The Nocona Lady went 2-1 since last week, securing the program’s first playoff appearance in 17 years.
The Lady Indians picked up wins against Alvord (9-6) and Chico (9-2) while also losing to Muenster (16-1).
Nocona came into the second round of district with a 3-2 district record and losses against the two the teams sitting in first and second place.
The Lady Indians played one of those teams, Muenster, on April 8 and it did not go well.
The Lady Hornets scored 14 runs in the first inning and went on to win 16-1 after three innings due to run-rule.
Reagan Phipps drove in Heidi Atteberry, who had the team’s only hit in the game, but that was the only highlight.
Nocona bounced back on Friday playing Alvord. The Lady Indians had beaten the Lady Bulldogs in the first round of district play 12-6, but knew they had to play well to win since Alvord was not just going to roll over.
The teams changed leads four times in the first four innings, with Nocona scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to go up 6-5.
From there, the Lady Indians added one run in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth inning after Alvord had scored once as well earlier. Nocona closed things out in the seventh inning, winning 9-6.
Kaitlyn Tiffner led the team with two RBIs. The team had seven players drive in at least one run each, showing off the depth of their lineup. Nocona finished with eight hits and drew four walks while also taking advantage of seven fielding errors from Alvord.
On the mound, Phipps allowed six runs on 10 hits while striking out eight batters. The defense committed one fielding error.
The win secured the Lady Indians a playoff appearance, the program’s since 2008. With it being the team’s senior night, it made it even more special for the team.
Nocona then played at Chico on Monday to try and keep its third place in the district standings.
The Lady Indians scored two runs to start off the game, but the Lady Dragons cut it to one in the fourth inning. The teams exchanged one run each in the fifth inning before Nocona was able to get some distance.
The Lady Indians reeled off five runs in the sixth inning to extend their lead to 8-2. Nocona added one more run in the seventh inning to make the final score 9-2.
The team got RBIs from Skye Kirby, Kylea Wallace, Ashlynn Brown, Tiffner and Phipps.
Nocona finished with eight hits and drew four walks while taking advantage Chico committing five fielding errors.
On the mound, Phipps allowed two runs on five hits while striking out 11 batters. The defense committed zero fielding errors in the game.

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

Bellevue vs Saint Jo
The Bellevue and Saint Jo baseball teams faced off last week with both teams needing wins after struggling during district play.
The Eagles won the first game 2-0 while the Panthers won game two 8-6 in comeback fashion as the teams end this season at a stalemate 1-1 in the series.
The first game of the series was at Saint Jo on April 8 and it did not take long for Bellevue to take control. In the top of the first inning, with two runners on base, River Trail hit a single to right field that drove in both base runners. The Eagles led 2-0 at the top of the first inning.
Little did either team know that it would prove to be the only runs scored in the game. Both teams had several more chances, both squandering loaded bases and other opportunities throughout the game.
In the end, the Eagles were able to hold off the Panthers, securing the shut out and getting the low-scoring win 2-0.
Bellevue finished with 12 hits, with three coming from Ryan Jones including two doubles to lead the team. On the mound, Bryce Ramsey pitched three innings and allowed zero runs on two hits while striking out four. Jones, pitched the final four innings, allowing zero runs on six hits while striking out seven. The defense committed no fielding errors.
Saint Jo finished with eight hits and drew six walks, with Sam Martin leading the team with two hits. Trent Gaston pitched the whole game for the Panthers and allowed two runs on 12 hits while striking out seven batters. The defense committed no fielding errors.
There would be a bit more action in the second game on Friday at Bellevue.
The Eagles scored one run in the second inning before Saint Jo matched in the top of the third inning. Bellevue responded with four runs in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead 5-1.
The Panthers responded with three runs in the third inning and tied the score at 5-5 with one run in the fifth inning. The Eagles took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth inning with one run scored to go up 6-5.
In the sixth inning, Saint Jo went up for good when Charlie Barclay hit a three-run home run over the left field fence. The Panthers held on to win 8-6.
Barclay led the team with three RBIs on that home run. Martin had two RBIs as he and Jayden Curry each had two hits to lead the team. Saint Jo finished with nine hits and drew six walks. Brody Morris pitched four innings of relief and allowed one run on four hits while striking out two batters. The defense committed one fielding error.
For Bellevue, Blake Reese and Evan Chavez led the team with two RBIs each. Jones had a team high three hits.
Ramsey pitched five innings and allowed five runs on seven hits while striking out seven batters. The team committed no fielding errors.

