SPORTS
Jackrabbits beat Shallowater to advance to regional final
The Bowie Jackrabbits improbable playoff run continues with another series win against Shallowater clinched on Saturday in the regional semi-finals.
The Jackrabbits came back from losing game one 6-2 to win the final two games of the series 14-7 and 10-1 over a three-day period that also included graduation.
Bowie came into the series as underdogs. The Mustangs were 32-1-1 on their season with some polls placing them as high as 3rd in the state. They had not lost in more than two months and their mostly senior led team was looking forward to a rematch against Brock in the regional finals.
The first two games were played in Amarillo. Game one was played Thursday night.
Carson Sanders got the start on the mound against Shallowater’s ace pitcher. He found himself in trouble in the first inning as two singles and an error at shortstop allowed one run to score.
The Mustangs added to it with a two-out rally in the second inning. Four straight singles scored two runs to make the score 3-0. The Jackrabbits answered in the same inning as Logan Hutson hit a sacrifice fly ball to make it 3-1.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Bowie on defense, the team looked to make a move. The Jackrabbits loaded the bases up with no outs and were in position for a possible big inning that could take control of the game. Unfortunately, the next three batters struck out and Bowie failed to capitalize.
The team felt it in the fourth inning. The Mustangs added one more run on three singles, two of them coming with two outs to make the score 4-1.
In the fifth inning Shallowater’s leadoff got on base thanks to an error and the next batter drew a walk. After both moved into scoring position and with two outs, a single drove them both in to up the lead to 6-1.
Bowie got one of those runs back in the same inning. Jake Fallis drove in a run hitting into a fielder’s choice at second base to cut the lead to 6-2.
The Mustang bats threatened to score more in the final two innings. In both they were able to get two runners on base, but the Jackrabbit defense and relief pitcher Colton Richey held.
Bowie bats had no luck in a quick sixth inning, but did threaten in its final three outs in the seventh inning. Sanders hit a single and Kynan DeMoss drew a walk to put two runners on base with only one out. Later a wild pitch put them both into scoring position.
That would be where they would stay as an infield fly ball and a fly out to right field fell into Shallowater gloves for outs to end the game.
The Mustangs won 6-2.
Bowie had six hits and drew five walks in the game, but the lack of timely hitting and a flawless defensive game from Shallowater led to few runs.
The Jackrabbit defense had two fielding errors that contributed to runs, but the Mustangs also had 11 hits and three walks.
Sanders pitched 4.2 innings and gave up six runs (four earned) on 10 hits while striking out four. Richey pitched 2.1 innings and gave up no runs on one hit and two walks.
It was not the first time Bowie had found itself down after game one this playoff run. Coach Tyler Price said he talked to his team and they agreed that though they hadn’t played well, they had only lost by four runs.
The Jackrabbits had a quick turnaround time as game two started a 10 a.m. the next day on Friday so that they could get back for graduation later that night, win or lose.
Bowie led off the game and immediately took control. Two walks and an error in the first inning showed the Mustangs were not quite as sharp as they had been the previous night.
The Jackrabbits took advantage as Fallis drove in a run with a single. Richey would later hit a sacrifice fly to drive in another run to put them up 2-0.
Kawlyer Swearingin got the start on the mound for Bowie and Shallowater got one of those runs back on a groundout to make it 2-1.
The Jackrabbits loaded up the bases to start the second inning with no outs. Sanders drove one in with a sacrifice fly ball to extend the lead to 3-1.
Bowie’s big offensive inning came in the third. After Richey and Swearingin led off with a double and single, a change at pitcher came from the Mustangs. Later Brody Armstrong drove in one run with a ground out for out two.
The Jackrabbits did a lot before getting their third out. Cade Thompson, DeMoss and Fallis all drove in one run each with singles. Devin Melton followed with a double that drove in two more runs to up the lead to 9-1 before out three came.
The Mustangs were not just going to lay down. A double drove in one run to make it 9-2 and put two runners in scoring position with two outs, but Swearingin limited the damage to one run.
