SPORTS
Nocona baseball wins 10-4
The Nocona Indians baseball team played Callisburg on Monday night in a game that really went their way.
The Indians won 10-4 in a game they led after the third inning and never looked back thanks to a great fifth inning.
The game started out well on defense as Nocona did not allow a one out single to spiral into anything. Similarly when the Indians were up to bat, a leadoff hit batter could not be taken advantage of as both teams ended the first inning scoreless.
The Wildcats got on the board first. A leadoff double to start the second inning got home thanks to base running and an error trying to throw him out. Two more runs scored on a single a few batters later, upping Callisburg’s lead to 3-0.
Nocona answered that same inning. A leadoff walk from Carlos Castro was later driven in by Jason Sparkman on a triple, cutting the lead to 3-1 heading into the third inning.
Indians’ pitcher Vinit Patel struck out two batters and forced the other to ground out to the short stop as he did not allow any base runners.
After back-to-back singles Anthony Veitenheimer drove in both runs on a triple, tying the score up at 3-3. He would then give Nocona the lead as a balk from the Wildcats pitcher would allow him to come home, the Indians up 4-3 heading to the fourth inning.
Callisburg would put the ball in play all three times it was up to bat, but Nocona’s defense came through with outs every time. On offense the Indians were able to load the bases up with three drawn walks in the fourth inning. With two outs though, they were left stranded when the next batter flew out to center field.
The Wildcats continued to have no answer for Patel as he struck out two while not allowing a single base runner on for the third straight inning.
On offense Nocona again was able to take advantage of free bases, loading the bases up with only one out. This time the Indians came through as Oscar Salgado came in to pinch hit, hitting a double and driving in two runs. Miguel Oliveras and Colton Evans followed with back-to-back RBI singles.
Kooper Hansard would ground out to the short stop, but not before driving in the third straight run. Evans would then steal third base, which put him in position to score on wild pitch, making Nocona’s lead 10-3 after the third out.
The Wildcats did get one run across the board in the sixth inning thanks to an error, cutting the lead to 10-4, but that would be as close as Callisburg would get as the Indians would close the game strong in the seventh inning.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend 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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