SPORTS
A bad late inning loses Saint Jo the game as their season ends
After an unprecedented ride this season brought the program success greater than they have enjoyed in decades, the Saint Jo baseball team’s season came to an end on Saturday in the regional semifinals against Dodd City.
After losing game one on Thursday, the Panthers lost game two on Saturday 20-8 due to run rule after five innings to lose the series.
Despite the lopsided final score, the game was much closer up until the final inning.
The Hornets came out ready to score runs in the top of the first. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs.
A single scored one run and a double cleared the bases to put Dodd City up 4-0. Pitcher Brock Durham calmed down and was able to hold the runner at second by forcing three straight outs to get out of the top of the first inning.
Saint Jo responded in the bottom of the first. Leadoff Harper Roberts was able to get on base when the third baseman could not make the throw to first. Roberts then was able to advance to second on a bad pickoff attempt. He advanced to third on a ground out two batters later.
Jake Morris was able to drive Roberts home with a triple to center field. Next batter Durham was able to get Morris home when the ground ball hit to the third basemen was bobbled before his throw to first was too late. The Panthers trailed 4-2 heading to the second inning when the next batter struck out.
A leadoff walk came back to bite Saint Jo. Durham almost got out of the inning as the next two batters grounded out to first. A stolen base and a ground ball advanced the runner to third base. A passed ball allowed the runner to score and put Dodd City up 5-2.
The next batter hit a triple to center field and looked poised to put another run on the board for the Hornets. Fortunately, Durham was able to force the next batter to fly out to second base to end the scoring chance.
The Panthers Jose “Pepe” Gams was able to get on base as his fly ball to center field could not be gathered by the diving centerfielder. Next batter Preston Lyons was able to draw a walk to put two runners on base with one out.
After grounding into a fielder’s choice made it two outs, Connor Thompson was able to hit a double that drove in the runner on second to cut the lead down to 5-3. With runners on second and third, the Panthers looked poised to score more, but the next batter struck out to end the second inning.
The leadoff batter got hit by a pitch to get on base. He stole second to put himself in scoring position. Two batters later, a double drove in the runner. The next batter grounded out to second base, allowing the runner to advance to third with two outs.
A single drove in the runner to put Dodd City up 7-3. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, but Durham was able to force the next batter to ground out to third to get out of the jam.
The Panthers answered a little bit as Morris led off with a double to left field. A bad pickoff throw to second allowed him to advance to third base. Next batter Durham grounded out to second base, but it allowed Morris to score and cut the lead to 7-4 heading into the fourth inning.
Morris came in to pitch in relief. With one out, a bad throw to first allowed a base runner to reach second. A passed ball allowed the runner to reach third.
The next batter was able to hit a bloop single over the infield to score the runner and make it 8-4. A hit batter and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, but Morris was able to strike out the next batter looking to get out of the jam.
Saint Jo scored in every inning up to that point, but needed to string more than a couple runs together to give themselves a chance to win as they had also been unsuccessful in holding the Hornets scoreless in any inning up to that point. The Panthers responded with their best offensive inning of the game.
A leadoff single from Lyons got things going. Roberts then grounded into a fielder’s choice, but the throw was not in time at second base to get Lyons out. Thompson was able drive in Lyons with a line drive single to left field. Runners were on second and first with no outs.
Next batter, Wyatt Guerin, loaded the bases up with a single. Morris came up and grounded out to second base, but it drove in the runner on third base and allowed both runners to advance to second and third.
Durham then grounded to third base, who tried to throw the runner out at home, but the throw was not in time as Thompson scored to cut the lead to 8-7.
Durham was able to steal second to put two runners in scoring position. Next batter, Cody Thurman, grounded out to the short stop for the second out, but it allowed the runner on third to score and tie the game 8-8. It also advanced the other runner to third base.
With their first lead only a base hit and 90 feet away, and with the momentum swung their way, it only seemed logical that it would happen. Unfortunately, their next batter struck out looking to end the inning as the game seemed definitely swung.
Saint Jo had been playing catch up all game and now had firmly caught back up, taking the momentum of the game with them. All they had to do was just hold off Dodd City’s bats for one inning since the Panther’s bats were all charged up.
Unfortunately, the opposite happened. After one out, two hits and an error loaded the bases. Followed by two single hits and two walks, the Hornets scored four runs before a line out was gave Dodd City their second out. Unfortunately, the scoring did not slow down.
A single and a home run scored five more runs. After two more walks, Lyons came in to pitch. After a walk loaded the bases, a passed ball allowed one run to score. A single following that scored two more runs to put the Hornets up 20-8, before Saint Jo could get the final out.
The fans and team were in a tizzy, as a couple calls early in the inning went against the Panthers, exasperating the situation as the inning spiraled out of their control.
Saint Jo needed to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth to keep the game going. Unfortunately, their hot bats from the inning before had no spark as the three batters were sat down in order to end the game, 20-8, and the series.
To read more, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Jackrabbits
A day after football season ended and the Bowie boy’s basketball team played its first game of the season and is working towards a new goal this season.
The Jackrabbits lost that first game against Sanger on Nov. 9, 70-36 before bouncing back a few days later after some practice to beat Bridgeport on Nov. 12, 56-51.
Bowie comes into this season after falling just short of making the playoffs last season.
The team graduated two of its three double-digit scorers along with an experienced post player from its starting rotation last season.
Rayder Mann is the team’s most proven scorer from last season, but other players will be counted on to step up according to Coach Ryan Dykes, who enters his second season at Bowie.
