By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
After using four pitchers in the first game of a varsity doubleheader against Jacksonville Tuesday, the Forrest City Mustangs rebounded in the nightcap to 'Ware' down the Red Devils 2-1 at the Sports Complex.
Just a few miles down Highway 70, the Palestine-Wheatley Patriots were putting the finishing touches on a 7-3 victory over Clarendon.
It was the first win of the year for the Patriots and it was the first win for the Patriot baseball team since the 2001 season when they finished with one victory.
Junior right hander Terrance Ware scattered six hits and walked just one through seven innings to lead the Mustangs to their first win over Jacksonville since the 1999 season, when then senior pitcher Wes Laughlin pitched the Mustangs to a 6-3 win under head coach John Burgess.
It was the first-ever win over Jacksonville for fourth-year coach Reggie Murphy.
Ware struck out three and hit two Jacksonville batters and allowed just one run. Ware retired the final eight Jacksonville hitters that he faced -- the final two in the bottom of the fifth and then set down the Jacksonville side in order in the sixth and seventh innings.
He helped his own cause by driving in the game-winning run with an RBI double in the top of the fourth inning.
Playing the visitor's role in the second game of the scheduled conference twinbill, the Mustangs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when David Machen singled to lead off and scored one out later from third base on Preston Echols' sacrifice flyball to center.
Jacksonville tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning when Johnathon Walker doubled and scored on Blake Cochran's two-out, RBI single.
It stayed that way as Ware and Cochran, the Jacksonville starter, settled in.
Ware broke the tie in the top of the fourth. Cassiday 'Catfish' Hankins started the inning with a single and moved to second when Echols walked. Two outs later, Ware laced his game-winning hit down the third base line scoring Hankins for a 2-1 lead.
Jacksonville moved runners to third in the fourth and fifth innings but couldn't score.
Cochran took the loss, going the full seven innings and giving up the two Forrest City runs on six hits and one walk.
Ware had two of the Mustangs' six hits while Machen, Kiel Smith, Hankins and Kellon Bowman had one hit each in the game.
*In the first game, Mustang starter Chad Doyle ran into trouble in the top of the first inning, giving up four runs on three hits, two walks and two hit batters as the Red Devils went on to take a 14-3 win in six innings.
Doyle lasted just two-thirds of an inning before giving way to Hankins, who worked into the top of the fifth, giving way to Sawyer Ramsey, with Forrest City trailing 9-3. Ramsey was later replaced by Travis Holloway in the sixth who finished up.
The Mustangs cut the Jacksonville lead to 4-3 when Machen singled and scored on a bunt single by D.J. Banks and a two-run single by Hankins in the bottom of the second, scoring Machen and Doyle.
Jacksonville plated two runs in the top of the fourth to lead 6-3 and added six runs in the top of the fifth to lead 12-3. They plated the final two runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Machen led Forrest City with two hits and two runs while Hankins, Banks and Ware each had one hit.
Jacksonville's Jeff Akins got the win, holding the Mustangs to three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out 10.
Seth Boatman and Phillip Ashenberger combined to score six of Jacksonville's 14 runs while Walker and Randy Peeples each scored twice.
The four Mustang pitchers gave up the 14 runs on nine hits and nine walks.
The doubleheader split leaves Forrest City at 3-8 overall and 1-7 in the AAAAA-East.
The Mustangs don't play again until Tuesday, April 13, when they host Searcy.
*Josh Wilson and Ricky Thorne both hit home runs and Casey Hughes held the Clarendon Lions to just one hit as Palestine-Wheatley took a 7-3 win at Palestine.
The last Palestine-Wheatley baseball win came during the 2001 season. The team did not win a game in 2002 or 2003 and were 0-5 going into Tuesday's game.
Clarendon did not score until the seventh inning when they plated all three runs using one hit, two walks and a P-W error to do so.
Wilson, for the second time this season, led off the game with a solo home run. Wilson was 3-for-4 and scored three runs for the Patriots. Ramsey Gibson had three RBIs for P-W, driving in Adam Kennedy, Bud Heath and Wilson in the bottom of the second inning.
P-W led 1-0 after one inning and 5-0 after two. Wilson scored his third run of the game in the fourth to make it 6-0 and Thorne hit his home run in the bottom of the sixth.
*The Jonesboro Hurricane lost twice to Searcy Tuesday. The Lions won 4-1 and 10-0, in the AAAAA-East Conference twinbill.
Jonesboro falls to 10-8 overall and 6-2 in conference play.
In the opening game, Jack McGrath took the loss for Jonesboro, giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks.
