SPORTS
Bowie beats Bangs in bi-district
The Bowie Jackrabbits had to fight to the very end to finally defeat Bangs on Saturday in their bi-district playoff series at McMurry University.
The Jackrabbits won game three 8-7 after barely holding off a furious late push from the Dragons. It was the second game of the day after Bowie just came short of a comeback of its own in game two which would have sent fans home early.
The teams first played game one on Friday night. Despite it being the Jackrabbit coaches and players first playoff game, it was Bowie’s day.
Kawlyer Swearingin got the start on the mound and pitched like an ace. Despite facing bases loaded with one out early in the second inning and having two runners on in both the fourth and fifth inning, Swearingin, with the help of an errorless defensive performance, worked his way out to shut out Bangs in a complete game performance.
Edgar Regalado and Logan Hutson drove in runs in the second and third inning. A.J. Whatley drove in another in the fourth inning.
A fielding error from the Dragons allowed Carson Sanders to reach third while driving in a run. A passed ball then allowed Sanders to score as the Jackrabbits led 5-0 after four innings.
The team was not done as Bowie scored four runs in the sixth inning. Swearingin, Cade Thompson and Hutson combined to drive them in to make the final score 9-0.
Hutson led the team with three RBIs. Swearingin allowed only four hits and three walks while striking out 10 batters in the complete game shut out.
Coach Tyler Price was happy overall and felt his team imposed its brand of baseball on Bangs in the best way possible.
Heading into Saturday, the team was feeling confident. Starting the second game, two of the first three batters got on base and in scoring position thanks to fielding errors. When the Jackrabbits failed to score, maybe it was then they should have known the Dragons were not going to make it as easy as the day before.
After failing to score a run in seven innings Friday, Bangs scored the first run when its second batter drove in the leadoff hitter with a double.
A fielding error and a single loaded the bases with two outs later in the first inning, but a passed ball allowed another run to score as the Dragons led 2-0 heading into the second inning.
Hutson tried to fire up his team after the lackluster first inning with a lead off home run to left field. Three fielding errors from Bangs in the next three batters allowed Whatley to drive in a run to tie the game at 2-2.
Despite tying the score and starting the second inning with two outs, the Jackrabbits pitching and defense had a tough stretch to before they got that final out.
Three hits, two walks, a dropped third strike and an error allowed the Dragons to score four runs. Carson Sanders had to come in for relief on the mound to get out three, but not before Bangs lead was 6-2.
The teams exchanged scoreless third and fourth innings despite usually getting one or two runners on base. Both teams left several runners stranded.
A passed ball allowed another run to score for the Dragons in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 7-2 as Bowie’s playing energy seemed sapped by that point by how the game had gone and squandering so many scoring opportunities.
The Jackrabbits had their best chance in the sixth inning as the first three batters got on to load the bases with no outs.
Following a strike out, Sanders drove in one run with a single and Devin Melton followed with a single that drove in two runs to cut the lead to 7-5.
With the team alive again as it attempted another one of its late comeback attempts to close the series, Swearingin was up to bat.
He hit a long foul ball to left field that just cleared the fence. Bangs left fielder made an amazing catch and held onto the ball as he ran into the fence hard.
Sanders was on second base and Jackrabbit fans, coaches and players claimed he tagged up after the catch before advancing to third base. After the umpires got together, they made the controversial call that he was out for out three, angering every Jackrabbit supporter.
Bowie went out and played the only clean inning of defense that game as all three of Bangs batters were sat down to get to the final inning.
Two of the first three batters got on with singles. Kynan DeMoss then drove in a run with a single to cut the lead to 7-6 as the energy was electric as everyone was still mad.
After hitting into a fielder’s choice for out two, there were still two runners on base who were both in scoring position after a wild pitch.
Whatley came up to bat and hit and just needed to find a way on. He hit a slow ball to shortstop. With the Dragons having committed six errors in the game and with Whatley’s speed, there was still a chance.
The ball was fielded cleanly. The throw was on target, but it was not coming in hot. Whatley dived for the bag. The call was close, but Whatley was called out, ending the game. The Dragons won game two 7-6.
Sanders had pitched brilliantly in the 4.1 innings of relief as he allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out four. Too many scoring opportunities were wasted.
To read the end of the story and see how game three went down, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
A solid day was had by Montague county high school tracksters at the State Track and Field Meet May 16 in Austin.
Bellevue’s Mattie Broussard had a pair of second place finishes in both the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.41 and the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:31.33. Broussard also was 4th in the 1,600-meters with a time of 5:22.18.
Her teammate Brylie Hager was 9th in the 110-meter hurdles in 19.93.
Forestburg’s Brenna Briles was 4th in the triple jump with a 35’9 1’2” leap. Her teammate Jocelyn Rich was 4th in the pole vault with a 9’ leap.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Bowie had a pair of top four finishes at the State Track and Field Meet May 14.
Sophomore Brayden Willett made it onto the medal stand, finishing 3rd in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:17.89. Bowie junior Tyler Richey finished 4th in the pole vault after a 14’6” effort.
