SPORTS
Saint Jo loses at Muenster
The Saint Jo Panthers had another stiff challenge on Friday as they traveled to Muenster to take on another 2A school during district play.
It was tough going for the Panthers as too many walks on defense and not enough hits on offense led to a 13-0 loss to the Hornets in five innings.
Saint Jo started the game at the plate and things looked promising. Connor Thompson led off with a single. A wild pitch allowed Thompson to advance to second base and into scoring position. Next batter Tyler Cook drew a walk to put two runners on and no outs.
A ground out for the first out advanced both runners into scoring position. Unfortunately, the next two batters struck out swinging to end the scoring chance for the Panthers.
After getting the first batter out, Muenster collected two hits two walks and a hit batter for two runs and the bases loaded. After striking out a batter for the second out, a single up the middle scored two more runs for the Hornets to give them a 4-0 lead before Saint Jo got the third out.
With two outs, Pepe Gam hit a single to get on base. The next batter Trevor Conner hit a ground ball and was able to reach first thanks to an error at first base. The Panthers again had two runners on base, but could not take advantage of it as the next player popped up to second base for the third out.
The Hornets made Saint Jo aware the first inning on offense was no fluke by them. The leadoff batter hit a home run on the third pitch. Three more hits, two walks and a few errors allowed Muenster to up the score to 10-0 before the first out of the inning was recorded.
The Panthers gave up one more hit, but were able to retire the next two batters to end the second inning.
With all the success Saint Jo’s hitters had had up to that point with no runs, the third inning the Panthers had no luck. All three batters were retired in order as no base runners were able to get on base and threaten the defense.
The Hornets led off with two drawn walks. Saint Jo was able to get two quick outs to keep the runners from scoring. Unfortunately, the Panthers pitchers could not find the strike zone as two more walks drove in a run to make the score 11-0 before Saint Jo could collect the third out.
In the fourth inning, the Panthers Cody Thurman was able to get one base with a single and two outs. Trying to be aggressive, the pinch runner stole second base and was then caught trying to steal third base to end the chance.
The Hornets were able to hit another solo-home run. Muenster then added another run with a walk, a fielding error and a single to make the score 13-0. Another walk loaded the bases, but Saint Jo was able to turn the inning ending double play to put an end to the bleeding early as the game moved to the fifth inning.
The Panthers needed to score at least four runs to avoid being run ruled. Unfortunately, they could not get any base runners on as they were sat down in order, losing 13-0.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
With the baseball and softball seasons over for the area 1A schools, district awards have been released.
Listed below are those earned honors on the field and in the classroom for Saint Jo and Bellevue.
Softball
Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Utility player: Taylor Patrick; Catcher: Jordyn O’Neal
Baseball
Superlatives
Offensive MVP: Devin Stewart, Saint Jo
Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue
Pitcher: Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Jayden Curry, Saint Jo
Second team
Pitcher: Charlie Barclay, Saint Jo
Infielder: Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; Sam Martin, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Rylan Forrester, Saint Jo
Catcher: Charlie Evans, Saint Jo
Utility: Logan Hoover, Saint Jo
DH: Amzy Barclay, Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Cody Gaston, Saint Jo; Xander Joyner, Saint Jo
To see academic awards from Saint Jo players, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Eldon Van Hooser is leaving Forestburg better than he found it.
The head boy’s basketball coach is retiring after more than 30 years, spending the last five at Forestburg.
Van Hooser did not come to this decision because of a lack of fire or feeling tired after decades in the profession. He had to for family reasons.
“My wife has MS (multiple sclerosis) and it’s a disease where you have trouble standing and walking and she needs help,” Van Hooser said. “I am able to so I am going to step away from teaching and coaching to be there for her.”
Van Hooser was hired in 2019. Along with being the boy’s basketball coach, he also was the football team’s defensive coordinator.
There were some lean years for Forestburg on the boy’s athletic side, with numbers being low and the available athletes being mostly underclassmen.
For two years, the Longhorns’ boy’s basketball team won few games and one of those seasons saw the team field five players on the high school team.
“One of those years we had COVID-19 and the other we had five kids,” Van Hooser said. “It was very rough. After that we worked with the kids and we had a good freshman group coming up. Next year they are going to be seniors.”
That group has helped to turn the program around. Last year the young Longhorns team contested for a playoff spot and just barely missed it finishing fifth in the district.
This season, that same group took a leap and finished second in district with a record of 7-5.
Despite losing its last two regular season games in dramatic fashion heading into the playoffs, the team stepped up in the bi-district game.
Playing against an athletic Newcastle team, Forestburg led for most of the game.
Unfortunately, the previous game against Bellevue saw the Longhorn team blow the lead late in the fourth quarter against a hard pressing style team and they were suffering the same fate against the Bobcats down the stretch.
Fortunately, Forestburg held on just enough to win 53-46. It was the first boy’s basketball playoff win in nine years for Forestburg.
“It was huge for our program,” Van Hooser said. “This new year we will have new goals. The new coach will have some goals of his own, but I set some for the team and think that we have come a long way.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie sports banquets was on Monday night. Olivia Gill and Tucker Jones were named Jackrabbit and Lady Rabbit of the year. Pick up the mid-week paper for all of the sports team awards and pictures.
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