SPORTS
Bowie beats Nocona in five set thriller
County rivals Bowie and Nocona faced off on Saturday afternoon in a game that had a lot of stakes for both teams heading into it.
The match lived up to the billing as almost all five sets were nail-biters that could have gone either way, but in the end it was the Lady Rabbits who came out on top 3-2.
Heading into the match, Bowie was coming off of beating a Holliday team at home it had not won against since 2016. The Lady Eagles had previously given the Lady Indians their only loss of district play so far.
With Saturday being the last game of the first round of district, a Nocona win would set up a three-way tie atop the district standings. A Lady Rabbit win would keep them undefeated and at the top.
Both communities filled the Nocona gym despite recovering from the football games the previous nights. The newly appointed Bowie Pep Squad student section brought its usual energy combined with some mix of pajamas and food based costumes.
The Nocona student section was not to be outdone as it always knows when to come out strong with the support with the signs, enthusiasm and trolling chants. Both sections were loud when needed and traded chants back and forth across all five sets.
With all of the buildup and the energy of the environment, the match lived up to it.
The Lady Rabbits came out with the early fire, jumping out to an early 4-1 lead and eventually a 12-8 lead. The Lady Indians battled back and tied the match at 15-15 with their aggressive serves and on the backs of hitters Averee Kleinhans and Ella Nunneley.
However, Bowie regained control with its size at the net and consistent attacks from all over. A little 18-17 lead quickly became a 22-18 lead. From there the Lady Rabbits closed out the set playing even to win 25-21 and take an early lead.
The second set saw Nocona jump out to a 4-1 lead. After an even 20 points played between the two teams, the Lady Indians margin was the same at 14-11.
From there, Nocona got on its best roll of the whole match, winning 11 of the next 15 points thanks to some great serving to win the least contested set of the match 25-15.
With the match tied and the Lady Indians again starting a set up 4-1, it looked like they had the momentum still going from the previous set. Things could have really gone south for Bowie. Instead, the Lady Rabbits bounced back immediately to tie the match 5-5.
The teams swapped little leads until Bowie had a 19-16 lead. Nocona got the lead back within one at the end of the set 23-22, but the Lady Rabbits were able to hold on to win 25-22.
With the Lady Indians needing to win the next set if they wanted a chance win the match, Nocona started the fourth set in a strong way up 6-0. Working from a deficit, Bowie played almost event for the next 20 points as the Lady Indians led 15-10 before the Lady Rabbits made their move.
Bowie worked all the way back to take an 18-17 lead, but Nocona was not just going to lay down. The Lady Indians won four of the next five points to lead 21-19. The Lady Rabbits tied the score at 24-24, looking to close the match out now, but Nocona won the next two points to win the set 26-24 and force a fifth and final set.
Despite winning the set, a tough blow was dealt for the Lady Indians as libero Laramie Hayes went out with some sort of leg injury. If they were going to win the match, it would be without their solid defensive safety net in the back row.
If the fourth set had wild swings, the fifth set, played to 15 making every point that much more important, continued that trend.
The teams traded two points both ways before Bowie won five of the next six points to take a 7-3 lead. After the lead was cut to two, the teams traded a point for a point for the next six as the Lady Rabbits led 11-9.
The Lady Indians then closed the gap and the score was tied at 12-12. Bowie again scored two straight points right when it needed to to go up 14-12 and make it match point.
Nocona stifled off both attempts and the tied the set back up at 14-14. The teams traded the next four points as the set went into extra points and the score tied 16-16. The Lady Rabbits won the next point to make it match point once again at 17-16.
As Bowie served for the match, Nocona received the serve well and set up an attack for Kleinhans. The Lady Rabbits Landra Parr dug the shot well, but it forced libero Taygon Jones to make a good pass for a potential attack. She did behind her to Bowie’s top attacker Aslyn Davis, who tried to hit the ball down the left line.
A Lady Indians’ player blocked the ball, but it ricocheted off of her out of bounds for a point towards the Lady Rabbits, giving them the win 18-16 as they jumped up in down in unison due to joy.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians picked up dominant wins against Chico in their series against the Dragons last week.
The Indians won both games 11-0 by run-rule after five innings to get their first district wins of the season.
Nocona was coming off losing both games against Lindsay the previous week in its first district series and bounced back in a big way.
In the first game at home last week, the Indians scored six runs in the first inning and five in the third inning which proved to be all the offense they needed.
Kutter Cabrera led the team with three RBIs while Miller Jentry was second with two RBIs. The team finished with nine hits and drew eight walks.
On the mound, Walker Murphey pitched a shut out while striking out seven and allowing three hits. Defensively, the team committed one fielding error.
The second game saw Nocona score all of its runs in the first three innings, highlighted by scoring six runs in the second inning.
Murphey hit a three-run home run to lead the team while Brody Langford and Landon Fatheree each had two RBIs.
On the mound RJ Walker had a big day, throwing a perfect four innings which means he did not allow a hit or walk anyone. He also struck out eight batters, which put him over 100 career strikeouts in high school. The defense committed no fielding errors.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost their series against Bryson last week.
The first game was a close 3-0 loss, but the second game was 11-0, done after four and half innings due to run-rule.
The Panthers were coming off close losses to Perrin-Whitt from the previous week. They were hoping they could turn their fortune around playing another 1A program.
Unfortunately in the first game, the Cowboys got off to a good start, scoring three runs in the first inning, with two coming with two outs due to an error and a dropped third strike.
Saint Jo’s pitching and defense tightened up after that to not allow another run in the final six innings. Unfortunately, the Panthers had only two hits and four base runners all game as they lost the close game 3-0.
Charlie Evans and Rylan Forrest had the only two hits for Saint Jo in the game as the team struck out 18 times. Trent Gaston ended the game allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out five batters and walking two in six innings of work. The defense committed five fielding errors.
Unfortunately, things did not go as well several days later in game two. Bryson scored three runs in both the first and second innings before scoring five runs in the third inning. Saint Jo was not able to get a hit and drew two walks in the game.
The Panther defense committed six fielding errors which led to only three of the 11 runs given up were earned by the pitching staff who gave up five hits, walked six and hit four batters.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles played Perrin-Whitt last week in a series.
The Pirates won the first game 11-1 by run-rule and the second game score was not updated on Game Changer.
The Eagles were coming off one-sided losses to Bryson the previous week in their first district series and was hoping to play better.
Bellevue did get out to an early lead in the first inning. River Trail hit an RBI single in the top of the first inning to go up 1-0, which proved to be the highlight of the game.
Perrin-Whitt scored three runs in the first inning, one in the second inning, two in the fourth inning and five in the fifth inning to win 11-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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