SPORTS
Saint Jo baseball loses to Dodd City
Despite receiving a bye in the bi-district round, Saint Jo baseball drew state ranked Dodd City in the regional quarterfinals of the playoffs and were underdogs.
Playing a double header on Friday at Bells High School, the Panthers could not pull the upset that day as the Hornets won both games 11-1 and 12-3 to end their season.
The first game was rough since it had been more than a week since Saint Jo had played. Tyler Cook got on base with two out single in the first inning, but it did not lead to anything.
Dodd City went to work, scoring four runs thanks to two hits, two walks and a couple of steals. The Panthers found themselves behind 4-0 after one inning.
Saint Jo batters failed to get on base in the second inning. A leadoff walk from the Hornets led to another run to extend the lead to 5-0 after two innings.
The Panthers offense built some real momentum in the third starting off with Eli Jones drawing a walk with one out. Jones stole second base and Wyatt Geurin followed with a single to put runners at the corners.
Connor Thompson came through, driving in Jones with a single to left field, cutting the lead to 5-1. Unfortunately, the next two batters failed to get on base even after both runners stole bases to move into scoring position.
Dodd City doubled its runs thanks to three base hits and three drawn walks to go up 10-1 as the game started to slip away after three innings.
Brock Durham led off with a single for the Panthers, but the pinch runner was picked off at first base later in the inning while the next two batters were retired. Despite hitting a batter with one out, Saint Jo kept the runner from scoring as the game advanced to the fifth inning.
Geurin reached first base thanks to an error at third base with two outs, but there would be no two out rally for the Panthers. Despite keeping the Hornets from scoring in the last inning, four walks scored the winning run in the fifth as the game ended due to run rule 11-1.
Saint Jo gave up double digit walks and stolen bases that made all the difference in game one and could only play better in game two.
It proved to be the better game. The Hornets continued to find ways to capitalize on lone base runners as a leadoff walk came around to score thanks to an error in the top of the first inning to lead 1-0. Cook drew a two out walk for the Panthers, but it did not lead to any scoring.
Dodd City drew two walks, but Saint Jo did a better job of limiting steals on the base paths and threw out a runner at second base for the third out of the inning. Like the first inning one batter, Trevor Conner, drew a walk. Just like the first inning, the runner was stranded at first base as the next two batters were retired.
The Hornets added to their lead in the third inning. A two out walk and a stolen base was capitalized on by a base hit to right field to score the runner, upping the lead to 2-0.
Geurin hit a one out single to center field. Geurin was able to reach second base thanks to an error, but was out at third base right before Thompson hit a single to left field. Thompson advanced to second on a passed ball, but the next batter struck out for the third out.
A leadoff walk and a single from Dodd City normally would have scored a run, but the Panthers prevented any stolen bases, even throwing a runner out at third base for the third out.
Saint Jo’s offense came to life as Jace Johnson led off with a drawn walk. Durham followed with a single to right field, good enough for pinch runner Hunter Garrett to reach third base.
After a strikeout, Logan Morman put the ball in play. The shortstop committed an error that allowed Garrett to score, Durham to reach third and Morman to reach first. Next batter Pepe Gam grounded out to third base, but Durham was able to score on the play to tie the game up at 2-2.
In the fifth inning, the Hornets started a two out rally with a walk and a single. An error at first base allowed the lead runner to score as Dodd City retook the lead 3-2.
The Panthers answered as Thompson hit a one out line drive single to center field. Cook followed with a walk to advance Thompson. Johnson put the ball in play and thanks to an error at first, Thompson scored to tie the game at 3-3.
The Hornets secured the lead again in the sixth inning as a hit batter was driven in after advancing to third base thanks to a failed pick off attempt and a passed ball. Dodd City led 4-3.
While Saint Jo’s offense had answered the previous two innings, only Gam getting hit by a pitch with two outs prevented the Panthers from getting shut down. A failed stolen base attempt by the pinch runner ended things on the base paths as the game advanced to the seventh and final inning.
After liming the free bases all game compared to game one, Saint Jo pitchers could not find the strike zone in the final inning. The Panthers walked eight batters, hit two batters and allowed one hit in the seventh inning as the Hornets lead grew to 12-3 in an inning that would not end.
Saint Jo tried to be aggressive till the very end. Thompson hit a two out single and hoped to inspire a rally. After stealing second base, the game ended on the base paths with Thompson trying to steal third base.
Dodd City won 12-3.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
A solid day was had by Montague county high school tracksters at the State Track and Field Meet May 16 in Austin.
Bellevue’s Mattie Broussard had a pair of second place finishes in both the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.41 and the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:31.33. Broussard also was 4th in the 1,600-meters with a time of 5:22.18.
Her teammate Brylie Hager was 9th in the 110-meter hurdles in 19.93.
Forestburg’s Brenna Briles was 4th in the triple jump with a 35’9 1’2” leap. Her teammate Jocelyn Rich was 4th in the pole vault with a 9’ leap.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Bowie had a pair of top four finishes at the State Track and Field Meet May 14.
