SPORTS
Bowie comes back to beat Early in bi-district round
The Bowie Jackrabbits overcame a loss in game one to win the bi-district series against Early on Saturday in Stephenville.
The Longhorns won the first game 7-0 before the Jackrabbits came back the next day to win 6-2 and 5-1 despite facing some midday heat.
Bowie came into the series as the third seed playing a second seed as Early’s only district losses came against the top ranked team in the state Brock.
Game one did not start well for the Jackrabbits and unfortunately they were never able to recover. Two singles in the first inning drove in one run before a two-run home run followed to put the Longhorns up 3-0.
Carson Sanders came in to pitch relief the final six innings and was doing well keeping the score close until the fifth inning. Early hit a double with the bases loaded and one out. Bowie’s Brody Armstrong was able to throw the ball home with enough accuracy to get one runner out and limit the hit to only one run as the Longhorns lead grew to 4-0.
The next inning went worse for the Bowie defense. A leadoff double, two singles, a hit batter and a bunt allowed three more runs to score for Early as the lead upped to 7-0.
Saturday proved to be a hot day in the 90s with a slight amount of breeze and no clouds in sight.
Early again struck first in the bottom of the opening inning. After two walks, a single drove in a run to put the Longhorns up 1-0. Bowie answered back in the second inning. Devin Melton led off with a single. He was able to move to third base thanks to two wild pitches. Three batters later, Logan Hutson grounded out to the shortstop for an out, but it drove in Melton to tie the game at 1-1.
In the third inning, the Longhorns again were able to squeeze out a run. A fielding error, a single and an intentional walk loaded the bases up with one out. A groundout was enough to drive in one run to give Early a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth inning.
Bowie had a great opportunity its next at-bat, loading the bases up with no outs. A strikeout followed by a double play however prevented any runs from scoring.
It could have been a momentum draining moment for Bowie, but the team answered back. Pitcher Kawyler Swearingin came back to strike out the side and the Jackrabbits came back with more fury in the fifth inning.
Brody Armstrong led off with a single. Two outs later Armstrong was sitting on third base. Kynan DeMoss came through with a double to tie the game. Jake Fallis followed with a double that gave Bowie its first lead of the series 3-2.
Swearingin and the defense followed with a quick 1-2-3 inning that took only eight pitches that kept the momentum up heading into the sixth inning.
Colton Richey and Swearigin led off with singles. Hutson then hit a single that was deep enough to drive in both base runners and allowed him to advance to second base. Armstrong followed with a double that drove in another run to up the Jackrabbits lead to 6-2.
Early was able to get two base runners on in the sixth inning after failing to the last two innings, but Swearingin struck out two batters and the defense held to keep the lead at four heading into the final inning. There, Swearingin did not allow any base runners to get on while striking out two more, including the final out to secure the 6-2 win.
Bowie then had to turn around and do it again after a 30-minute break, with the temperature rising and the sun getting more intense.
Cade Thompson got the start on the mound for Bowie and was its final pitcher that had 20 innings or more pitched this season on the roster.
It was the first first inning of the series that Bowie prevented the Longhorns from scoring, though two runners did get on base by getting hit by a pitch and drawing a walk. With one out, the defense pulled off a double play to end the inning.
The second inning again saw both teams get runners on base, but neither team was able to get them home to score. The Jackrabbits pulled off another double play as the game was scoreless moving to the third inning.
Sanders led off for Bowie and got on base with a single. Following a wild pitch that moved him to second base, two batters later Fallis traded places with him by hitting a double to drive in the run.
Melton followed with a triple to drive in another run while Richey then hit a single to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Jackrabbits.
Early never seemed to make it easy on Bowie’s defense despite Thompson and company doing just enough to keep the Longhorns off the board.
Two base runners got on in the third inning with one out, one got on in the fourth inning and reached second base. The sixth inning saw two base runners get on base with no outs. Another double play for the Bowie defense allowed the team and Thompson to squeeze out of that jam again heading into the final inning.
The Jackrabbit bats had been doing the same, rarely going an inning without getting someone on base to threaten the defense. The seventh inning saw Bowie add to its lead.
DeMoss was hit by a pitch with one out to get on base. Fallis followed with a single before Melton drove in one run with a single. An error on the throw in allowed another run to score and put the Jackrabbits up 5-0.
With the Longhorns down to their last at-bats, they were finally able to break through the constant pressure they had been putting on Bowie’s defense throughout the game.
Two singles started off the inning. An error allowed the lead base runner to advance to third base to put runners at the corners.
The team was eventually able to get the lead runner out trying to steal home, which was good as the next two batters hit a single and drew a walk to load the bases up.
A single followed that gave Early its first run of the game, but with only one out and the bases still loaded, the Longhorns were in the best position to try and make a run at coming back.
DeMoss came in to pitch relief to what ended up being the final batter. One pitch and Early grounded into its fourth double play of the game to end the game and the series.
Bowie won 5-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Nocona Indians were able to beat Saint Jo at home on Thursday night in a tight contest.
The Indians won 55-48 against the Panthers in a game where both teams played hard, but made plenty of early season mistakes.
Nocona came into the game following a low-scoring win against Bells earlier in the week 35-30. For a young Indians team that only has a few players with varsity experience this year, every early season win builds confidence.
For Saint Jo, the Panthers were still without several returning starters since football is still going on. Despite that, new Coach Jacob Nocktonick is trying to build what he can with his group of basketball first players that include several key players even when the football team is integrated.
Despite Saint Jo being the smaller school, overall it had the height advantage in the front line since Nocona features only one player, Kasch Johnson, who is built like a post player. That is nothing new for the Indians, who featured a short team the previous year as Coach Brody Wilson emphasizes full-court pressure on defense and pushing the ball in transition in his system that makes up for a lack of height and size.
