SPORTS
A bad late inning loses Saint Jo the game as their season ends
After an unprecedented ride this season brought the program success greater than they have enjoyed in decades, the Saint Jo baseball team’s season came to an end on Saturday in the regional semifinals against Dodd City.
After losing game one on Thursday, the Panthers lost game two on Saturday 20-8 due to run rule after five innings to lose the series.
Despite the lopsided final score, the game was much closer up until the final inning.
The Hornets came out ready to score runs in the top of the first. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs.
A single scored one run and a double cleared the bases to put Dodd City up 4-0. Pitcher Brock Durham calmed down and was able to hold the runner at second by forcing three straight outs to get out of the top of the first inning.
Saint Jo responded in the bottom of the first. Leadoff Harper Roberts was able to get on base when the third baseman could not make the throw to first. Roberts then was able to advance to second on a bad pickoff attempt. He advanced to third on a ground out two batters later.
Jake Morris was able to drive Roberts home with a triple to center field. Next batter Durham was able to get Morris home when the ground ball hit to the third basemen was bobbled before his throw to first was too late. The Panthers trailed 4-2 heading to the second inning when the next batter struck out.
A leadoff walk came back to bite Saint Jo. Durham almost got out of the inning as the next two batters grounded out to first. A stolen base and a ground ball advanced the runner to third base. A passed ball allowed the runner to score and put Dodd City up 5-2.
The next batter hit a triple to center field and looked poised to put another run on the board for the Hornets. Fortunately, Durham was able to force the next batter to fly out to second base to end the scoring chance.
The Panthers Jose “Pepe” Gams was able to get on base as his fly ball to center field could not be gathered by the diving centerfielder. Next batter Preston Lyons was able to draw a walk to put two runners on base with one out.
After grounding into a fielder’s choice made it two outs, Connor Thompson was able to hit a double that drove in the runner on second to cut the lead down to 5-3. With runners on second and third, the Panthers looked poised to score more, but the next batter struck out to end the second inning.
The leadoff batter got hit by a pitch to get on base. He stole second to put himself in scoring position. Two batters later, a double drove in the runner. The next batter grounded out to second base, allowing the runner to advance to third with two outs.
A single drove in the runner to put Dodd City up 7-3. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, but Durham was able to force the next batter to ground out to third to get out of the jam.
The Panthers answered a little bit as Morris led off with a double to left field. A bad pickoff throw to second allowed him to advance to third base. Next batter Durham grounded out to second base, but it allowed Morris to score and cut the lead to 7-4 heading into the fourth inning.
Morris came in to pitch in relief. With one out, a bad throw to first allowed a base runner to reach second. A passed ball allowed the runner to reach third.
The next batter was able to hit a bloop single over the infield to score the runner and make it 8-4. A hit batter and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, but Morris was able to strike out the next batter looking to get out of the jam.
Saint Jo scored in every inning up to that point, but needed to string more than a couple runs together to give themselves a chance to win as they had also been unsuccessful in holding the Hornets scoreless in any inning up to that point. The Panthers responded with their best offensive inning of the game.
A leadoff single from Lyons got things going. Roberts then grounded into a fielder’s choice, but the throw was not in time at second base to get Lyons out. Thompson was able drive in Lyons with a line drive single to left field. Runners were on second and first with no outs.
Next batter, Wyatt Guerin, loaded the bases up with a single. Morris came up and grounded out to second base, but it drove in the runner on third base and allowed both runners to advance to second and third.
Durham then grounded to third base, who tried to throw the runner out at home, but the throw was not in time as Thompson scored to cut the lead to 8-7.
Durham was able to steal second to put two runners in scoring position. Next batter, Cody Thurman, grounded out to the short stop for the second out, but it allowed the runner on third to score and tie the game 8-8. It also advanced the other runner to third base.
With their first lead only a base hit and 90 feet away, and with the momentum swung their way, it only seemed logical that it would happen. Unfortunately, their next batter struck out looking to end the inning as the game seemed definitely swung.
Saint Jo had been playing catch up all game and now had firmly caught back up, taking the momentum of the game with them. All they had to do was just hold off Dodd City’s bats for one inning since the Panther’s bats were all charged up.
Unfortunately, the opposite happened. After one out, two hits and an error loaded the bases. Followed by two single hits and two walks, the Hornets scored four runs before a line out was gave Dodd City their second out. Unfortunately, the scoring did not slow down.
A single and a home run scored five more runs. After two more walks, Lyons came in to pitch. After a walk loaded the bases, a passed ball allowed one run to score. A single following that scored two more runs to put the Hornets up 20-8, before Saint Jo could get the final out.
The fans and team were in a tizzy, as a couple calls early in the inning went against the Panthers, exasperating the situation as the inning spiraled out of their control.
Saint Jo needed to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth to keep the game going. Unfortunately, their hot bats from the inning before had no spark as the three batters were sat down in order to end the game, 20-8, and the series.
To read more, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
A solid day was had by Montague county high school tracksters at the State Track and Field Meet May 16 in Austin.
Bellevue’s Mattie Broussard had a pair of second place finishes in both the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.41 and the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:31.33. Broussard also was 4th in the 1,600-meters with a time of 5:22.18.
Her teammate Brylie Hager was 9th in the 110-meter hurdles in 19.93.