Sophomore Brayden Willett made it onto the medal stand, finishing 3rd in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:17.89. Bowie junior Tyler Richey finished 4th in the pole vault after a 14’6” effort.
The top two finishers from Holliday, also in Bowie’s district, celebrated with him after he crossed the finish line.
“It was kind of surprising,” Willett said about Ryder and Noah Stroman embracing him in a celebratory hug. “They’re good guys, so it was kind of cool.”
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
This past week found your outdoor scribe doing some rather mundane things such as yard work, vegetable gardening and repairs around the old cabin. Oh, I also wrapped up a couple of magazine articles. I always enjoy sharing my adventures with all of you in this column but to be perfectly honest, not nearly as much as my ‘field work’ hunting and fishing which is an iatrical part of any good outdoor column. If you’re like me, you much prefer reading about an adventure that you can also partake.
I am far more comfortable telling you about an outdoor experience I had firsthand knowledge of rather than the reporting part of my job as an outdoor communicator. So, this week, I’d do a bit of ‘reporting’ and share some planned adventures I have scheduled for the next couple weeks. By the time you’re reading this, I will have already been in the woods in quest of a fat ‘eater’ hog and probably have some freshly caught blue catfish fillets in the freezer, details will follow in the next couple of weeks.
I’ll kick things off early in the week heading down to my friend Jeff Rice’s Buck and Bass Ranch located on the upper end of Lake Fork. Jeff produces our weekly TV show “A Sportsman’s Life” which airs on Carbon TV and YouTube. Our plan is to film a segment of our show on stalking wild hogs. It will be a challenge to capture the shot with all the thick grown spring vegetation. It could happen fast and require a fast shot. We will be breaking in my CVA Cascade scout rifle in 308 caliber. This short barrel little rifle is light and easy to handle in thick cover, ideal for this type of hunting. Our plan is to hit the woods during the last couple hours of daylight and ease along the trails, watching and especially listening for hogs. Wild porkers are vocal critters and it’s common to hear them before seeing them. We will play the wind and attempt to get downwind and then close the distance for a shot but you can never guess how a hog hunt will unfold. Wild pork or not, Jeff and I always have a great time together and I plan to bring a side of wild pork ribs already slow smoked and covered in brown sugar and BBQ sauce with a side of camp baked beans!
After a tasty dinner we plan to get a good night’s sleep and head out the next morning for a planned fishing trip with guide David Hanson at Lake Tawakoni. Both channel and blue catfish are on a very good bite right but it’s hard to pass up those snow white blue catfish fillets when the bite is good. David is, to my knowledge, the most veteran catfish guide on the lake and became friends close to a quarter-century ago when we first began fishing
together. The plan is to use freshy cut shad in shallow water and target eater size blues weighing between 2 and about 10 pounds but as every catfish angler knows, it’s always possible to connect with a big trophy size blue when fishing Tawakoni.
Next week, I plan to join my long-time friend J.C. McCollough on the Red River below the Texoma dam. I’ve been fishing and hunting with J.C. for many years and look forward to getting with him again. I would describe this to catching big catfish in a barrel but in this case the deep holes in the river are comprised of several acres. The water level in the river below Texoma are dictated by the water release at the dam by the Corp of Engineers. When there is a current in the river, fish move upstream to feed on baitfish coming through the dam. When the water recedes, they fish move into the deeper holes where baitfish also seek refuge from the falling water. Catching will be fast paced with the chance to connect with some big fish as well as limits of “eater” size fish. We’ll be rigging with big live gizzard shad fished weightless on a free line, using medium spinning gear. The bigger fish will often nail the frisky live shad and the fresh cut bait is a sure way to connect with lots of smaller fish. There is something very exciting about fishing big live baits on a slack line. One minute your bait will be darting around and you will occasionally feel it taking up slack and the next when a big blue catfish grabs the bait, the rod will bow and the fight will be on. There is usually no ‘setting the hook’, by the time you feel the fish, it will already be hooked and making a strong run to the nearest submerged brush. Your job will be to keep the drag set just enough to keep pressure on the fish but not so much as to cause the line to break.
J.C. uses his airboat to access these deeper holes because of the very shallow water. While it’s not impossible to portage a kayak or small boat in the river, it often requires a few miles travel to get to these deep holes, this is best accomplished by experienced kayakers with plenty of endurance. There was a time when I was game for this type fishing but I much prefer to do my river fishing these days from a boat designed to negotiate the shallow waters.
Squirrel season is underway in many of the east Texas counties and there’s some pretty good fox squirrel hunting here close to home in Kaufman county and I’ve been thinking about how tasty a big skillet of smothered squirrel with rice, gravy and biscuits would be. Bream are on the beds now and my friend Edgar Cotton invited me to come do some ‘perch jerking’ with him and his son David-it’s in the plans! Well, hopefully next week I will have a ‘sure nuff’ adventure of two to relate you you-I’m ready to get some relief from all this work around the homeplace! LC
You can contact Tawakoni/Fork catfish guide David Hanson at 902-268-7391. Contact J.C. McCollough at 580-372-0320.
Listen to Luke’s podcast, “Catfish Radio” just about everywhere podcast are found.
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