The Nocona Indians baseball team played its final two pre-district games last week with a home game against Venus on Friday and a road game at Celeste on Saturday.
The Indians did not come out on the right foot in either game, but while one game was ugly for Nocona, the other showed the competitive spirit they are capable of playing.
The first game got off to a bad start and never got better against Venus. The Bulldogs leadoff batter got on base thanks to a fielding error, something that would happen 10 more times throughout the game.
Venus went up 3-1 after the first inning. The Indians were able to score one run when Anthony Veitenheimer, who led off with a walk, was able to score thanks to an error at third base.
While Nocona avoided giving up the big inning, the Indians could not keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard in every inning. Three runs were scored in each of the first four innings.
Nocona scored once more in the third inning thanks to Jason Sparkman driving in a run with a ground out with the bases loaded with one out. The rest of the day the offense struggled, getting only two hits while striking out 11 times and six total base runners for the game.
The game ended after five innings due to run rule as Venus won 13-2. Coach Jeremy Kirk said it was a case of the “Spring Break Hangover” for his team following a week of since their last game.
Only three of the runs were earned by the pitchers, who allowed seven hits and one walk.
The Indians could only play better as they traveled to Celeste on Saturday. Nocona started the game off strong. Logan Barnes drove in a run with a one out double to right field.
After a walk and a double steal put two base runners in scoring position, Veitenheimer hit a ground ball to third base. The Blue Devils committed an error that allowed both base runners to score on the play. The Indians were up 3-0.
Both teams traded scoreless innings in the second and third inning. In the fourth inning, Celeste was able to take the lead as Nocona had a rough stretch. Thanks to two hits, two walks and back-to-back errors, the Blue Devils led 5-3 heading into the fifth inning.
The Indians answered in the fifth. Three hits loaded the bases with one out. Next batter Carlos Castro then drove in a run with a single to left field. Duece Glasker followed with another line drive, this one to right field that scored the other two base runners. Nocona led 6-5.
The Blue Devils would not let the lead last for long. They retook it 7-6 with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single as the game moved to the sixth inning.
Celeste extended its lead. With two outs, the Indians walked three straight batters to load the bases. The next batter drove in two more runs with a single to go up 9-6.
Despite a leadoff walk, Nocona could not get any offense going in the seventh as the game ended in defeat.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.