Forestburg’s Brenna Briles was 4th in the triple jump with a 35’9 1’2” leap. Her teammate Jocelyn Rich was 4th in the pole vault with a 9’ leap.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Bowie had a pair of top four finishes at the State Track and Field Meet May 14.
Sophomore Brayden Willett made it onto the medal stand, finishing 3rd in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:17.89. Bowie junior Tyler Richey finished 4th in the pole vault after a 14’6” effort.
The top two finishers from Holliday, also in Bowie’s district, celebrated with him after he crossed the finish line.
“It was kind of surprising,” Willett said about Ryder and Noah Stroman embracing him in a celebratory hug. “They’re good guys, so it was kind of cool.”
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
This past week found your outdoor scribe doing some rather mundane things such as yard work, vegetable gardening and repairs around the old cabin. Oh, I also wrapped up a couple of magazine articles. I always enjoy sharing my adventures with all of you in this column but to be perfectly honest, not nearly as much as my ‘field work’ hunting and fishing which is an iatrical part of any good outdoor column. If you’re like me, you much prefer reading about an adventure that you can also partake.
I am far more comfortable telling you about an outdoor experience I had firsthand knowledge of rather than the reporting part of my job as an outdoor communicator. So, this week, I’d do a bit of ‘reporting’ and share some planned adventures I have scheduled for the next couple weeks. By the time you’re reading this, I will have already been in the woods in quest of a fat ‘eater’ hog and probably have some freshly caught blue catfish fillets in the freezer, details will follow in the next couple of weeks.
I’ll kick things off early in the week heading down to my friend Jeff Rice’s Buck and Bass Ranch located on the upper end of Lake Fork. Jeff produces our weekly TV show “A Sportsman’s Life” which airs on Carbon TV and YouTube. Our plan is to film a segment of our show on stalking wild hogs. It will be a challenge to capture the shot with all the thick grown spring vegetation. It could happen fast and require a fast shot. We will be breaking in my CVA Cascade scout rifle in 308 caliber. This short barrel little rifle is light and easy to handle in thick cover, ideal for this type of hunting. Our plan is to hit the woods during the last couple hours of daylight and ease along the trails, watching and especially listening for hogs. Wild porkers are vocal critters and it’s common to hear them before seeing them. We will play the wind and attempt to get downwind and then close the distance for a shot but you can never guess how a hog hunt will unfold. Wild pork or not, Jeff and I always have a great time together and I plan to bring a side of wild pork ribs already slow smoked and covered in brown sugar and BBQ sauce with a side of camp baked beans!
After a tasty dinner we plan to get a good night’s sleep and head out the next morning for a planned fishing trip with guide David Hanson at Lake Tawakoni. Both channel and blue catfish are on a very good bite right but it’s hard to pass up those snow white blue catfish fillets when the bite is good. David is, to my knowledge, the most veteran catfish guide on the lake and became friends close to a quarter-century ago when we first began fishing
together. The plan is to use freshy cut shad in shallow water and target eater size blues weighing between 2 and about 10 pounds but as every catfish angler knows, it’s always possible to connect with a big trophy size blue when fishing Tawakoni.
Next week, I plan to join my long-time friend J.C. McCollough on the Red River below the Texoma dam. I’ve been fishing and hunting with J.C. for many years and look forward to getting with him again. I would describe this to catching big catfish in a barrel but in this case the deep holes in the river are comprised of several acres. The water level in the river below Texoma are dictated by the water release at the dam by the Corp of Engineers. When there is a current in the river, fish move upstream to feed on baitfish coming through the dam. When the water recedes, they fish move into the deeper holes where baitfish also seek refuge from the falling water. Catching will be fast paced with the chance to connect with some big fish as well as limits of “eater” size fish. We’ll be rigging with big live gizzard shad fished weightless on a free line, using medium spinning gear. The bigger fish will often nail the frisky live shad and the fresh cut bait is a sure way to connect with lots of smaller fish. There is something very exciting about fishing big live baits on a slack line. One minute your bait will be darting around and you will occasionally feel it taking up slack and the next when a big blue catfish grabs the bait, the rod will bow and the fight will be on. There is usually no ‘setting the hook’, by the time you feel the fish, it will already be hooked and making a strong run to the nearest submerged brush. Your job will be to keep the drag set just enough to keep pressure on the fish but not so much as to cause the line to break.
J.C. uses his airboat to access these deeper holes because of the very shallow water. While it’s not impossible to portage a kayak or small boat in the river, it often requires a few miles travel to get to these deep holes, this is best accomplished by experienced kayakers with plenty of endurance. There was a time when I was game for this type fishing but I much prefer to do my river fishing these days from a boat designed to negotiate the shallow waters.
Squirrel season is underway in many of the east Texas counties and there’s some pretty good fox squirrel hunting here close to home in Kaufman county and I’ve been thinking about how tasty a big skillet of smothered squirrel with rice, gravy and biscuits would be. Bream are on the beds now and my friend Edgar Cotton invited me to come do some ‘perch jerking’ with him and his son David-it’s in the plans! Well, hopefully next week I will have a ‘sure nuff’ adventure of two to relate you you-I’m ready to get some relief from all this work around the homeplace! LC
You can contact Tawakoni/Fork catfish guide David Hanson at 902-268-7391. Contact J.C. McCollough at 580-372-0320.
Listen to Luke’s podcast, “Catfish Radio” just about everywhere podcast are found.
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