Nocona
The Nocona Indians lost their series to Muenster last week as they fight to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Hornets won 4-3 and 11-0 in the two games, winning in extra innings in walk-off fashion in the first game while the second game got out of hand late in the game.
The Indians were coming off dominant victories against Chico the previous week, but they knew Muenster would be a tough challenge.
The first game was played on April 8 on the road. The Indians took the early lead with one run scored in the first inning. The Hornets took it from them with three runs scored in the fourth inning. Nocona answered with two runs scored in the fifth inning, tying the game up at 3-3.
It was still tied at after seven innings, so the game went into an extra eighth inning. Muenster loaded the bases up with two outs before a single drove in the game winning run. The Hornets won 4-3.
Landon Fatheree led Nocona with two RBIs and RJ Walker had a team high two hits as the team finished with six in the game. On the mound, Walker pitched the full game allowed four runs (two earned) on nine hits while he struck out six batters. The defense committed five fielding errors.
The close loss proved to be crushing for the Indians compared to what happened in game two a few days later.
Muenster scored runs in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings and led 5-0 heading into the seventh and final inning. The Hornets then put the game away as they scored six runs, more than doubling their run total to go up 11-0, which would be the final score.
Nocona again finished with only six hits, but they were not as timely as they had been in game one. Jayce Lehde and Walker led the team with two hits each.
On the mound, Walker Murphey pitched six innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits while he struck out two batters. The defense committed five fielding errors.

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

For more pictures from last week’s series between Bellevue and Saint Jo, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6874397&T=1

Area track meets took place last week as athletes competed for a chance to qualify for the regional meet.
Only the top four finishers in each event moved on for a chance to qualify for the state meet.
Bowie and Nocona both competed at Graham on April 10, but in different classifications, while all the area 1A schools competed on April 7 at Bryson.
On a team level, both Saint Jo teams again finished first overall by a significant margin. Bowie boy’s finished sixth overall, Nocona girls got third and the boy’s team finished ninth. The Bellevue girl’s team got fifth place and the Gold-Burg boy’s team finished in sixth place. Both Forestburg and Prairie Valley teams placed eighth and 11th places.
For Bowie, Tyler Richey had a great day winning the pole vault to qualify for regionals. Russell Anderson got second in the 400 meters while Brayden Willett finished fourth in the 1600 meters and Isaac Renteria fourth in the 3200 meters to all qualify. Braden Rhyne qualified in the 300 meter hurdles while finishing in fourth place.
For Nocona, Graci Brown won the 400 meters and finished second in the 200 meters to qualify. Caden Gaston got third in the high jump to qualify and the girls 4×400 meter relay team got second place as they move on as well.
The list for Saint Jo athletes alone that qualified for regionals is a long one that can be viewed by the results at the bottom. Therefore the athletes highlighted will be ones that won their events.
All three Lady Panther relay teams got first place while the Saint Jo boy’s relay teams won the 4×200 and 4×400 meter relays. Jayden Curry won the 1600 meter race, Barrett Johnson won the 400 meters, Savannah Hill won the 300 meter hurdles, Lee Yeley won the 200 meters. Maxey Johnson won both the discus and shot put while Damon Byrd won the triple and long jump events.
Forestburg saw Brenna Briles win the high jump and triple jump while she finished third in the 100 meter race.
Jesse Wadsworth won the 800 meter race and got third in the triple jump while Tye Reid finished fourth in the 110 meter hurdles. The boy’s 4×400 meter relay team finished fourth as well to qualify.
Bellevue’s results were dominated by Mattie Broussard getting first in the 800, 1600 and 3200 meter races. Tristan Shook got second in the pole vault and Emma Blaylock also finished second in the shot put.
For Gold-Burg, Eli White-Freeland got second in the discus and fourth in the shot put to qualify. The boy’s 4×100 meter relay team finished third overall to qualify for regionals as well.
For Prairie Valley, pole vaulters Josh Stout and Hunter Camden finished third and fourth to both qualify and move on.

To see results for all area athletes, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.

For pictures from the running finals at the area meet at Graham that featured Bowie and Nocona athletes, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6874398&T=1