SPORTS
Nocona baseball digs itself early hole
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.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians picked up dominant wins against Chico in their series against the Dragons last week.
The Indians won both games 11-0 by run-rule after five innings to get their first district wins of the season.
Nocona was coming off losing both games against Lindsay the previous week in its first district series and bounced back in a big way.
In the first game at home last week, the Indians scored six runs in the first inning and five in the third inning which proved to be all the offense they needed.
Kutter Cabrera led the team with three RBIs while Miller Jentry was second with two RBIs. The team finished with nine hits and drew eight walks.
On the mound, Walker Murphey pitched a shut out while striking out seven and allowing three hits. Defensively, the team committed one fielding error.
The second game saw Nocona score all of its runs in the first three innings, highlighted by scoring six runs in the second inning.
Murphey hit a three-run home run to lead the team while Brody Langford and Landon Fatheree each had two RBIs.
On the mound RJ Walker had a big day, throwing a perfect four innings which means he did not allow a hit or walk anyone. He also struck out eight batters, which put him over 100 career strikeouts in high school. The defense committed no fielding errors.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost their series against Bryson last week.
The first game was a close 3-0 loss, but the second game was 11-0, done after four and half innings due to run-rule.
The Panthers were coming off close losses to Perrin-Whitt from the previous week. They were hoping they could turn their fortune around playing another 1A program.
Unfortunately in the first game, the Cowboys got off to a good start, scoring three runs in the first inning, with two coming with two outs due to an error and a dropped third strike.
Saint Jo’s pitching and defense tightened up after that to not allow another run in the final six innings. Unfortunately, the Panthers had only two hits and four base runners all game as they lost the close game 3-0.
Charlie Evans and Rylan Forrest had the only two hits for Saint Jo in the game as the team struck out 18 times. Trent Gaston ended the game allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out five batters and walking two in six innings of work. The defense committed five fielding errors.
Unfortunately, things did not go as well several days later in game two. Bryson scored three runs in both the first and second innings before scoring five runs in the third inning. Saint Jo was not able to get a hit and drew two walks in the game.
The Panther defense committed six fielding errors which led to only three of the 11 runs given up were earned by the pitching staff who gave up five hits, walked six and hit four batters.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles played Perrin-Whitt last week in a series.
The Pirates won the first game 11-1 by run-rule and the second game score was not updated on Game Changer.
The Eagles were coming off one-sided losses to Bryson the previous week in their first district series and was hoping to play better.
Bellevue did get out to an early lead in the first inning. River Trail hit an RBI single in the top of the first inning to go up 1-0, which proved to be the highlight of the game.
Perrin-Whitt scored three runs in the first inning, one in the second inning, two in the fourth inning and five in the fifth inning to win 11-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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