, Kailey Pinson and Mallory Rees combined to win the 3,200 relay (11:20.62).
The Lady Hurricane took the top three spots in the 3,200 run as Moore was followed by Sara Mullally (13:45.77) and Emily Hickman (14:51.04).
Stanback also finished second behind Baggett in the 100 hurdles (17.26) and the 300 low hurdles (51.94).
Thompson also finished second in the 200 (26.63) while Rees took second in the 800 behind Greene County Tech's Alison Diggs (2:37.22).
The Lady Hurricane will now gear up for the AAAAA-East meet with a trip to Cabot next Tuesday which also includes the Lady Mustangs.
Annie Camp blitzed through the junior high field, nearly doubling Rivercrest while Osceola finished third (52), followed by GCT (49) and Delaplaine (41).
Paragould's Kayci Felts won the high-point award in the junior high division, finishing with 36 points.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City youth baseball and softball leagues will open play the week of May 3. All leagues will play at the Sports Complex.
The eight-team Minor League (pitching machine) will play league games each night of the week except Wednesday with games at 6 and 7:30 p.m.
The 9-10 Bambino League will play on Tuesday and Friday nights while the 11-12 Bambino teams will play Monday and Thursday nights.
The Junior Babe Ruth League will play on Monday and Thursday nights and will use only Field 8 this season.
In girls' softball, the 10-under slow pitch league, comprised of 10 teams, will play on Tuesday and Friday nights while the 12-under and 16-under fast-pitch leagues will play on Monday and Thursday nights.
The Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots finished second at the 3AA South District fast-pitch softball tournament Tuesday. The team members are: Brittney Gordon, Kara Siler, Natalie Halbert, Fallon Parker, Chelsea Jumper, Cara Lansford, Kelly Stovall, Keisha Stovall, Lauren Dover and Amanda Hoots. P-W is coached by Lanny Allen and Pam Parkman.
The Hughes Lady Blue Devils finished third at the district tournament in their first full season of fast-pitch. The team members are: Valraneeka Brown, Marley Lemons, Brandy Davidson, Casey Rash, Jana Robinson, Shemiko Porter, Melissa Foster, Sarah Marrs, Yakita Johnson, Amber Bacon and Adrian Richards. Hughes is coached by Jason Carmichael and Cana Able.
Both teams qualified for the Class AA Region 3 Tournament which begins Saturday at Rector.