SPORTS
Lady Rabbits hold on to win against Muenster
The Bowie Lady Rabbits won at home on Monday night against Muenster.
The Lady Rabbits held off a late charge from the Lady Hornets to win 5-3.
Bowie was coming into the game after six days from its previous due to last week’s bad weather. It did not prevent the Lady Rabbits from starting the game off well.
Pitcher Kaylie Kinney and the defense had a three-up-three down inning in the first. Traycee Stewart led off with a single and Kenzie short followed it up with a triple to score the game’s first run. Following a strike out Sadie Britt grounded out to first base, but it allowed Short to score to put Bowie up 2-0 after the first inning.
An infield error with two outs that one runner to get on base for Muenster in the second inning. Two passed balls allowed her to get to third base and threaten to score, but Kinney induced a ground out to second base for the third out.
The Lady Rabbits scored once more in the second inning. Maddie Mandela hit a one out single and was followed by drawn walks from Addie Farris and Kinney to load up the bases. Following a strike out for out two, Short then drew a walk to score a runner to make it 3-0. Unfortunately, the next batter popped it out to the pitcher for out three.
The third inning was another three-up-three down inning for the Lady Rabbit defense, with Kinney striking out two of the batters.
Fielding errors from Muenster allowed first for leadoff hitter Brit to reach third base and then Hannah Love to bunt her in while reaching second base. The following three batters all got out which stranded Love at third base, but the Bowie led 4-0.
The fourth inning started with the Lady Hornets getting their first two batters on base with a single and a walk. Kinney and the defense rallied to strand both runners and keep the shut out going.
It was the first string of at-bats for the Lady Rabbits that they did not score. Short’s two out single did not spark a rally as the game moved to the fifth inning.
Bowie had another infield error that allowed a runner to get on with two outs. Thankfully, it did not lead to any other things as the next batter flew out.
The Lady Rabbits scored again with Love hitting an inside the park home run to make the score 5-0. The other Bowie batters struck out in the inning.
Muenster got on the board in the sixth inning. A one out triple followed by a ground out scored one run to cut the lead to 5-1.
Bowie’s offense was stalled with an inning ending double play following Kinney hitting a single.
The Lady Hornets were down to their last out when they made their last gasp in the seventh inning. An infield error allowed one runner to get on base. A single followed, but a defensive indifference call allowed the runner to go to second base putting two runners in scoring position.
A double to left field allowed both runners to score and cut the lead to 5-3. Thankfully for Bowie, the next batter grounded out for the third and final out.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week 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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