The fourth inning was the first one the Bowie bats failed to score despite getting one hit. Shallowater continued to chip away at the lead, loading the bases with a single, a hit batter and a drawn walk with one out. A single followed that drove in two runs to cut the lead to 9-4.
The Jackrabbit defense then came through with an inning ending double play to get out of the fourth.
Any momentum the Mustangs got from the previous inning went away in the fifth. The Bowie bats came alive again.
Fallis drove in a run with a double. Later with two outs and after a hit batter, Swearingin’s fly ball to right field induced an error that scored two runs. After he stole second base, Swearingin was driven in by next batter Hutson on a single to make the score 13-4.
After a scoreless inning from Shallowater, Bowie added one more to its lead in the sixth inning. Sanders hit a one out triple and was later driven in by DeMoss on a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 14-4.
The Jackrabbits were three outs away from winning the game via run-rule, but the Mustangs were not going to go down without a fight.
Two straight fielding errors, one in the outfield and one in the infield, started the bottom of the sixth that allowed one Shallowater run.
A walk and two outs later, a single drove in two more runs to cut the lead to 14-7 before out three led to the final inning.
The Jackrabbits had no luck adding to their lead despite getting two runners on base with one out. A leadoff single and later a single with two outs that put runners at the corners for Shallowater was all the Mustangs could manage. In the end, Bowie sealed up the win 14-7 to force a game three.
DeMoss, Fallis and Melton led the team with two RBIs each. The Jackrabbits wracked up 15 hits and drew five walks while taking advantage of five fielding errors from the usually sharp Mustangs.
Swearingin pitched six innings and allowed seven runs (three earned) on 10 hits and three walks while striking out three batters. DeMoss came in to pitch the final inning and gave up no runs on one hit while striking out one.
To read the full story about what happened in game three, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie track team competed in its final meet before district last week on March 27 at Peaster.
The boy’s team finished fourth overall while the girl’s team got seventh place.
The boy’s team had three athletes who won their events.
Russell Anderson won the 400 meter race, Braden Rhyne won the triple jump and Tyler Richey won the pole vault events.
Some other highlights for the team included Cody West getting second in the shot put, the 4×400 relay team getting second place, Richey getting fourth in the 110 meter hurdles, Rhyne getting third in the 300 meter hurdles and Jorge De Leon getting fourth in both the discus and shot put.
Brayden Willett got second place in the 3200 meters, third place in the 1600 meters and fourth place in the 800 meter race.
The Lady Rabbit highlights included Dallie Monroe getting fourth in the shot put, Laney Segura getting fifth in the 800 meters and Olivia Richey getting sixth in the 100 meters.
The 4×200 relay got fifth place and the 4×100 relay got sixth place to earn points.
Bowie competes in the district rack meet this week at Iowa Park. The running finals are scheduled for 5 p.m. on April 4.
Results for all Bowie varsity athletes who finished sixth or better are in the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona’s Meg Meekins (above) not only earned all-region honors, she also earned all-state honors and was named the Texas Girls Coaches Association 1A-4A Player of the Year.
Other Montague County basketball athletes who were named to all-region teams including Rayder Mann from Bowie and Reagan Phipps from Nocona. From Saint Jo, Payzlie Cervantes, Taylor Patrick and Barrett Johnson were named to the all-region team. From Forestburg, Jesus Sanchez, Brenna Briles and Kyler Willett were named to the all-region team.
For pictures of all nine athletes, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost a close game at home against Perrin-Whitt on March 28.
The Pirates won 8-3, only taking the lead in the seventh inning after the Panthers had come back to tie up the game.
Saint Jo was coming into the game after a close one-run loss in extra innings against Perrin-Whitt earlier last week.
The second game started with two scoreless innings before the Pirates got on the board in the third inning. A line drive into left field resulted in a fielding error that allowed one run to score. A double followed that drove in another run as Perrin-Whitt went up 2-0.
