SPORTS
Saint Jo teams lose games on Tuesday
The Saint Jo Panthers lost a close game at home against Perrin-Whitt on Tuesday.
The Pirates won 4-3, taking the lead in the sixth inning and not letting go.
Saint Jo took the early lead with runs scored in the second and third innings. Jonathan Diaz executed a sacrifice bunt to score Payton Harris first. Collin Thomas would then score on a steal to home plate to put the Panthers up 2-0.
Perrin-Whitt would come back to tie the score up in the fourth inning. An RBI single and a sacrifice groundout scored two runs to make the score 2-2.
In the fifth inning, the Panthers regained the lead. Matthew Butler-Everson led off with a walk. After stealing second base and advancing to third base on a passed ball, Jace Johnson then drove him in with a single to put Saint Jo up 3-2.
The Pirates answered back in the sixth inning. Trying to prevent a steal at third base with two runners on base, an error allowed the runner to score and the other to advance to third. A passed ball would then allow that runner to score and put the Pirates up 4-3.
Saint Jo tried to rally in the seventh inning. Thomas led off and was hit by a pitch to get on base. Butler-Everson followed and hit a single to put the winning run on base.
Unfortunately, the next batter hit into a double play and the next batter grounded out to end the game. Perrin-Whitt won 4-3.
Softball
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers had a rough double-header against 2A Muenster on Tuesday.
The Lady Hornets won both games 22-1 and 18-0, both games being three innings long due to run-rule.
The Lady Panthers one run scored in the first game came in the final inning of that game. Krista Reeves scored on the basepaths thanks to a fielding error, which was opportunistic since the team failed to get a hit in the two games and still found a way to score.
Coach Kelly Skidmore said it was mostly bad luck as her team made contact, but just it would go right to a Muenster player.
Defensively the team committed six fielding errors in the first game and three in the second. Unfortunately, the team gave up 15 free bases in each game that drove in a lot of runs with few hits needed.
Playing any 2A school for Saint Jo would be tough, but it is equally so for this team in the program’s first full season playing softball.
Skidmore likes how her girls are coming along as they head into the final month of the season.
Saint Jo is next scheduled to play at 11 a.m. on April 15 at Collinsville.
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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