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Panther baseball falls to Hornets

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The Saint Jo baseball team had its season come to an end on Wednesday.
The Panthers lost both games of their double-header (11-1, 12-2) to Dodd City in the regional quarterfinals of the playoffs.
Saint Jo knew heading into the game its hands were full. The Panthers’ last two playoff exits in 2018 and 2019 came against the Hornets.
Dodd City came in favored, ranked the number one team in the state in 1A. The Hornets only loss came early in the season against another Montague County school, 3A Bowie.
Needing to put up its best performance of the season to give themselves a chance, the Panthers did not start the day well.
The first four batters from Dodd City were gifted free bases, with three walks and a hit batter scoring the first run. Even a quick pitching change to Payton Harris, who started throwing strikes, was followed by the Hornets hitting a bases-clearing double to go up 4-0.
Harris got out of the disastrous first inning with out further damage, but there was more to come.
After a one-two-three inning at the plate for Saint Jo hitters, Dodd City scored four more runs in the second inning thanks to two walks, one hit batter, one fielding error and one double.
The Panthers were down 8-0 not even two innings into the first game and it looked like the game was destined to end early due to run rule.
Saint Jo batters again could not get on base as balls hit went right to Hornet players as the game moved to the third inning.
Despite hitting the leadoff batter and giving up another walk, Harris was able to get out of the inning without unscathed. The Panthers batters continued to struggle as the game moved to the fourth inning.
The leadoff batter for Dodd City got on base thanks to being hit again. Despite being moved into scoring position on a groundout, Harris and the Panthers defense did a good job of getting the following two outs with little drama.
Collin Thomas led off with the team’s first hit with a single. Matthew Butler followed with a bunt and was able to reach first base thanks to an error that also allowed Thomas to reach third base.
Saint Jo then sent Butler to steal second base. Though he was thrown out, it did allow Thomas to come in to score as the Panthers showed some life cutting the lead 8-1.
The Hornets got the run back at the beginning of the fifth inning. An errant throw to first base from third allowed the leadoff to get on base. Two groundouts moved the runner to third base where he was driven in on a single to make the score 9-1.
Chance Bennett and Brice Durham hit back-to-back singles with one out to put runners at the corners. Durham then was able to successfully steal second base as he beat the throw.
Bennett tried to steal home at the same time in the same play from the previous inning.
The throw back home was early. Bennett tried to slide underneath the tag and flipped the catcher over. Unfortunately, the catcher held onto the ball and Bennett was called out. A strike out followed to end the fifth inning.
A leadoff double and walk started the sixth inning for Dodd City. After a passed ball, fly ball to center field for the second out allowed one run to score and make it 10-1.
Following a single Thomas came into pitch relief and pick up the third out.
The Panthers had another one-two-three inning as they headed into the seventh.
The Hornets were able to get one more run in the final inning with two singles and a hit batter to make the score 11-1.
Harris was able to get on base for Saint Jo with two outs in the final inning as he tried to start a rally, but a strike out followed to end the first game.
There were just too many free bases given up in the first game, especially in the first two innings. Panther pitchers gave up eight walks and hit five batters.
With Saint Jo stringing together five hits and failing to draw any walks, it just could not keep up with the Hornets.
The second game started 30 minutes later with the Panthers hoping they could play better and give themselves a chance.

To read how the second game went, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.

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Bowie Baseball Interview

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Interview with Bowie baseball players Austin Cheney (left) and Hayden Rodriguez following their win against City View on senior night April 22, 2025.
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Softball Roundup

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The Saint Jo softball team win against Perrin-Whitt last week secured a district title. (Courtesy photo)

Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers again made a come back win against Perrin-Whitt in a high scoring affair that ended early.
The Lady Panthers won 20-10 against the Lady Pirates, winning after six innings due to run-rule.
Saint Jo’s last game had been 12 days earlier against the same Perrin-Whitt team it had also beaten in a high-scoring game 35-20. Another win would secure the Lady Panthers district title.
Saint Jo started off the game well, scoring five runs in the first inning and one more in the top of the second inning to go up 6-0. The Lady Pirates then reeled off nine runs in the bottom of the second inning which usually would change the whole momentum of the game with them up 9-6.
Perrin-Whitt added one more run in the third inning after holding Saint Jo scoreless, which is another rare feat in the team’s history of playing the other. The Lady Pirates led 10-6 and had momentum.
Then the Lady Panthers scored six runs in the fourth inning to take the lead back. Saint Jo’s pitching and defense tightened up to not allow any more runs in the final three innings while the Lady Panthers added four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
It was enough to end the game early by one inning, with Saint Jo winning 20-10.
Symbri Evans and Reagan Wilson each had four RBIs to lead the team while Mercedes Diaz was second with three RBIs. The team finished with 20 hits while drawing nine walks.
Defensively, Saint Jo allowed only seven walks, a good improvement from a lot of games where the total in the double-digits while the Lady Panther defense committed four fielding errors and allowed 15 hits.
The win wrapped up a district title for the team. For the girl’s program, it is the fourth team district title this season, having already secured one in volleyball, basketball and track.

Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians ended their regular season on a sour note against one of the top teams in the district last week.
The Lady Indians lost to Lindsay 12-2, with the game ending after five innings due to run-rule.
Nocona was coming off of securing its first playoff appearance the previous week, but knew it would be tested against a Lady Knights team they had previously lost to handily in late March. The Lady Indians hoped they could competed better and try to treat the game like a playoff game.
Lindsay led after the first inning 1-0. Nocona came back in the second inning with two runs scored by RBI singles from Ashlynn Brown and Gwyndelyn Forsyth to take the lead 2-1. The Lady Knights tied the game with one run in the same inning to make it 2-2.
Unfortunately, the next three innings belonged to Lindsay. The Lady Knights scored six runs in the third inning to grab momentum. Lindsay then scored three runs in the fourth inning and one more in the fifth inning to end the game early due to run-rule.
The Lady Knights won 12-2.
Nocona ended with four hits while drawing six walks in the game. Lindsay finished with 11 hits and the Lady Indians committed four fielding errors.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.

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Baseball Roundup

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With wins against Era last week, Nocona earned its second straight playoff appearance with a week left to play. (Courtesy photo)

Nocona
The Nocona Indians picked up wins against Era last week to secure their second straight playoff appearance with one more game to play.
The Indians beat the Hornets 12-5 and by run-rule 10-0 after four and half innings.
Nocona was coming off of a tough series against Muenster, losing both games, playing well in one but not the other.
The Indians knew they had a good chance to beat Era if they played up to their potential and they showed it from the first inning in game one.
Nocona rallied off seven runs in the first inning before the Hornets had even bat to put itself in a good situation to possibly end the game early.
The only downside was the Indians were not able to offensively keep up the pressure. Nocona added one run in the seventh inning, two in the sixth and two more in the seventh inning.
Era scored four of its five runs in the final inning to put a bit of a sour note on an Indians win that could have finished stronger as Nocona won 12-5.
Miller Jentry led the team with four RBIs while Walker Murphey and Jayce Lehde each drove in two runs. The team had 16 total hits and drew five walks.
On the mound, RJ Walker pitched three innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out seven. The defense committed three fielding errors.
While letting the Hornets off the hook in the first game, Nocona made up for it in game two.
The Indians scored seven runs in one inning again, this time it coming in the second inning. Nocona added three runs the next two innings and shut out Era to secure the win by run-rule after four and half innings. The Indians won 10-0.
Brody Langford and Murphey each drove in two runs each to lead the team. Nocona finished with 10 hits, with four going for extra base hits while Era committed three fielding errors.
On the mound, Walker pitched all five innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out eight and walking two. The defense committed two fielding errors.

Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost a tough game at Perrin-Whitt last week, with most of the damage coming in the sixth and final inning.
The Pirates scored eight runs in the sixth inning to win the game one inning early due to run-rule 16-6.
The Panthers were coming off an uplifting win against Bellevue that saw them come back several times the previous week on the road. Saint Jo had played Perrin-Whitt in late March and had lost both games in close fashion so the Panthers hoped this time would be a different outcome for them.
The Pirates scored four runs in the first two innings before Saint Jo answered with three runs scored in the third inning. Perrin-Whitt added one run in the same inning and three in the fourth inning.
The Panthers cut the lead down to two runs after scoring three more runs in the fifth inning, making the score 8-6 heading into the sixth inning.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo had an inning from hell, allowing eight runs on five singles, a triple, two walks and a hit batter. The final run scored ended the game early.
Perrin-Whitt won 16-6.
Charlie Barclay led the team with two RBIs while Devin Stewart, Trent Gaston, Charlie Evans and Rylan Forrester each drove in one run. Saint Jo finished with eight hits and drew seven walks.
Unfortunately, the Panthers gave up 12 hits and walked seven batters while committing two fielding errors.

Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles only played one game last week due to weather concerns later in the week and lost to Perrin-Whitt.
The Pirates won 15-0 after four innings, winning by run-rule in a game the Eagles hopes to forget.
Bellevue had one from Brycen Bancroft and River Trail drew the only walk in a game where not much went right. Eight fielding errors from the Eagles, eight walks issues and six hits added up really fast.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.

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