Initially Nocona’s pace and energy, grabbing several offensive rebounds, got it the lead 9-3. Eventually, the Panthers adjusted and trailed only 12-11 after the first quarter.
Saint Jo got the lead early in the second quarter. Post Trent Gaston took advantage of his size advantage, especially when the Indians had Johnson out, and led 17-12. Both teams had trouble scoring in a rough second quarter as open perimeter shots just were not going in and shots at the rim were tough to convert.
The Panthers led 23-20 heading into halftime.
Both teams had better offensive success pushing the ball when it could in the second half.
Saint Jo broke Nocona’s press and punished the Indians with quick baskets. Nocona ran whenever it could and seemed to put up an array of perimeter shots and drives, getting offensive rebounds it seemed at will to keep the pressure up and infuriate the Panthers coach.
The Indians got a big push from Landon Fatheree in the second half. After scoring eight points in the first half to lead the team, he scored 10 of his team’s 14 points in the third quarter.
Nocona got the lead back, but only led 34-33 heading into the final period.
The Indians had a comfortable lead up 44-36 when Saint Jo’s Gaston fouled out with 4:56 left in the game. Still, the Panthers did not give up and a minute later had whittled Nocona’s lead down to one basket 44-41 with 3:45.
The game stayed a one-possession game for the next two minutes as Saint Jo had several chances to tie or take the lead not go through.
Nocona made its free throws down the stretch to win with a little more comfort, with the final score being 55-48.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. To see more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870682&T=1
Nocona senior Meg Meekins signed her official letter of intent to play college basketball at Lubbock Christian University on Wednesday. Meekins, the daughter of Brandi and Lance, is a four-year starter on the volleyball and basketball court. She has earned several accolades like being named to the All State Teams for TGCA, TABC, Associated Press and was selected to the All Tournament Team at the UIL State Basketball Tournament in San Antonio last year.“The coaching staff and the community of the LCU program and just knowing you have a staff that coaches you, but also looks over you just like Coach (Kyle) Spitzer did here was a huge part in the recruiting process,” Meekins said. She plans to pursue a degree in either physical or occupational therapy.
For more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870680&T=1
The Bowie Lady Rabbits got more than they bargained for when they traveled to Bellevue on Tuesday night.
The Lady Rabbits escaped with the win 44-40, taking the lead with less than a minute to go after trailing whole game.
Bowie came into the game confident. The larger 3A school was supposed to play Windthorst, but had to reschedule because the Lady Trojans volleyball team was playing in the state tournament.
Finding a last minute replacement, the Lady Rabbits thought they would have an easy game playing the 1A program down the road. Little did they know.
Bellevue had a couple of players out with injury to limit its depth a bit and a new coach in Celsey Hoffman, but the Lady Eagles were coming off of nearly beating a Nocona team the previous week. While the Lady Indians were missing four starters who were still in volleyball, it still showed this was not a 1A team to take lightly.
Bellevue came out fast showing tough defensive pressure despite giving up size at nearly every position. Within a few minutes the Lady Eagles had used that pressure to force turnovers and convert those steals into transition opportunities.
Also, the energy showed in other areas as Bellevue seemed to grab every loose ball and fought for offensive rebounds despite lacking in height compared to Bowie.
After a little more than four minutes into the game the Lady Eagles led 15-0. The Lady Rabbits had barely been able to set up their offense or attempt a shot against the pressure.
Bowie Coach Matthew Miller had to reset his shell-shocked team during multiple timeouts. The young ballhandlers was reminded how the team was going to break the press defense so it could set up its offense.
Bellevue led 19-4 after the first quarter, led by Mary Grace Broussard and Brittany Gill who each scored six points.
The Lady Rabbits settled down and made some good progress in the second quarter. Their defense switched between man-to-man and 1-3-1 to keep the Lady Eagles off balance. With them taking care of the ball better, there were less chances for Bellevue in transition and the Lady Eagles offense struggled to consistently find ways to score against Bowie’s length.
The Lady Rabbits offense found some success as well. Five different players made at least one basket and the team made two 3-pointers.
While the game was physical from the start, now that Bowie knew what type of game it was in the team responded back. It was not pretty and only enough fouls were called to make the game watchable, but individual foul trouble affected Bellevue harder than the Lady Rabbits in the second quarter.
The Lady Eagles still led heading into halftime, but Bowie had gotten it down to single digits trailing 25-19.
The third quarter was more even between the two teams as both had trouble consistently scoring baskets. Bellevue made three baskets and a couple of free throws to keep ahead.
The Lady Rabbits got a big lift from Lanie Moore, who knocked in all three of her 3-pointers in the quarter, scoring nine of the team’s 12 points.
Bowie still trailed, but had cut the lead down to one point earlier in the quarter and one basket 34-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bellevue grew the lead to 38-32 early in the final period. The Lady Rabbits struggled to get anything going offensively and trailed 40-34 midway through the quarter.
Bowie’s Kendall Fallis made a 3-pointer in transition to cut the lead to one basket 40-37.
The score stayed there for the next several minutes even as the Lady Eagles had two starters, Karis Denson and Mattie Broussard, foul out of the game.
With a little more than a minute left, the Lady Rabbits drew up and out of bounds play that got Laney Segura an open shot in the corner. Despite not having made a basket all game, she sunk the 3-pointer to tie the game at 40-40 with a minute still to play.
Bowie had been in a pressure defense for the second half of the fourth quarter to prevent Bellevue from passively running clock. Still in the defense, the team next stole the in-bounds pass and Railey Martin made the undefended layup to give the Lady Rabbits their first lead of the game 42-40 with 48 seconds left.
The Lady Eagles could not tie the score on their next offensive possession. Bowie would made two more free throws to make the final 44-40.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870678&T=1
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