SPORTS
Jackrabbits win area round against Ballinger
The Bowie Jackrabbits’ season continues with an area series sweep against Ballinger on Friday and Saturday.
The Jackrabbits won both games 8-5, but it took late inning scoring efforts to pull ahead in each and advance to the regional quarterfinals for the first time since 2016.
Bowie came into the game probably the slight favorites. It was the odd series with the third place seeded Jackrabbits playing the fourth seeded Bearcats.
Ballinger being in a district with two state powers in Wall and Jim Ned meant the Bearcats were not the usual fourth seed. They showed it with them annihilating a first seed team Reagan County with scores 16-5 and 14-5 in the bi-district round.
Game one did not start off well for Bowie. The Bearcats reeled off a triple, a double, a single and drew a walk in the first inning. The Jackrabbits also committed two fielding errors that led to Ballinger scoring four runs before they had even gotten up to bat while also setting a bad tone to start the series.
The Bearcats added to their lead in the third inning as a leadoff single eventually was able to score thanks to a passed ball to make it 5-0. The Jackrabbits had only gotten three people on base and had not threatened to score yet heading into the fourth inning.
Ballinger almost got a two out rally going in the fourth inning with a single and double putting two runners in scoring position. Pitcher Cade Thompson, who had settled down after that rough first inning, was able to force a groundout at shortstop to get out of the jam.
Bowie’s bats finally got started a little bit in the same inning. Devin Melton was able to reach second base with one out thanks to an error on a throw. Colton Richey followed with a single to put runners at the corners before Kawlyer Swearingin drove in Melton with a line drive into the outfield to cut the lead to 5-1.
It looked like the Jackrabbits were poised to score more as Logan Hutson drew a walk to load the bases with only one out. Unfortunately, the next two batters flew out and struck out to end the inning.
Bowie did not let that get the team down as it carried the momentum into a big fifth inning. Thompson and the defense had a clean 1-2-3 inning to get back to bats where the Jackrabbits were still hot from the inning before.
Kynan DeMoss got on first with one out thanks to an error at first base. Jake Fallis drew a walk but a strikeout for out two. After executing a double steal to get both runners into scoring position, Richey hit a groundball and another error at first base allowed both runners to score and Richey to reach second base. Swearingin then followed with a single that drove in the loan base runner.
Hutson’s fly ball to right field produced another error that allowed Swearingin to score all the way from first base to tie the game at 5-5.
Hutson would advance to second on the same error. Tucker Jones came in to run for him and advanced to third base on a passed ball, but a groundout followed for out three.
The only issue Bowie’s defense had was a dropped third strike with two outs that put one runner on, but it did not lead to anything.
Despite the Bearcats changing pitchers late last inning, the Jackrabbit bats kept on producing. Thompson led off and drew a walk. He advanced to third base on a wild pitch and a steal before Carson Sanders drove him in with a single to take the lead.
Sanders was then able to advance to third base thanks to two wild pitches when DeMoss traded places with him on a triple into the gap that scored one more run. DeMoss would then score during the next at-bat thanks to a balk to put Bowie up 8-5 heading into the final inning.
With one out, Ballinger batters drew a walk and hit a single to put the pressure back on with its back against the wall. Sanders came in to pitch relief and forced an infield pop up and struck out the next batter to end the game.
Bowie won 8-5.
Bowie did not want to get too up on itself after winning game one, having come back from losing game one in its previous series to win and also losing game two in a playoff series from last year after winning game one easily.
Starting in the early afternoon on Saturday it was a sunny, humid day. The Jackrabbit bats had no luck in the first inning. Swearingin got the start on the mound for Bowie and despite a one out single eventually reaching third base, the Jackrabbits held firm heading into the next inning.
The second inning Bowie got a runner on base with a drawn walk from Melton, but a double play ended things.
Ballinger drew a two out walk and then got lucky as a throw to first base to try and pick off the batter was too high and allowed the runner to reach third base. The Bearcats got another break as a groundball hit to the shortstop produced an error that allowed the runner to score and put Ballinger up 1-0 heading into the third inning.
Bowie got its bats going then. Swearingin led off with a triple into the gap. Hutson followed with a drawn walk. After the next two batters were retired, Sanders hit a single that drove in both runners to take the lead.
