SPORTS
Jackrabbits win game one 9-5
The Bowie Jackrabbit baseball team took game one of its regional quarterfinals series against Wall on Thursday night.
The Jackrabbits won 9-5 in a game that went to extra-innings after nearly giving the game away in the seventh inning when the Hawks came back to tie the score.
Up until then the underdog Bowie team, playing a Wall team that was ranked 10th in the state in the last poll, led for most of the game from the very beginning.
In the first inning, Carson Sanders got on base with a one out single. Kynan DeMoss then drove him in on a double into the gap to put the Jackrabbits up 1-0.
There were no more scores in the second and third inning from either team. The Jackrabbits added to their lead in the fourth inning thanks to some good plate discipline and overall erratic pitching from the Hawk’s pitcher. Bowie drew three walks, had a hit batter and had one fielding error from Wall that got the leadoff runner on base.
Two runs came in to score to put the Jackrabbits up 3-0.
Bowie added some more runs in the fifth inning. After DeMoss and Devin Melton drew walks, Colton Richey drove them both in with a triple to up the lead to 5-0. The Hawks had seen enough and changed pitchers and got out of the inning without letting Richey score from third.
It also was the inning where Wall bats finally broke through. Sanders got the start on the mound for Bowie. He and the defense had been keeping the Hawks at bay by making the routine plays though they had been threatening almost every inning up until then.
After loading the bases up with a base hit, a drawn walk and a hit batter with no outs, Wall finally was able to get one home with a single two batters later to cut the lead to 5-1. The Hawks were set up to score more with only one out at that point, but Sanders retired the next two batters with pop ups to first base to limit the bleeding.
After a scoreless sixth inning and a 1-2-3 inning from Bowie with its bats, the Jackrabbits were three outs away from ending the game. Wall was not going to make it that easy with its backs against the wall.
A leadoff double triggered Jackrabbit Coach Tyler Price to change pitchers to Cade Thompson. After a walk and a forced out at home, a single drove in one run. A sacrifice fly to right field followed that scored another run and made it two outs. A triple was then hit that drove in another run and also put the tying run at third base.
Price made another change at pitcher and put Kawlyer Swearingin in to try and get the last out. With a full count, Swearingin got the strikeout, but it was dropped. It took some bad bounces and it allowed not only the batter to reach first safely, but it also allowed the runner from third base to come in and score to tie the game up at 5-5.
Swearingin retired the next batter with a fly out to right field, but the damage had been done and the game would go to extra innings.
A lot of teams would have been spooked giving up four runs in the last inning, at certain points being one strike away from ending the game. Instead, this Bowie team went back out for the eighth inning with the goal to get its lead back.
Swearingin led off and set the tone. After failing to prevent the tying run from coming in to score on the mound in the previous inning, Swearingin saw only two pitches before he sent the ball over the centerfield wall for a sole home run.
The Jackrabbits were not satisfied with just a one run lead. Logan Hutson and Brody Armstrong followed with back-to-back singles. Following a strikeout, Sanders hit a single that drove in one run. An error in the outfield allowed the other runner to come around and score and for Sanders to reach third base. DeMoss then drove him in with a single. Bowie got the four runs it gave up the previous inning back and led 9-5.
Price changed pitchers again to DeMoss for the start of the eighth inning. After two infield pop ups for outs, a single put one base runner on and the fear of a two-out rally coming from the Hawks again after the last inning was on everyone’s mind.
Luckily DeMoss forced a fly out to left field for out three to end the game. The Jackrabbits won 9-5.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend 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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