SPORTS
Bowie, Nocona softball teams look to bounce back this season with new coaches
Softball season has started for both Bowie and Nocona this week.
Both have their first actual games this week as well as first tournament in Jacksboro.
Both teams also are trying to bounce back after tough seasons missing the playoffs in a district that featured two teams making it far in the playoffs.
For Bowie, the program is not used to missing the playoffs, but last year’s team was young overall and lacking numbers following the shortened COVID season.
A lack of numbers for a JV team and missing a year of development cost them in a district that took no prisoners.
Coach Jordon Roth takes over the program and the former Bowie graduate hopes to build it back up from the beginning.
“I am expecting the girls to work hard every day and to be willing to do what it takes to help the team,” Roth said. We have good team chemistry, so I don’t see any issues with them being willing to sacrifice for their teammates.”
The good for the team is it lost only one senior starter from last year. That familiarity and growth for the young team should mean the team should be getting better together as a group.
With more than two seasons gone from the program’s last playoff berth, that does mean the team’s overall swagger and expectations from the players needs to be rediscovered again.
“The biggest area for improvement is going to be their confidence.” Roth said. “They have to trust me and be willing to be coachable for us to thrive this season.”
For the Lady Indians, Nolan Lanham gets his try to coach the softball team. The new coach has been at Liberty, Jarrell and Hamilton and is a graduate from Prosper High School and Tarleton University.
Lanham hopes to bring an “attack first” philosophy to this team.
“I believe for our team to be successful this year we have to learn to attack in every phase of the game,” Lanham said. “Our pitchers have to attack the strike zone and opposing batters, and when balls are put in play our defense has to attack the ball. Offensively we have to attack pitches early and often, then use our aggressiveness on the bases to put pressure on the opposing team.”
The Nocona softball program’s best recent seasons have been where they compete well, but wins have come few and far between. Their worst have been when most games finish early.
In best years the team is usually filled with upper classmen with experience and this team returns some.
Makenna Nobile, Sydnee Mowry, Tobie Cable and Maddi Ezzell all have experience in the infield and will try to lead the Lady Indians in making the fundamental plays on defense and making plays with their bats.
The team also will be incorporating some younger players that do not have a lot of innings playing at the varsity level.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
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.
-
NEWS3 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS2 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS2 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS2 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS2 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
NEWS2 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
NEWS2 years agoBowie Police face three-hour standoff after possible domestic fight
-
NEWS2 years ago
Driver stopped by a man running into the street, robbed at knifepoint