The top two finishers from Holliday, also in Bowie’s district, celebrated with him after he crossed the finish line.
“It was kind of surprising,” Willett said about Ryder and Noah Stroman embracing him in a celebratory hug. “They’re good guys, so it was kind of cool.”
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
This past week found your outdoor scribe doing some rather mundane things such as yard work, vegetable gardening and repairs around the old cabin. Oh, I also wrapped up a couple of magazine articles. I always enjoy sharing my adventures with all of you in this column but to be perfectly honest, not nearly as much as my ‘field work’ hunting and fishing which is an iatrical part of any good outdoor column. If you’re like me, you much prefer reading about an adventure that you can also partake.
I am far more comfortable telling you about an outdoor experience I had firsthand knowledge of rather than the reporting part of my job as an outdoor communicator. So, this week, I’d do a bit of ‘reporting’ and share some planned adventures I have scheduled for the next couple weeks. By the time you’re reading this, I will have already been in the woods in quest of a fat ‘eater’ hog and probably have some freshly caught blue catfish fillets in the freezer, details will follow in the next couple of weeks.
I’ll kick things off early in the week heading down to my friend Jeff Rice’s Buck and Bass Ranch located on the upper end of Lake Fork. Jeff produces our weekly TV show “A Sportsman’s Life” which airs on Carbon TV and YouTube. Our plan is to film a segment of our show on stalking wild hogs. It will be a challenge to capture the shot with all the thick grown spring vegetation. It could happen fast and require a fast shot. We will be breaking in my CVA Cascade scout rifle in 308 caliber. This short barrel little rifle is light and easy to handle in thick cover, ideal for this type of hunting. Our plan is to hit the woods during the last couple hours of daylight and ease along the trails, watching and especially listening for hogs. Wild porkers are vocal critters and it’s common to hear them before seeing them. We will play the wind and attempt to get downwind and then close the distance for a shot but you can never guess how a hog hunt will unfold. Wild pork or not, Jeff and I always have a great time together and I plan to bring a side of wild pork ribs already slow smoked and covered in brown sugar and BBQ sauce with a side of camp baked beans!
After a tasty dinner we plan to get a good night’s sleep and head out the next morning for a planned fishing trip with guide David Hanson at Lake Tawakoni. Both channel and blue catfish are on a very good bite right but it’s hard to pass up those snow white blue catfish fillets when the bite is good. David is, to my knowledge, the most veteran catfish guide on the lake and became friends close to a quarter-century ago when we first began fishing
together. The plan is to use freshy cut shad in shallow water and target eater size blues weighing between 2 and about 10 pounds but as every catfish angler knows, it’s always possible to connect with a big trophy size blue when fishing Tawakoni.
Next week, I plan to join my long-time friend J.C. McCollough on the Red River below the Texoma dam. I’ve been fishing and hunting with J.C. for many years and look forward to getting with him again. I would describe this to catching big catfish in a barrel but in this case the deep holes in the river are comprised of several acres. The water level in the river below Texoma are dictated by the water release at the dam by the Corp of Engineers. When there is a current in the river, fish move upstream to feed on baitfish coming through the dam. When the water recedes, they fish move into the deeper holes where baitfish also seek refuge from the falling water. Catching will be fast paced with the chance to connect with some big fish as well as limits of “eater” size fish. We’ll be rigging with big live gizzard shad fished weightless on a free line, using medium spinning gear. The bigger fish will often nail the frisky live shad and the fresh cut bait is a sure way to connect with lots of smaller fish. There is something very exciting about fishing big live baits on a slack line. One minute your bait will be darting around and you will occasionally feel it taking up slack and the next when a big blue catfish grabs the bait, the rod will bow and the fight will be on. There is usually no ‘setting the hook’, by the time you feel the fish, it will already be hooked and making a strong run to the nearest submerged brush. Your job will be to keep the drag set just enough to keep pressure on the fish but not so much as to cause the line to break.
J.C. uses his airboat to access these deeper holes because of the very shallow water. While it’s not impossible to portage a kayak or small boat in the river, it often requires a few miles travel to get to these deep holes, this is best accomplished by experienced kayakers with plenty of endurance. There was a time when I was game for this type fishing but I much prefer to do my river fishing these days from a boat designed to negotiate the shallow waters.
Squirrel season is underway in many of the east Texas counties and there’s some pretty good fox squirrel hunting here close to home in Kaufman county and I’ve been thinking about how tasty a big skillet of smothered squirrel with rice, gravy and biscuits would be. Bream are on the beds now and my friend Edgar Cotton invited me to come do some ‘perch jerking’ with him and his son David-it’s in the plans! Well, hopefully next week I will have a ‘sure nuff’ adventure of two to relate you you-I’m ready to get some relief from all this work around the homeplace! LC
You can contact Tawakoni/Fork catfish guide David Hanson at 902-268-7391. Contact J.C. McCollough at 580-372-0320.
Listen to Luke’s podcast, “Catfish Radio” just about everywhere podcast are found.
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