SPORTS
Baseball Roundup
Bowie
The Bowie Jackrabbits baseball team did well at their hosted Walker Stallcup tournament last week.
The Jackrabbits went 4-1 overall during the three days of competition in the run up to start of district play this week.
Bowie first played Burkburnett and won 5-0 after five and half innings of play. Cy Egenbacher drove in three runs to lead the team while Troy Kesey drove in another run.
Edmond DeLeon allowed no runs through 4.2 innings while striking out seven batters and allowing four hits and two walks.
The Jackrabbits then played Gainesville to wrap up the first day and won 9-4. Carson Sanders led the team with three RBIs while six other batters all drove in one run each.
Kynan DeMoss, Tucker Jones and Brody Armstrong combined to pitch seven innings, with DeMoss and Jones pitching three innings each and Armstrong getting the save with the last inning.
The start of the second day saw Bowie lose in a high scoring game to Grand Saline 13-10 after only five innings. Kesey led the team with four RBIs and a home run while A.J. Whatley drove in three runs and also had a home run. Sanders drove in three runs as well.
Though the Jackrabbits had four players pitch, the unit gave up 12 hits and 12 earned runs along with three home runs.
Bowie bounced back later in the day with a dominant run rule win against Ector 15-0 through three and half innings. DeMoss hit a home run and drove in five runs to lead the team while Seth Hall drove in three runs and Whatley drove in two. Armstrong allowed no runs while giving up one hit and walking one batter while striking out five batters through four innings.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians only got to play one day of the two day tournament at Saint Jo on Friday due to the rainy weather last week.
The Indians lost both of their games as the young team hopes to improve with more experience in the pre-district schedule.
Nocona first lost a close game to Thackerville 3-1, with hits coming in short supply on both sides. Charlie Fuller drove in the teams only run with the only hit in the last inning of the game.
Walker Murphey pitched four innings and all three runs given up were unearned as he struck out seven batters and allowing two hits and one walk. Konor Harrington struck out two batters and allowed no hits or runs in one inning of work.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers hosted their tournament last week despite dealing with rainy weather that cost them a day.
The Panthers went 2-1 during the two days of games.
Saint Jo first played Electra and won 6-1 after four innings. Trevor O’Neal and Cooper Henson each drove in one run each as the rest of the runs came on the basepaths with the Panthers drawing nine walks. Brice Durham pitched all four innings and struck out six batters while allowing three hits. The one run given up came unearned due to an error.
The Panthers next played Sacred Heart and won 3-0 through five innings. Matthew Butler-Everson and O’Neal each drove in one run each to lead the team. Collin Thomas pitched all five innings and struck out 10 batters while giving up three hits and walking one batter.
To read about the last game played in all three team’s tournaments, 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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