In the last game of the regular season the Bowie baseball team traveled the two plus hours to Childress.
While Jackrabbits were able to take an early lead, the Bobcats won the low scoring game 4-2, giving Bowie only its third defeat during district play.
Evan Kennedy led off with a groundball single. Two batters later Payton Price followed with a single. Cooper Little drove in Kennedy with a single for the games first run.
Childress tries to pick off Little at first base, but an error not only allows him to reach second, but for Price to score, giving the Jackrabbits a 2-0 lead early on.
The leadoff batter for Childress drew a walk, but it was maid up for as the runner was thrown out trying to steal second base. Pitcher Boo Oakley then struck out the next two batters to keep Bowie’s lead heading into the second inning.
The Jackrabbits did not have any luck on offense. While the batters made good contact, they were right at Bobcat defenders who made the plays to get the outs.
Again the leadoff batter for Childress was allowed to get on base, this time do to an error at second base. A balk moved the runner to second base with no out.
Oakley and the Bowie defense went to work. A ground out to third base for the first out also kept the runner planted at second. A three-pitch strikeout swinging was good for the second out. The next batter hit the first pitch he saw to straightaway centerfield for the third out.
The third inning saw the Jackrabbits top of the lineup come back around. Leadoff Kennedy got on base thanks to an error from the shortstop. He quickly stole second and third base to put him in scoring position.
The next batter hit a groundball to third base. The player quickly threw the ball home in time to get Kennedy out at home. Price followed with a drawn walk. A fly out to right field allowed the lead runner to advance to third base. A wild pitch allowed Price to reach second, but not for the lead runner to advance home.
Unfortunately, a line out to center field on a 2-0 count was good for the third out as the Jackrabbits runners were left stranded at third and second base.
The Bobcats’ offense strung along some runs after barley avoiding falling further behind. A leadoff single followed by a sacrifice bunt started the things. A wild pitch moved the runner to third base in the same at bat as a walked batter.
A passed ball allowed a runner to advance to second base, but the lead runner stayed at third base. Oakley struck out the next batter for the second out of the inning, but a clutch double drove in both base runners to tie the game up.
A wild pitch allowed the runner to reach third base. From there, a steal home was successful, giving the Bobcats a 3-2 lead heading into the fourth inning.
Bowie’s bats tried to respond. Weston Partridge led off with a line drive to center field for a single. After a line out, pinch runner Camden Starnes stole second base. A groundout to the shortstop followed for the second out, but it allowed Starnes to reach third base. Unfortunately, Starnes was left stranded as the next batter struck out swinging.
Oakley followed the last inning with a furry on the mound, striking out the side with just 14 pitches to keep the Bobcats lead to just one run.
The top of the lineup came again for the Jackrabbits. For the third straight time, leadoff batter Kennedy found his way on base by drawing a walk. A fielder’s choice hit to second base saw Kennedy out at second base. Taylor Pigg advanced to second base from first thanks to a wild pitch.
Price also hit into a fielder’s choice where Pigg was thrown out at third base. Price replaced him at second. A wild pitch allowed Price to go to third base, but that is where he stayed as the next batter grounded out to the pitcher for the third out.
Childress got its leadoff hitter on base with a drawn walk. After a ground out into a fielder’s choice, the Jackrabbits picked off the runner trying to steal second base. The next batter lined out to centerfield for the third out.
Bowie continued to threaten with one base runner. Partridge was hit by a pitch with one out. Pinch runner Starnes advanced to second on a ground out, but he was stranded again as another ground out to second base ended things.
Childress added to its lead a little bit. A leadoff double to right field was followed by a stolen third base and a ground ball single. The Bobcats lead was 4-2. Pigg came in to relieve Oakley. He struck out two of the three batters to keep the game within reach as the Jackrabbits entered the final inning.
Kennedy hit a groundball single with one out. Unfortunately, he was caught trying to steal second base for the second out. Pigg hit a single to get on base and advanced to second base on a passed ball. With the tying run up to bat, the game ended on a pop out to second base. The Bobcats won 4-2.

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