“Rayder Mann and Bradly Horton will need to be the floor generals for us to be successful,” Dykes said. “Boston Farris will be counted on to be a productive player and Gaige Goodman will need to be a factor in the paint on both the offensive and defensive end.”
In the first game against Sanger, Mann led the team with 13 points while Goodman was second with eight points.
The offense was much better overall against Bridgeport. Horton had 15 points, Mann had 14 points and Farris had nine points as Bowie scored in double-digits in every quarter of the game.
Lady Rabbits
In the second week of the season the Bowie Lady Rabbits had up and down performances.
The Lady Rabbits lost at Bridgeport on Nov. 9, 68-30 but bounced back to win at home on Nov. 12 against Boyd 55-42.
Against Bridgeport, Bowie gave up too many three-pointers on defense as the Sissies made 12 in the game.
It was too much for the Lady Rabbits to keep up with.
Parker Riddle led the team with 14 points while Payton Holt was second with five points.
The offense was more successful overall and balanced against Boyd, pulling away in the second half. Hanna Bell led the team with 13 points while Holt was second with eight points and Lanie Moore had seven points.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Nocona Lady Indians won a tough match in the regional semi-finals against Forsan on Tuesday night in Breckenridge.
The Lady Indians won 3-1, but had to come back big time in the fourth set to close out the match and prevent it going to five.
Nocona came in as slight favorites against a 28 win Lady Buffaloes team that had an up and down pre-district schedule before sweeping through 10 district matches and dropping only two sets.
The first two playoff matches for Forsan were won with little trouble against McCamey and Highland Park, not losing a single set.
The Lady Indians were coming off a 3-0 win against Seymour and 3-1 win against Hawley in its first two playoff rounds. Their tougher district and pre-district schedule while having a similar record made them the favorites in the match.
In the first set, the Lady Buffaloes proved those thoughts on paper meant nothing as it went down to the wire. It could have gone either way and dipped into extra-points, but it was Forsan that came out on top 26-24 to take the early lead 1-0.
Nocona rebounded and easily took set two 25-14 to tie the match at 1-1. Set three was competitive, but the Lady Indians had the lead and some wiggle room as they held on to win 25-20 to take the lead 2-1.
The fourth set the Lady Buffaloes were not going away as they got the lead early and were able to keep it throughout most of the set.
It looked like the match was heading towards a fifth set, where anything could happen at that point. Forsan led 23-17 and just needed to win two more points.
Somehow, some way Nocona grinded back. A couple of won points caused a time out from the Lady Buffaloes to try and quell the small momentum. It did not and every point won exponentially grew that momentum until it was a surge.
The Lady Indians eventually tied the score up at 23-23 before winning the final two points Forsan had been unable to win in the last eight serves. Nocona won 25-23 in a much more emotional celebration for a 3-1 victory because of how the last set was won.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers secured their third straight trip to the regional tournament on Tuesday with an easy win against Woodson.
The Lady Panthers won in straight sets 3-0 against the Cowgirls as they moved on to the next phase in their plan.
Saint Jo came into the match as favorites, with expectations to get back to the regional tournament before the season even started.
Woodson had some good front court players and had picked up steam during district play to win its district. That didn’t mean the Cowgirls didn’t struggle through its first two playoff matches, taking Richland Springs and Crowell to five sets in their victory.
Also, the teams played earlier in the season during a tournament and the Lady Panthers won 2-0. The fact it was more than two months ago indicated little besides both teams knowing what the other brought to the table.
Saint Jo had only stumbled in its previous match against Perrin-Whitt in the first set, with a lot of uncharacteristic errors.
It was important for Coach Kelly Skidmore to get her team’s mindset right to not give up anything easy since Woodson has proven itself to be feisty in its two five-set playoff wins.
The team took her words to heart and led 5-0 to cool off a hot Woodson crowd that was hoping to root its team to an upset win in a playoff run that was full of excitement so far.
Even with the Cowgirls eventually fighting back, Saint Jo was able to attack Woodson’s serve-receive and win more times at the net with its own impressive front court play.
Knowing also where to hit the ball, avoiding too many dump attacks where Woodson was ready and looking to hit it near the sidelines, also played a factor in the Lady Panthers making it look easy.
Saint Jo won 25-17 to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set proved to be the most competitive of the match. The first 10 points were even, but then the Cowgirls had a 4-1 run to open up a 12-8 lead.
The Lady Panthers battled back and quickly tied the score at 15-15 and then 20-20.
Down the stretch, Woodson had trouble landing its serves while Saint Jo made the Cowgirls work for every point. The execution led to the Lady Panthers winning the close set 25-23 as they took a 2-0 lead.
Even with the lead, it was emphasized to Saint Jo players to not give up an inch since Woodson had shown it could take a mile. While the Cowgirls had not come back from 2-0 in the previous two matches, the fact both went five sets and they would need to do it again if they wanted a chance to win meant the Lady Panthers could not take a breath.
With that in mind, Saint Jo started set three and quickly got out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a string of good serves. That seemed to put Woodson’s energy down, even as the Cowgirls clawed back to within one point relatively quickly 8-7.
Then the Lady Panthers went on a 7-3 run to open their lead to 15-10 and there was no fight left for Woodson. Saint Jo’s lead continued to grow as the end of the match proved near.
The Lady Panthers won the set easily 25-14 and the match 3-0.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the match, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870517&T=1
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