In game two, Searcy scored two runs in the first, one in the second, two in the third, three in the fourth and two in the fifth to mercy rule the Hurricane 10-0.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
CHERRY VALLEY -- The Cross County Lady Thunderbirds took advantage of seven walks issued by Palestine-Wheatley pitcher Fallon Parker turning those into a 15-0 win over the Lady Patriots Tuesday in three innings.
Tuesday's game marked the fourth straight game that the Lady Patriots have lasted only three innings.
On March 23, P-W blasted Marked Tree 23-3 in three innings and last Friday, P-W lost 19-0 to Forrest City in three innings.
On Monday, the Lady Patriots rolled past Marked Tree 15-0 in three innings.
Parker gave up four hits to Cross County. The Lady Patriot defense committed five errors in the game.
Palestine-Wheatley loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the first inning but couldn't score.
The Lady Patriots fall to 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference with three games remaining to be played.
The Lady Patriots won the junior varsity game 6-3 behind the pitching of Amanda Hoots.
*At Wynne, Jodi Stepp scored on Callie Sisk's squeeze-play bunt for the game's only run in Wynne's 1-0 victory in the opener.
The Lady Yellowjackets squeezed out a 3-2 win in the nightcap for a doubleheader sweep of Batesville in high school softball Tuesday.
Layne McGuirt (10-6) earned the win in the opener, pitching four innings of three-hit ball before leaving the game with an injury.
Jordan Nelson allowed just one hit over the final three innings to earn the save, then went the distance in the second game to improve to 1-1.
The opening game's lone run came after Stepp reached on an error in the fourth inning and scored from third on Sisk's two-out bunt.
Nicole Johnson had two of Wynne's five hits in the opener.
Nelson struck out one, walked two and gave up just six hits in the nightcap.
Wynne (12-9, 5-3 AAAA-East) scored all three of its runs in the opening inning with Alicia Kennedy driving home two of them with a hit.
Kristen Spain finished with two hits and the other RBI, while Ali Inboden also had two hits.
In other high school softball games played Tuesday, it was Rector 14, Marmaduke 12; Riverside 20, CRA 11; Bay 16, BIC 8; Valley View 13, Manila 1; Brookland 7-9, Piggott 2-4; Rivercrest 6, Trumann 2 and Corning 9-9, Highland 8-4.
HIGHLAND -- Corning broke out offensively and swept a doubleheader from Highland in 3AAA-North high school softball action Tuesday evening.
The Lady Bobcats (14-10, 3-5 3AAA-North) won the first game 9-8 and completed the sweep with a 9-4 win in the nightcap.
In the first game, Corning's Karla Burns went 2-for-2 with two runs batted in while Lacey Cate had a hit and drove in three.
Brittany Bolen picked up the win from the mound, striking out four and walking four while allowing five hits.
In the second game, Nichole Ladyman went 2-for-3 with three RBIs to lead the Lady Bobcats. Also for Corning, Kandace Kegley went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, Cate went 2-for-3 and Ashley James had a hit and drove in a run.
Megan Elders picked up the victory in the nightcap, striking out two and walking two while giving up six hits.
Harrisburg 5-10, Weiner 1-9
HARRISBURG -- Harrisburg's Whitney Peck earned both victories from the mound as the Lady Hornets swept a doubleheader from Weiner Tuesday afternoon in high school softball.
Peck picked up the win in the first game as the starter as Harrisburg won 5-1. She came on in relief to gain the victory in the second game as Harrisburg won in extra innings 10-9.
In the first game, Peck struck out seven, walked one and allowed three hits.
Offensively for Harrisburg (9-7) in the second game, Peck had a hit, walked twice and scored twice, Alyssa Hutchison went 2-for-2 with two runs, Shana Cole had a hit and walked three times while Lauren Johns went 2-for-3.
PARAGOULD -- Annie Camp's junior girls' track team finished ahead of 19 other teams to capture top honors at the Junior Eagle Relays at Greene County Tech Tuesday.
Annie Camp scored 113 total points. Rivercrest finished second, followed by Paragould, Delaplaine and host Greene County Tech.
Rivercrest won the boys' meet with 86.5 points, edging Marion by half a point. Annie Camp's boys were third with 62 points.
Lauren Hall won two events, the 800- and 1,600-meter runs, to lead the Lady Whirlwinds' charge. She won the 800 in a time of 2:40 and the 1,600 in a time of 5:58.
The Forrest City junior Mustangs and the Palestine-Wheatley Junior patriots are scheduled to compete in the Junior Jacket Relays at Wynne on Thursday, April 8.
The Junior Mustangs finished fourth at Osceola last week while the Junior Patriots ran their first meet Monday at Harding Academy.
Blake Simmons finished second in te high jump for the Junior Patriots.
The senior Mustang track teams are scheduled to open the year at the Green County Tech Relays on Thursday, April 15.