Next batter DeMoss extended that lead with a two-run home run down the left field line to make the score 4-1.
Ballinger got one run back in the same inning as a leadoff batter got on with a single and was later driven in on another single with two outs to make the score 4-2.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Jackrabbits got on the board again. Brody Armstrong got on base with a one out single. After stealing second base, Sanders was hit by a pitch before DeMoss drove in one run with a single to make it 5-2.
The Bearcats came back in the same inning. With two runners on because of base hits and with two outs, a Ballinger hitter hit a three-run home run down to left field to tie the game up at 5-5. Following another single, Bowie was hit with a scarier blow.
Catcher Hutson went down after a pitch hit his windpipe. According to his mom Kit Cage-Hutson, this resulted in him passing out and having trouble breathing thanks to the heat he endured as well. He was helped off the field and received medical care for the rest of the game, but is expected to be fine.
Melton had to step in and catch and the team had to rebound after about a 10 minute break in the action where the Bearcats were gaining momentum.
It looked like it might keep going as the next batter drew a walk, but Swearingin got it together and struck out the next batter to end the fifth inning.
Bowie bats responded in the sixth inning. Melton led off and got on with a single. After stealing second base, an error on the throw allowed him to reach third base. Following a pop out, Swearingin came through with a single to drive him in.
Following another out, Armstrong was able to hit a shallow ball to center field for a single. He advanced to second base on the throw home that prevented the runner from advancing. That did not matter as next batter Thompson hit a double that drove in both base runners to up the Jackrabbits lead to 8-5.
The Bearcats showed some life as a batter hit a two-out double to get on base, but Swearingin struck out the next batter with three pitches to end the inning.
Bowie batters had no luck in the seventh inning to add to its lead. Ballinger was able to get one runner on base with a one out single. With Swearingin’s pitch count too high after another strike out for out two, Sanders came in again to finish the game.
He forced a groundout at second base for the final out. Bowie won 8-5.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Nocona Indians were able to beat Saint Jo at home on Thursday night in a tight contest.
The Indians won 55-48 against the Panthers in a game where both teams played hard, but made plenty of early season mistakes.
Nocona came into the game following a low-scoring win against Bells earlier in the week 35-30. For a young Indians team that only has a few players with varsity experience this year, every early season win builds confidence.
For Saint Jo, the Panthers were still without several returning starters since football is still going on. Despite that, new Coach Jacob Nocktonick is trying to build what he can with his group of basketball first players that include several key players even when the football team is integrated.
Despite Saint Jo being the smaller school, overall it had the height advantage in the front line since Nocona features only one player, Kasch Johnson, who is built like a post player. That is nothing new for the Indians, who featured a short team the previous year as Coach Brody Wilson emphasizes full-court pressure on defense and pushing the ball in transition in his system that makes up for a lack of height and size.
Initially Nocona’s pace and energy, grabbing several offensive rebounds, got it the lead 9-3. Eventually, the Panthers adjusted and trailed only 12-11 after the first quarter.
Saint Jo got the lead early in the second quarter. Post Trent Gaston took advantage of his size advantage, especially when the Indians had Johnson out, and led 17-12. Both teams had trouble scoring in a rough second quarter as open perimeter shots just were not going in and shots at the rim were tough to convert.
The Panthers led 23-20 heading into halftime.
Both teams had better offensive success pushing the ball when it could in the second half.
Saint Jo broke Nocona’s press and punished the Indians with quick baskets. Nocona ran whenever it could and seemed to put up an array of perimeter shots and drives, getting offensive rebounds it seemed at will to keep the pressure up and infuriate the Panthers coach.
The Indians got a big push from Landon Fatheree in the second half. After scoring eight points in the first half to lead the team, he scored 10 of his team’s 14 points in the third quarter.
Nocona got the lead back, but only led 34-33 heading into the final period.
The Indians had a comfortable lead up 44-36 when Saint Jo’s Gaston fouled out with 4:56 left in the game. Still, the Panthers did not give up and a minute later had whittled Nocona’s lead down to one basket 44-41 with 3:45.
The game stayed a one-possession game for the next two minutes as Saint Jo had several chances to tie or take the lead not go through.
