SPORTS
Bowie softball loses at Paradise 6-1
The Bowie Lady Rabbits tested themselves on Monday, not just against old district foe Paradise at their field, but against the cold, windy elements.
Knowing they would face tough pitching, a lone home run was the only source of offense for Bowie as the Lady Cats won 6-1.
Things looked grim early on. Besides reaching base on an error, the Lady Rabbits struck out three times in the top of the first inning.
The leadoff for Paradise then hit a solo home run to give the Lady Cats an early 1-0 lead and a lot of momentum.
Luckily, pitcher Alexa Holzer was able to retire the next three batters with no base runners allowed.
Gracie Bentley doubled with two outs to vive Bowie its first runner in scoring position. Unfortunately, the next batter struck out to end the chance for the Lady Rabbits.
On defense, Bowie hit back-to-back batters with two outs to give Paradise a chance to score, but after a dropped third strike the Lady Rabbits were able to throw the batter out at first to end the second inning.
Things did not go much better for Bowie’s offense as they could not get a base runner on in the third inning.
On the flip side, the Lady Cats leadoff batter was able to get on base due to an error. After a sacrifice bunt moved her to third, the next batter drove in the run to give Paradise a 2-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.
The Lady Rabbits offense got some life to it when senior Carrington Davis led off with a solo home run shot to left field to cut the lead to 2-1.
Hoping it would spark some momentum for the rest of the team, instead the next three batters struck out.
Besides another hit batter with two outs, Bowie was able to stiffen any offense from Paradise as the game moved into the fifth inning.
A drawn walk from Kylie Fleming with two outs and a wild pitch put her in scoring position for the Lady Rabbits, but the next batter could not drive her home.
For the Lady Cats, an error and a walk put two runners on with no outs. The next batter hit a home run to center field.
Two more errors and a single scored another run to make it 6-1, but Bowie was able to stop it before things started to go off the rails.
Hannah Love was able to find her way on base in the top of the sixth due to an error to lead off the inning.
Despite stealing second and making her way to third base after a ground out, the Lady Rabbits could not get her home. Bowie gave itself a chance by not allowing any base runners to end the sixth inning.
Unfortunately, there would be no late inning rally as the Lady Rabbits could not get any base runner on as they were sat down one, two, three to end the game, losing 6-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
With the baseball and softball seasons over for the area 1A schools, district awards have been released.
Listed below are those earned honors on the field and in the classroom for Saint Jo and Bellevue.
Softball
Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Utility player: Taylor Patrick; Catcher: Jordyn O’Neal
Baseball
Superlatives
Offensive MVP: Devin Stewart, Saint Jo
Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue
Pitcher: Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Jayden Curry, Saint Jo
Second team
Pitcher: Charlie Barclay, Saint Jo
Infielder: Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; Sam Martin, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Rylan Forrester, Saint Jo
Catcher: Charlie Evans, Saint Jo
Utility: Logan Hoover, Saint Jo
DH: Amzy Barclay, Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Cody Gaston, Saint Jo; Xander Joyner, Saint Jo
To see academic awards from Saint Jo players, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Eldon Van Hooser is leaving Forestburg better than he found it.
The head boy’s basketball coach is retiring after more than 30 years, spending the last five at Forestburg.
Van Hooser did not come to this decision because of a lack of fire or feeling tired after decades in the profession. He had to for family reasons.
“My wife has MS (multiple sclerosis) and it’s a disease where you have trouble standing and walking and she needs help,” Van Hooser said. “I am able to so I am going to step away from teaching and coaching to be there for her.”
Van Hooser was hired in 2019. Along with being the boy’s basketball coach, he also was the football team’s defensive coordinator.
There were some lean years for Forestburg on the boy’s athletic side, with numbers being low and the available athletes being mostly underclassmen.
For two years, the Longhorns’ boy’s basketball team won few games and one of those seasons saw the team field five players on the high school team.
“One of those years we had COVID-19 and the other we had five kids,” Van Hooser said. “It was very rough. After that we worked with the kids and we had a good freshman group coming up. Next year they are going to be seniors.”
That group has helped to turn the program around. Last year the young Longhorns team contested for a playoff spot and just barely missed it finishing fifth in the district.
This season, that same group took a leap and finished second in district with a record of 7-5.
Despite losing its last two regular season games in dramatic fashion heading into the playoffs, the team stepped up in the bi-district game.
Playing against an athletic Newcastle team, Forestburg led for most of the game.
Unfortunately, the previous game against Bellevue saw the Longhorn team blow the lead late in the fourth quarter against a hard pressing style team and they were suffering the same fate against the Bobcats down the stretch.
Fortunately, Forestburg held on just enough to win 53-46. It was the first boy’s basketball playoff win in nine years for Forestburg.
“It was huge for our program,” Van Hooser said. “This new year we will have new goals. The new coach will have some goals of his own, but I set some for the team and think that we have come a long way.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie sports banquets was on Monday night. Olivia Gill and Tucker Jones were named Jackrabbit and Lady Rabbit of the year. Pick up the mid-week paper for all of the sports team awards and pictures.
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