Stories from Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Miscues haunted the Wildcats in first round Class 4A State Baseball Tournament action Friday at Valley View. Trumann committed six errors which led to four unearned runs in a 6-4 loss to the Farmington Cardinals. Farmington scored first in the top of the first when Trumann's leftfielder lost sight of the ball in the overcast skies. But the Wildcats first baseman Michael Criss answered back with a solo homerun to right-center in the bottom of the first which left the scored tied 1-1. The Cardinals scored two runs in the top of second with two outs and two on when a routine ground ball was overthrown at first base allowing both runs to score. Farmington then scored three more runs in the top of the third to move ahead 6-1 at the bottom of the third when the game was called because of lightning. "Those two big plays scored three runs," Trumann coach Scott Brown said. "That's uncharacteristic of us." The score remained 6-1 until the bottom of the fifth when Zac Fleming started things with a double off the right-center wall. Fleming later scored on a single by Cameron Jones. Criss reached first on an infield error. Anthony Rusher then hit a two-run blast over the leftfield wall to bring the 'Cats within two, 6-4. The scored remained 6-4 through the end of the game. "We battled back and played hard. We had a chance to win the game. That's all you can ask for. We didn't quit. We battled all the way through." Nathan Maxwell started for the Wildcats and worked three innings. Fleming finished the game allowing only one hit with four strikeouts in his four innings. Trey Spencer went the route for Farmington, giving up six hits with eight strikeouts. "He (Spencer) did a great job of keeping us off-balance and is a great pitcher," Brown said. Jones led the Wildcats with two hits.

A memorable season came to a close Monday as the Marked Tree Indians fell to Parkers Chapel 6-1 in the semifinals of the 2A State Baseball Tournament at White Hall. The Indians were up against one of the top pitchers in the state and struggled getting their potent offense going. Marked Tree was hitless through the first six innings as Parkers Chapel's Travis Stanley had a perfect game going into the final frame. The Indians secured two hits in the seventh, but could not muster the runs needed to advance to the championship game. Going into the semifinals, the Indians had amassed an impressive 19-game winning streak. Along the way, Marked Tree earned the 2A North Regional championship and was a flawless 16-0 in 2A-3 conference action. The Indians finished the season 26-5 overall. Quarterfinal Win The Indians cruised past Poyen in the quarterfinal round Saturday. Marked Tree blasted Poyen 11-1 in five innings. T.J. Laster was in full control on the mound. Laster allowed just three hits with no walks while striking out five in the run-ruled contest. The Indians' offense took the game over in the second inning. Marked Tree strung together four consecutive doubles as part of a seven run surge. Taylor Wages, Gunner Pitts, Ethan Malone and Laster all doubled in the frame. Pitts finished the game 3-3 at the plate with three RBIs. Wages was 2-3 with three RBIs. Malone and Laster added two hits and two RBIS each in the win. The Indians outmuscled Gurdon 13-8 on Friday to advance past the first round.

The Lady Wildcats were eliminated from the Class 4A State Softball Tournament with a 4-1 loss to Dardanelle at Heber Springs on Friday. A three-run homer in the first inning put Dardanelle in the driver's seat early. Trumann looked to strike back in the fifth. The Lady 'Cats loaded the bases with no one out, but managed to bring in only one run. Cecilia White hit a sac-fly to score Kelly Guthrie for Trumann's lone run. Dardanelle added a run in the sixth to set the final in place. Hannah Walter continued to perform well in the circle for the Lady Wildcats. Walters allowed four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in seven innings of work. Trumann struggled at the plate, notching just four hits on the day. The loss concludes the Lady 'Cats' season. Trumann finished the year with a 22-11 overall record.