By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Lonoke and Carlisle met for a softball/baseball encounter on the first day back from spring break, and the visiting Lonoke teams pulled off the sweep in the old Lonoke county rivalry games.
The Lonoke baseball team didn’t enjoy a very good experience at the Xtra Innings tournament in Jonesboro over the weekend, but bounced back with a county rivalry win over Carlisle on Monday. The Jackrabbits hammered the Bison 16-2 in five innings in Carlisle.
The Jackrabbits piled up 18 base hits with several players enjoying multiple-hit games. Nick Watson got four hits including one double. Leadoff hitter Pierce Johnson recorded three hits, including a double, drove in three runs and scored two more. Mikey Shinn, Cody Martin and Savonte Rountree each picked up two base hits.
Lonoke, 4-4, 1-0, scored in every inning, recording two runs in the first and second innings before adding five more in the third. The Jackrabbits added two in the fourth and five more in the sixth to set the final margin. Carlisle scored two in the fourth off an RBI single by catcher Dylan Brazeal that scored Jacob Gordon, who had reached on a walk. Nick Schafer then reached on a 4-6 fielder’s choice that included an E6 that left everyone safe. Bradley Elder then singled to drive in Carlisle’s second run.
Casey Martin started on the mound and got the win for the Jackrabbits. He gave up five hits and one earned run in going the distance. Gordon started on the mound and took the loss and Josh Mathis pitched the last two innings.
In the Xtra Innings tournament, the Jackrabbits had to sit in a hotel for two days to wait for the rain to end, then lost two games on Saturday. They fell 5-1 to Valley View and 10-5 to Pocahontas, two teams near enough to Jonesboro to stay at home during the rain.
The Lady Jackrabbits, 3-2, 1-0, took just a little longer to get things rolling after a scoreless first inning, but they scored six in the second en route to a 13-0 victory.
Lonoke managed just one more run over the next three innings, scored six more in the sixth to end the game an inning early.
Jarrelyn McCall got things rolling with a leadoff single to start the second inning. Brooke Jackson and Amanda Sexton then reached on successive errors at third base. After base hits by Gracie Cole and Keylee Simpson, Charley Jo Chesney, Jasalyn Truelove and Haley Whitehurst drew three-straight walks. An error at shortstop off the bat of Jessy Lewis scored the final run of the inning.
Lonoke didn’t score in the third or fourth innings, then got the first four batters on base in the fifth but managed just one run. Lewis and McCall started with back-to-back singles. Candice James and Sexton then walked, with Sexton getting the RBI and keeping the bases loaded with no outs, but no more runs scored.
Whitehurst started the big sixth inning with a leadoff single before Lewis doubled to center field to put runners in scoring position. McCall then hit a deep fly to center field that scored Whitehurst. James struck out but reached on a passed ball. Sexton then doubled for two RBIs and scored on a hit by Cole. Simpson then singled to score Cole, and scored herself on a hit by Chesney.
The Lonoke baseball and softball teams travel to Newport today to resume 4A-2 Conference play.
