By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City youth baseball and softball leagues will open play the week of May 3.
All youth leagues will play at the Sports Complex.
Meanwhile, the adult men and women's softball teams will begin play the week of May 10.
There are a total of 63 youth teams, from T-Ball through Junior Babe Ruth, including three girls' softball leagues.
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, with eight teams, will play on Tuesday and Friday nights while the six-team, 11-12 Bambino League will play Monday and Thursday nights.
The Junior Babe Ruth League, ages 13-15, will field five teams this season and will play on Monday and Thursday nights but 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 youth leagues feature several new sponsor names this season including Roberts Custom Welding, Forrest City Health Club, Leslie Construction, Twillies' Tigers, B&E Tire Repair, Delta Breeze, Pizza Inn and the Dixie Chix.
Overall participation is at about the same levels as in past seasons.
Forrest City is not scheduled to host any of the youth baseball district tournaments this season but will host the men's and women's district softball tournaments in August.
The Cross County Boys and Girls Club placed several area sixth-grade students on the Arkansas Hawks AAU basketball team which just finished their season with a 20-2 record. Players included Terrence Walker of Wynne, Jordan Weaver of Parkin and Terraye Lee of Forrest City. The team was coached by Tarzan Lee.
On Saturday, April 17, the Hawks, the Arkansas state runners up, qualified for the upcoming National AAU Basketball Tournament, to be played July 17-24 at Virginia Beach, Va. Besides the three local players, the Hawks have roster players from Little Rock, Springdale, Cabot and Clinton.