Blue Devil softball squad young but determined

West Memphis sweeps Blytheville, loses to Jonesboro

By RALPH HARDIN

ralphhardin@gmail.com

It has been feast or famine for Coach Mike Dobbins and his West Memphis Blue Devils softball team early in the season. The Devils are a young squad with only one senior, second baseman Kolby Garey, on the team, this season will be a learning process for West Memphis.

So far, it has been an upand- down start for the 2-3 Blue Devils. In the season opener, West Memphis was blanked by Harrisburg 11-0, but the bats came alive the next game, as the Devils outslugged Manilla, winning 13-12.

The success continued last Thursday, as West Memphis walloped the Blytheville Chickasaws 23-4. The JV squad even got in on the fun, winning 9-8.

This past Monday night was a tough task, facing 5A powerhouse, the Jonesboro Golden Hurricane in a conference play opening doubleheader. The Devils held their own with the Lady ‘Canes for four innings, trailing 7-2, before the Jonesboro sluggers and some costly errors allowed the ‘Canes to put five more runs on the board, leading to a 12-2 run-rule loss.

In the nightcap, the Blue Devils got on the board early, taking a 1-0 lead into the third inning, where a string of walks and some big knocks put Jonesboro comfortably in front. The ‘Canes eventually took home a 14-2 win and a sweep of the Devils.

West Memphis looks to rebound tomorrow afternoon when the Marked Tree Indians come to town. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Tilden Rodgers Park.

The Blue Devils will also get some valuable experience this weekend playing in the Bearkat Blast in Jonesboro. First game is against Piggott at 4 p.m. on Friday, with the rest of the schedule based on the Devils’ performance.