SPORTS
Nocona baseball shakes off spring break rust with final two pre-district outings
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.
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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