SPORTS
STORM CENTER: What’s in a field?
The word facility comes from the Latin word “facilis,” which essentially means the word “easy.”
The noun has several definitions ranging from “space or equipment necessary for doing something” to “an establishment set up to fulfill a particular function or provide a particular service.”
There’s one lesson the sports editor has learned throughout the Conference 3A Region 2 playoffs this spring.
And that lesson is based on perception. A school district is viewed as good simply based on its facilities.
During the opening week of the playoffs, Bowie played at Argyle.
Argyle’s baseball field was superior with a high wall in left field, and the largest net I’ve ever seen to protect the fans from foul balls.
Bowie advanced to play games at several other school districts during its playoff run, Glen Rose, Eaton and Kennedale.
Glen Rose has a turf field, which features a patch of red by the dugouts and in foul territory. However, there was no warning track.
Why couldn’t there be a warning track? Glen Rose could have painted it red, too. I wouldn’t mind.
The mere fact there was no track is a safety issue in my mind, and it ultimately played a role in Bowie defeating Palmer in the area round of the playoffs.
During the regional quarterfinals, Bowie played at one of the newest high schools in the state: Eaton in Haslet.
This facility was exemplary, except for the fact field dimensions weren’t listed on the outfield wall. This was the safest of all the ballparks I visited. Read more of this column in the June 4 Bowie News.
Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.
The Bowie High School baseball team gathers in the distance during the opening round of the Conference 3A Region 2 playoffs at Argyle. The facility at Argyle had a high wall in left and center field, reminiscent of the one seen here in Bowie. (News photo by Eric Viccaro)
Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Bulldogs had a good final non-district warm-up on Friday at home against Ector.
The Eagles beat the Bulldogs 69-63 in a game where Prairie Valley was trying to play catch up all the way through.
The Bulldogs were coming off a tough tournament at Electra the previous week to try and knock the holiday rust off. Prairie Valley was familiar with Ector, having played the team to start its season back in early November and was hoping to compete better than it did in that first game.
The Eagles came out firing, splashing five 3-pointers, including several deep ones, to go out to a 21-8 lead in the first quarter. Even with the Bulldogs changing out of their preferred zone defense, the 3-pointers continued a bit and opened things up inside the arc.
Thankfully, Prairie Valley’s offense came alive in the second quarter, scoring 18 points and cutting the lead down to 38-26 at halftime.
The third quarter was more of the same, though a different player for Ector started to get hot from beyond the arc. Even as the Bulldogs were able to keep up their offensive production from the second quarter, they could not break through and cut the game to single-digits, trailing 54-42 heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter saw Prairie Valley break through to cut it the lead to single-digits, but just not close enough. Every time the Bulldogs were on the cusp of making it a one or two basket game, the Eagles would make a shot to keep that distance.
In the end, the final score was the closest Prairie Valley got as Ector won 69-63.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians bounced back with a competitive district win at Petrolia on Friday.
The Indians won 60-53 against the Pirates in a game where the middle quarters took drastic swings in momentum.
Nocona was coming off its first district loss against Windthorst as the team sat a 1-1 district record.
Petrolia came into the game at 0-1, but had a bit more time to prepare for the game.
The first quarter was competitive, but the Indians were able to get to the free throw line at will and led 16-11.
Then Nocona’s pressure defense turned up its intensity in the second quarter.
“Our pressure seemed to disrupt them and we were able to get out in transition after forcing turnovers,” Coach Brody Wilson said.
Nocona scored 25 points and led 41-25 at halftime.
Unfortunately, that intensity did not keep up at the start of the third quarter for Nocona.
The Indians took their foot off the gas a little bit which allowed Petrolia’s offense to get back into the game and make up some of the deficit.
The Pirates outscored Nocona 15-7 and trailed only 48-40 heading into the final period.
Thankfully, the Indians bounced back and competed a bit better in the fourth quarter. Nocona was able to keep offensive pace to keep Petrolia at a bit of a distance instead of making it a one score game.
The Indians held on to win 60-53.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly Bowie News.
For more pictures from the Prairie Valley game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6871971&T=1
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