The Pirates added to the lead in the fourth inning, driving in a run on a single to extend its lead to 3-0.
Saint Jo answered back in the same inning. Charlie Evans drove in one run with a single. Later in the inning, with a runners on second on third base, the Perrin-Whitt pitcher balked twice, an illegal pitching motion, that allowed both runners to advance to home plate. The Panthers had tied the score at 3-3.
After a scoreless fifth and sixth inning, the Pirates had the pressure on in the seventh inning.
With the bases loaded, a hit batter and later a walk scored two runs for Perrin-Whitt. Then a bases clearing double scored three more runs to break the game open in the final inning.
Saint Jo tried to answer in its final at-bats, getting two singles and drawing a walk but could not get enough things going to score.
The Pirates won 8-3.
Evans led the team with one RBI and two hits as the team finished with five hits and drew six walks.
Sam Martin allowed eight runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out six and walking three batters in 6.2 innings of work. The defense committed three fielding errors overall.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians had a tough start to district last week, losing both games in their series against Lindsay.
The Knights won 11-4 and 7-3 against the Indians last week as Nocona hopes to get back into the playoffs.
Nocona was coming off a string of good wins the previous week against smaller schools, but knew Lindsay would be tough.
The first game saw Lindsay continually score runs in the first four innings, building a 9-0 lead before the Indians could get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with two runs.
Nocona added two more runs in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 9-4 and get some momentum heading into the final two innings.
After a scoreless sixth inning, the Knights scored two runs in the seventh inning to extend their lead and eventually win 11-4.
Miller Jentry led the team with two RBIs while RJ Walker also drove in two runs. The team had only two hits, but drew nine walks in the game.
Brody Langford allowed six runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out three in three innings pitches. Landon Fatheree allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out one and walking four. The defense committed five fielding errors.
Nocona knew it could play better and tried to in the second game later in the week while playing on the road at Lindsay.
The Knights again took the early lead, scoring in three of the first four innings and going up 6-0. The Indians scored two runs in the fifth inning and one in the top of the sixth inning to initially cut the lead to 6-3. Lindsay answered with one run in the bottom of the sixth inning and held on to win 7-3.
Walker Murphey led the team with two RBIs after hit a double. Kutter Cabrera drove in the other run for Nocona. The Indians finished with three hits and drew only two walks, making the most of their limited opportunities.
Walker got the start on the mound and allowed seven runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out six batters and walking two in six innings of work. The defense committed six fielding errors overall.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles started district last week playing a series against fellow 1A team Bryson.
Unfortunately, the Cowboys won both games handily 11-1 and 10-1.
Bellevue was coming off a tough week where it hung tough playing 2A teams Nocona and Chico, not getting wins but competing well against the more experienced and bigger schools.
Unfortunately against Bryson in the first game, a few bad defensive innings threw away a good start to the game. Bryce Ramsey drew a leadoff walk in the first inning and stole his way around to second base, third base before eventually coming home on a steal.
Bellevue led 1-0 after the first inning.
That was the highlight as the Cowboys scored four runs in both the third and fourth inning to take control of the game. Bryson eventually added three more in the sixth inning.
The Eagles needed to score at least one run to avoid getting run-ruled and play the seventh inning, but could not do it. The Cowboys won 11-1.
Walker Strahan, Ryan Jones and Ramsey each had one hit to lead the team. With the Eagles drawing only one walk, it was a tough day swinging the bats for Bellevue.
Defensively, the Eagles allowed 12 hits and walked four batters, though avoided committing any fielding errors.
The second game on the road was not much better.
Bryson built up a 6-0 lead before Bellevue scored in the fifth inning. Cam Blaylock scored on the base paths to cut the lead to 6-1. The Cowboys responded in the same inning scoring four runs to go up 10-1.
The game cuts off on the Game Changer app from there.
Ramsey led the team with three hits in the game and Strahan was behind him with two hits as the team finished with six total and drew one walk.
Defensively, Bryson had nine hits and drew eight walks, but Bellevue did not commit any fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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