By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
MARKED TREE -- Palestine-Wheatley's Fallon Parker hurled a no-hitter Tuesday against Marked Tree which enabled the Lady Patriots to pick up their first win of the season, a 23-3 victory over the Lady Indians.
The Lady Patriots improve to 1-1 for the year and are 1-0 in the conference in fast-pitch softball.
Parker, a converted outfielder, is pitching for the first time this season. She helped her own cause Tuesday with a three-run home run in the third inning.
Even though Parker did not allow a hit by Marked Tree, she did walk several Marked Tree players including walking the bases loaded twice in the game.
"She is still inconsistent, but that is because she is still learning," said P-W Coach Lanny Allen. "She is a competitor in every sport she plays and she will get better and help this team."
Lauren Dover enjoyed a big night for the Lady Patriots, going 3-for-4 from the plate and scoring three runs. Dover also had three stolen bases. Kara Siler scored four runs as did Brittney Gordon to help the Lady Patriots.
Palestine-Wheatley will next play on Friday, April 2, at Forrest City.
Wynne 10-0, Paragould 1-2
PARAGOULD -- Paragould managed just four hits in two games, but came away with a split against Wynne Tuesday in AAAA-East conference softball.
Layne McGuirt one-hit the Lady Rams as Wynne won the first game 10-1.
McGuirt struck out 11.
In the nightcap, Wynne out-hit Paragould 10-3, but couldn't erase the Lady Rams' 2-0 first-inning lead that stood as the final score.
Angela Byrd's RBI triple and Nikki Mitchell's sacrifice fly drove in the second game's only runs in the opening inning as Paragould moved to 3-3 overall, 1-1 in league play.
Julie Bishop (3-2) gained the win by scattering the 10 hits. She struck out two and walked three.
Alicia Kennedy had three hits, and Jodi Stepp had two hits and three RBIs to lead Wynne's victory.
Ali Imboden also had two hits, including a triple, and two RBIs. McGuirt and Kristen Spain also had two hits each.
Kennedy had three hits, including a double, in the second game. Imboden also had three hits, while Emily Hanzlick had two hits.
McGuirt took the loss in the second game, pitching six innings and giving up three hits. She also fanned seven and walked two.
Rector 16, Walnut Ridge 5
WALNUT RIDGE -- Rector won its season-opener Tuesday, defeating Walnut Ridge 16-5 in high school softball.
Tara Shepard went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Kocaina Lyles went 3-for-5, including a triple, with two RBIs.
Lindsay Fowler and Skye Shepard each had two hits, with Shepard hitting a triple.
MOUNTAIN HOME -- The Mountain Home Bombers climbed above the .500 mark for the season with a doubleheader sweep of the Forrest City Mustangs Tuesday afternoon in AAAAA-East Conference action at Cooper Park.
Mountain Home improves to 6-5 on the season and 3-1 in league play.
Travis Ifland pitched a two-hit shutout, and Zach Proctor and Lucas Clonts each homered as Mountain Home cruised to a 13-0, five-inning win over Forrest City, which falls to 2-6 for the year and 0-4 in the AAAAA-East.
Forrest City's David Machen and Preston Echols had the only hits off Ifland, both of which were singles.
The sophomore right-hander walked two hitters, hit a batter and saw one runner reach on an error. Ifland struck out seven Mustangs on the day.
Mountain Home scored seven runs in its first trip to the plate and never looked back from that point.
Kyle Coggins doubled to start the rally for the Bombers and raced home when Perry Chapman reached on an error. Clonts was then hit by a pitch and T.J. Spencer reached on an error that allowed a run to score.
After a wild pitch plated a run, Michael Partee picked up the first RBI of the game with a single. Harrison Young then drew a walk from Forrest City starter Chad Doyle, and Anthony Gower reached on an error that allowed a run to score.
After a walk to Travis Pitts, Coggins capped the rally with a two-run single for the 7-0 lead.
Mountain Home added another run in the second when Proctor launched a solo homer to left.
The Bombers pushed the lead to 11-0 in the third when Travis Pitts singled, Kyle Coggins singled in a run and Clonts delivered a three-run homer.
The Bombers capped their scoring in the fourth when Pitts singled and later scored on a double by Clonts, and Chapman raced home on a passed ball for the 13-0 finale.
Bombers 14, Mustangs 1
In the nightcap, Chapman and Proctor held the Mustangs to just three hits to complete the sweep winning 14-1.
The Mustangs' only run came in the bottom of the first inning when Echols tomahawked a solo homer to left field off Chapman. The junior right-hander struck out six in three innings and walked one.
Proctor tossed the final two innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out four.
Mountain Home cashed in on two Forrest City errors to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning without a hit.
After Echols homered, Mountain Home sent 10 men to the plate in the top of the second and scored five times to put the game out of reach.
The Bombers scored seven runs in the fourth to finish off the Mustangs.
Des Arc 14, Palestine-Wheatley 4
The Des Arc Eagles used a big first inning to take an early lead and held off the Palestine-Wheatley Patriots 14-4 in five innings Tuesday at P-W.
Adam Kennedy got the pitching start for the Patriots and gave way to Ricky Thorne in the second.
Josh Wilson got the Patriots on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first when he launched a first-pitch, solo home run over the center field fence.
It was Wilson's first-ever home run.
The Patriots slip to 0-2 for the year and will travel to Des Arc on Thursday for a rematch against the Eagles.
Jonesboro 14-22, West Memphis 0-7
The Jonesboro Hurricane manhandled West Memphis, scoring 36 runs in sweeping a doubleheader as Jack McGrath hurled a two-hit shutout in the opener and sophomore Cody Powell came on in relief in the nightcap to shut down the Blue Devils Tuesday at Woodland Field.
Jonesboro won the first game 14-0 in five innings, blowing the game open with 10 runs in the third inning as West Memphis' pitching fell apart.
The Hurricane continued to pour on the offense in the second game, rolling to a 22-7 victory that included an 11-run fourth inning outburst.
Offensively, Jonesboro (7-6 overall, 4-0 AAAAA-East) only had eight hits in the first game but had plenty of help from West Memphis' pitching and defense.
West Memphis starter Josh Musselwhite walked seven batters while reliever Aaron St. Sauver walked four more as the Hurricane settled for 11 walks. The Blue Devils also had two fielding errors.
Like the first game, Jonesboro used another huge outburst to put away the Blue Devils early in the second game.
Tied 6-6 to start the fourth, Jonesboro sent 19 batters to the plate and scored 14 runs on six hits, seven walks and three hit batsmen.
Jonesboro Annie Camp's girls and the Jonesboro MacArthur boys breezed to the team titles at the Jonesboro Junior Invitational track and field meet Tuesday at Cooksey-Johns Field.
MacArthur won the boys' meet by over 50 points while Annie Camp's girls ran up 236 points, 134 more than runnerup Paragould. Nettleton was third in the seven-team girls' meet and MacArthur fourth.
The Forrest City Junior High Mustangs and Lady Mustangs are scheduled to open their track season on Tuesday, March 30, at Marion.
The Forrest City senior high boys and girls' track teams will open their season on Tuesday, march 30, as well, also at the Marion Relays.
The Mustangs and Lady Mustangs passed on attending the Cabot Relay practice meet last week, due to scheduled staff meetings.
The Palestine-Wheatley track teams are also scheduled to be on hand at Marion.
The Forrest City Lady Mustangs will host Mountain Home Monday, March 29, in AAAAA-East Conference play. Forrest City has not played since March 16.