SPORTS
Saint Jo baseball splits games following tourney in Oklahoma
The Saint Jo Panthers baseball team split their games against Poolville on Tuesday while winning both games last weekend from Oklahoma.
The Panthers picked up wins against Oklahoma teams Vanoss and Dickson on March 27 before playing the Monarchs in a double header with a win and loss.
Saint Jo played the Dickson Comets first on Saturday. The Panthers struck first scoring four runs in the second inning to take the lead.
Dickson would answer with two runs in the next inning, but Saint Jo would extend its lead to 8-2 after scoring two runs in both the third and fourth inning.
The Comets came on strong in the fifth inning, scoring five runs to cut the lead to one 8-7.
The game was called after that due to time as the Panthers held on to win.
Tyler Cook and Matthew Butler led the team with two RBIs each. Jace Johnson and Collin Thomas each stole two bases to lead the team.
Trevor Conner got the start on the mound and struck seven batters and gave up only two earned runs in four innings.
Saint Jo then had to turn around and play Vanoss next. Despite a rough ending to the previous game, the Panthers started the game off well scoring four runs in the first inning.
Saint Jo scored at least two runs in the remaining three innings of the game, scoring three runs in the fourth inning.
The Vanoss Wolves just could not keep up as the game was ended after four innings with the Panthers lead 11-1. Jordan Reeves, Cook and Thomas each drove in two runs each to lead the team.
Saint Jo then traveled to Poolville on Tuesday to play a double-header against the Monarchs. The Panthers scored first to lead 1-0 after the first inning. Poolville tied the score in the second inning before racking up nine runs over the next three innings.
Saint Jo would score three runs in the final two innings, but the Monarchs would add two more in the seventh as they won 12-4.
Chance Bennett led the Panthers with two RBIs. With Poolville drawing double-digit walks, it was hard to keep the Monarchs off the basepaths during the game.
Thankfully, Saint Jo got one more chance at Poolville that day and turned the tables. The Panthers took the lead in the first inning 2-1, but had a big second inning scoring six runs to take an 8-2 lead.
The Monarchs would cut into the scoring runs in the second and third inning to make it 8-5. Saint Jo’s offense would pick things back up starting in the fifth inning, scoring runs in the final three innings to extend its lead.
Poolville could not match it with the Panthers pitchers limiting the walks and hits to only three each. Saint Jo won the game easily 12-5.
Brice Durham and Johnson led the team with two RBIs each while Cook stole a team high three bases.
Payton Harris got the start on the mound and pitched into the fifth inning, striking out four and allowing only one earned runs. Durham came in to get the save and did not allow a base runner.
The Panthers next scheduled game is at 4:30 p.m. on April 6 at home against Perrin-Whitt.
It was announced last week Nocona Athletic director/football coach Blake Crutsinger is resigning from his position at the school after serving four years.
Crutsinger said now is the time for his family to make the move, with his daughter Avery graduating after spending four years at Nocona and with his son Kellar about to enter high school and wanting the same for him at another school.
“With her going off to college, she had a really good four years here and just looking at Keller heading into high school and exploring some opportunities that might be better for him, it is just time,” Crutsinger said.
Crutsinger went 19-22 overall, helping the Indians to two playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. The team’s best season was 2023, when it went 8-2 and won the district title, the first one in 11 years for the program.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo senior Payzlie Cervantes signed her letter of intent to play college basketball last week at Highland College in Kansas. She also played volleyball, softball and ran track at Saint Jo. “After talking with Coach Tana Coleman, I really connected with her and loved the campus vibe and direction she wants for the team,” Cervantes said. “I’m looking forward to continuing my basketball career while getting my associates degree in nursing to become a registered nurse.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Last week Montague County had five girls from Bowie and Saint Jo compete at the state tennis tournament, and one team brought back some hardware.
Sisters from Bowie, junior Heidi and freshman Willow Siebert brought back a bronze medal competing in the 3A girl’s doubles bracket.
The pair were the first people from the program to make it back to state since their half sisters, Meagan and Myah Russell, advanced nine years previously.
The Sieberts came into state as a two-seed, having finished second at the regional tournament the previous week.
The duo was ready as they blew through their first two matches. They beat a team from Hondo in the first round with the scores being 6-1, 6-1 and dominated even more in the second round against a team from Tatum, winning 6-0, 6-1.
That got them through to the second day of the tournament, but Coach Dayna Boothe was worried they had had it too easy on day one.
Playing in the semifinals, the Lady Rabbits faced a familiar foe, a team from Peaster they had beaten in the regional tournament the previous week. Unfortunately, near the end of the first set, with the Sieberts fighting to stay alive, Heidi went after a high lob and slammed into the fence. She hurt her right arm and had to play through it for the rest of the match.
They lost the match with the scores being 6-3, 6-3.
It was an all Peaster final, with the other side of the bracket producing the team that both beat the Sieberts at the regional tournament and won their second straight state title.
Still, despite the disappointment, Bowie is bringing back a bronze medal. According to Boothe, after contacting people who would know dating back to the late 1970s, it could possibly be the program’s first medals from the state tournament in tennis.
Of course, Bowie was not the only school represented. Saint Jo had Taylor Patrick competing in girl’s singles and the team of Bailie Nobile and Maxey Johnson competing in girl’s doubles in the 1A classification.
Senior Patrick was making her third appearance at the state tournament, but her first in the singles competition.
She finished third at the regional meet which meant she had a tough first round matchup against a second seed from Fort Davis.
It took everything from Patrick in a match that lasted two and a half hours. She went down in the first set 6-2, but rebounded in a tight second set to win 6-4 to force a third and final set. She had the momentum and won 6-2 to move on.
She had to summon the energy to play later that day against a fresh one-seed player from Utopia. Patrick lost 6-1, 6-1 to end her Saint Jo career. Her opponent would go on to finish second.
Juniors Johnson and Nobile were making their first appearances at the state meet after finishing second at the regional tournament. In the first round they played a tough match against a team from Marathon. It seemed evenly matched throughout, but small mistakes at inopportune times cost them throughout the match. In the end, the team lost by the scores of 6-3, 6-3.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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