The Nocona Indians hosted its first district game on Tuesday against Henrietta.
Too big of a hole was dug for the Indians to overcome as the Bearcats won 13-6.
In the first inning, Henrietta’s second batter was hit. He stole second base, but Nocona was able to retire the next two batters to get out of the inning unscathed.
With one out Logan Barnes hit an infield single to get on base. Trying to steal second base, Barnes was thrown out. Carlos Castro replaced him at first as he was hit by a pitch, but the next batter struck out as the game moved to the second inning
Things snowballed for the Indians in a bad way. A leadoff walk and a fielding error put two runners on base. Both runners advanced into scoring position with a wild pitch. Two batters later a single scored both runners to give the Bearcats an early lead.
They were not done. Two more walks loaded the bases when another single scored two more runs. Another walk loaded the bases.
A ground out to the pitcher allowed another run to score. A walk reloaded the bases and a wild pitch scored the sixth run of the inning for Henrietta before Nocona forced the final out, trailing 6-0.
The Indians did not respond back right away. A one-two-three inning with no base runners advanced the game into the third inning. A leadoff error and a double scored one more run for the Bearcats to make it 7-0.
Nocona was able to chip away at the lead. The Indians loaded the bases with no outs thanks to two walks and a fielding error.
Castro hit a ball to the third basemen who committed an error that allowed two runners to score. Unfortunately, that was all the Nocona could squeeze out of the situation as the game advanced to the fourth inning down 7-2.
A base hit with two outs is all the threatening Henrietta could do offensively as the Indians retired the next batter with no issue. A leadoff walk and another fielding error put two base runners in scoring position with no outs for Nocona.
John Womack hit a line drive single to right field to score one runner. Hunter Fenoglio grounded out to the short stop, but still drove in the other runner. Barnes then hit another line drive to right field to score a run.
A single by Castro was followed by a line drive single to left field from Jason Sparkman that drove in the Indians fourth run of the inning and had cut the lead to 7-6. Unfortunately, a tie score or the lead eluded them as the next two batters were retired with little drama.
It did not take long for Henrietta to reestablish a big lead. Two hits and a walk loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth inning. Back-to-back doubles drove in four runs for the Bearcats to make the score 11-6 before Nocona could get the final two outs. A hit batter with two outs is all the offense the Indians could muster as they struck out three times swinging.
Nocona did retire all three batters to start the sixth inning. A single, walk and hit batter loaded the bases for the Indians with only one out, a promising scenario for a team that needed to score several runs. Unfortunately, Henrietta got out of the pickle with back-to-back strike outs to go the final inning.
Leadoff singles and a balk put two runners in scoring position for the Bearcats. A sacrifice fly to center field scored one runner and an error in right field scored the other to give Henrietta a 13-6 lead. The Indians failed to get any base runner on in their final at bats as they lost.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.