SPORTS
Saint Jo baseball beats Perrin-Whitt
Saint Jo played its first 1A team in district play on Tuesday as it traveled to Perrin-Whitt.
The Panthers were able to win a competitive game 10-8 to earn their first district win of the season after playing 2A schools so far.
Saint Jo started off strong as Connor Thompson led off with a single. Next batter Tyler Cook then was able to drive him in with a single after Thompson stole second base. Three batters later Chance Bennett then hit a double into center field to get Cook home and give Saint Jo an early 2-0 lead.
The Pirates waited until they had two outs to get going as two singles, an error, walk and a steal home scored three runs to give Perrin-Whitt the lead 3-2.
The Panthers did not do anything in the second inning while the Pirates added to their lead. Again with two outs, a single, a steal and another single scored one run for Perrin-Whitt to make the score 4-2.
Saint Jo tied things up in the third inning. A single from Wyatt Geurin was able to make it home after an error trying to throw him out at second base.
After another error allowed Logan Morman to reach first, Bennett drove him in on a single to tie the game 4-4.
The Pirates were able to retake the lead 5-4 thanks to leadoff walk and fielding error at third base.
The Panthers answered with three runs of their own. A fielding error allowed one runner to score and a two RBI single from Geurin put Saint Jo in the lead 7-5 before Perrin-Whitt tied the game 7-7 again with back-to-back RBI hits.
The Panthers were resilient though. After loading the bases in the top of the fifth inning,. An error at third base allowed one run to score. Cook was then able to drive in two more runs on a base hit to make the score 10-7.
The Pirates tried to answer back with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but that was as close as they got. Saint Jo was able to close the game out in the final two innings despite several chances for Perrin-Whitt as the Panthers won 10-8.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
District awards for 1A released
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.
SPORTS
Forestburg coach retiring
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.
SPORTS
Bowie Sports Banquet
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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