Bowie baseball
The Bowie baseball team finally got to start its season on Tuesday with a win against Callisburg.
The Jackrabbits won 9-1 in Coach Tyler Price’s first game at the helm, picking up his first win of his career.
“Our pitchers threw a lot of strikes, got ahead in the count most of the time and our defense did a good job of making routine plays behind them,” Price said. “Offensively, our approach at the plate has plenty of room to improve, but we came up with big hits in key situations which were nice to see.”
Like every team, Bowie is trying to bounce back after a lost season last year that was cut off by COVID-19. Last year’s young team is one year older, but that valuable playing time was lost.
The team will be counting on Kawler Swearingin, Devin Melton, Colton Richey, Parker Price, Cade Thompson, Logan Hutson, Jacob Fallis and Brae Ogle in various different roles.
Some young athletic sophomores moving up include Carson Sanders, Brody Armstrong and A.J. Whatley.
Price expects this team to be led by its strength in its defense and pitching.
“Our biggest area of improvement that I am looking to see for this year is our mentality and approach at the plate,” Price said. “I feel like we are going to be strong defensively and our pitching depth is a huge strength. I want to see us improve our approach at the plate and not just try to step in the box and hit it over the fence every time.”
Bowie’s next game is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Feb. 27 at Graham.

Bowie softball
The Bowie Lady Rabbits got to start their season on Tuesday with a home game against a tough Burkburnett team.
The Lady Rabbits lost a high scoring game 13-9 against the Lady Tigers.
Gracie Duke led Bowie with three RBIs while she hit a double. Alexa Holzer drove in two more runs. Unfortunately, the team struck out 13 times.
Defensively, the team committed eight errors and walked seven batters which is always a bad recipe.
Coming off a more than a week break due to extreme weather conditions, it was not completely unexpected though.
New Coach Michael Dansby sees this season as a rebuilding year with a young team overall. With a lost season from last year due to COVID-19, the early season will be especially important for this group to grow together.
Players Dansby is expecting big things from are Kenzie Short, Duke, Holzer, Hannah Love, Rylie Vieth, Stephanie Allen and Kaylie Kinney.
More girls are expected to join this week, coming over from basketball.
Bowie competes in its first tournament this weekend at Wichita Falls.

Nocona baseball
The Nocona Indians started their season off after a week’s delay with a win against Collinsville on Tuesday.
The Indians won 17-7 against the Pirates to start their season off on the right note.
The team was led offensively by Wesley Murphy and Colton Rusell driving in four runners apiece. Kooper Hansard and Vinit Patel also drove in three runs apiece as the team had its way against Collinsville’s pitching.
Murphy and Hansard split time on the mound, each pitching three innings and striking out six hitters each.
New Coach Leslie Rinehart was proud of the win and how his team put the ball in the play, but is hoping for more out of his pitching and defense. He hopes this is the season that turns the program towards more success.
“This is season we are fairly young so we need to get those guys used to varsity baseball and playing at a higher level,” Rinehart said. “We want to get better every day and work toward getting in the playoffs. Nocona hasn’t been in the playoffs in 16 years I believe so that a big team goal.”
Rinehart is expecting big things from seniors Colton Russell and Vinit Patel and along with experienced junior Kooper Hansard.
Nocona plays in its first tournament this weekend at the Bell’s Invitational.

Nocona softball
The Nocona Lady Indians opened their season with a close win against Quanah on Wednesday.
The Lady Indians won 7-6 against Quanah after leading for most of the game.
Nocona’a MaKenna Nobile drove in two runs to lead the team. Laci Stone, Paige James and Logan Patterson drove in one run apiece to also help the offense along.
Stone struck out 10 batters in her five innings while walking only one batter. Paige James came in to pitch the final two innings to pick up the win.
New Coach Tanya Samples thought her team looked sharp considering the team had a week off due to bad weather that delayed the start of the season.
“We are really focusing on our state of mind,” Samples said. “Hustle, but don’t rush. Just like in all sports communication is key to make sure we are all on the same page moving toward the same goal. We are looking to improve everytime we touch the field and that is what we will do. State of mind.”
Nocona softball has been improving little by little in the last several years. Last year the team was looking good heading into district play before COVID-19 canceled the season.
A lot of players return and are looking to surprise teams this year, with a playoff berth being a good goal in the usually tough district.
Nocona is scheduled to play at noon on Feb. 27 in Hirchi.