Nocona made its free throws down the stretch to win with a little more comfort, with the final score being 55-48.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. To see more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870682&T=1
Nocona senior Meg Meekins signed her official letter of intent to play college basketball at Lubbock Christian University on Wednesday. Meekins, the daughter of Brandi and Lance, is a four-year starter on the volleyball and basketball court. She has earned several accolades like being named to the All State Teams for TGCA, TABC, Associated Press and was selected to the All Tournament Team at the UIL State Basketball Tournament in San Antonio last year.“The coaching staff and the community of the LCU program and just knowing you have a staff that coaches you, but also looks over you just like Coach (Kyle) Spitzer did here was a huge part in the recruiting process,” Meekins said. She plans to pursue a degree in either physical or occupational therapy.
For more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870680&T=1
The Bowie Lady Rabbits got more than they bargained for when they traveled to Bellevue on Tuesday night.
The Lady Rabbits escaped with the win 44-40, taking the lead with less than a minute to go after trailing whole game.
Bowie came into the game confident. The larger 3A school was supposed to play Windthorst, but had to reschedule because the Lady Trojans volleyball team was playing in the state tournament.
Finding a last minute replacement, the Lady Rabbits thought they would have an easy game playing the 1A program down the road. Little did they know.
Bellevue had a couple of players out with injury to limit its depth a bit and a new coach in Celsey Hoffman, but the Lady Eagles were coming off of nearly beating a Nocona team the previous week. While the Lady Indians were missing four starters who were still in volleyball, it still showed this was not a 1A team to take lightly.
Bellevue came out fast showing tough defensive pressure despite giving up size at nearly every position. Within a few minutes the Lady Eagles had used that pressure to force turnovers and convert those steals into transition opportunities.
Also, the energy showed in other areas as Bellevue seemed to grab every loose ball and fought for offensive rebounds despite lacking in height compared to Bowie.
After a little more than four minutes into the game the Lady Eagles led 15-0. The Lady Rabbits had barely been able to set up their offense or attempt a shot against the pressure.
Bowie Coach Matthew Miller had to reset his shell-shocked team during multiple timeouts. The young ballhandlers was reminded how the team was going to break the press defense so it could set up its offense.
Bellevue led 19-4 after the first quarter, led by Mary Grace Broussard and Brittany Gill who each scored six points.
The Lady Rabbits settled down and made some good progress in the second quarter. Their defense switched between man-to-man and 1-3-1 to keep the Lady Eagles off balance. With them taking care of the ball better, there were less chances for Bellevue in transition and the Lady Eagles offense struggled to consistently find ways to score against Bowie’s length.
The Lady Rabbits offense found some success as well. Five different players made at least one basket and the team made two 3-pointers.
While the game was physical from the start, now that Bowie knew what type of game it was in the team responded back. It was not pretty and only enough fouls were called to make the game watchable, but individual foul trouble affected Bellevue harder than the Lady Rabbits in the second quarter.
The Lady Eagles still led heading into halftime, but Bowie had gotten it down to single digits trailing 25-19.
The third quarter was more even between the two teams as both had trouble consistently scoring baskets. Bellevue made three baskets and a couple of free throws to keep ahead.
The Lady Rabbits got a big lift from Lanie Moore, who knocked in all three of her 3-pointers in the quarter, scoring nine of the team’s 12 points.
Bowie still trailed, but had cut the lead down to one point earlier in the quarter and one basket 34-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bellevue grew the lead to 38-32 early in the final period. The Lady Rabbits struggled to get anything going offensively and trailed 40-34 midway through the quarter.
Bowie’s Kendall Fallis made a 3-pointer in transition to cut the lead to one basket 40-37.
The score stayed there for the next several minutes even as the Lady Eagles had two starters, Karis Denson and Mattie Broussard, foul out of the game.
With a little more than a minute left, the Lady Rabbits drew up and out of bounds play that got Laney Segura an open shot in the corner. Despite not having made a basket all game, she sunk the 3-pointer to tie the game at 40-40 with a minute still to play.
Bowie had been in a pressure defense for the second half of the fourth quarter to prevent Bellevue from passively running clock. Still in the defense, the team next stole the in-bounds pass and Railey Martin made the undefended layup to give the Lady Rabbits their first lead of the game 42-40 with 48 seconds left.
The Lady Eagles could not tie the score on their next offensive possession. Bowie would made two more free throws to make the final 44-40.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870678&T=1
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