SPORTS
Lady Panthers lose to Blum in playoffs
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers softball season came to an end on Friday as they lost to Blum in a double-header playoff series.
The Lady Panthers lost both games by run-rule as the Lady Cats won 19-5 and 16-2.
Saint Jo was coming off its first playoff series win in program history against Bryson the previous week. Blum was going to be a different story as the Lady Cats were one of the top ranked teams in the state in 1A.
The Lady Cats showed it by scoring nine runs in the top of the first inning in game one. Saint Jo got two of the runs back with Payzlie Cervantes and Maxey Johnson driving in a runs with singles.
It was not enough to keep up with the hot bats from Blum. The Lady Cats scored 10 runs during the next three innings before Saint Jo’s offense could score again.
Taylor Patrick led off with a single, advanced to second after a hit batter and then stole third base before a dropped third strike allowed her to score one run.
The Lady Panthers held Blum to no runs in the fifth inning, but needed to score seven runs in order to avoid getting run ruled.
Mercedes Diaz led off and got on base by getting hit by a pitch. Nevaeh Spann then hit a single and Diaz advanced to third base. She later came in to score a run by stealing home.
Several batters later with the bases loaded, Johnson hit a single that drove in one run.
Two groundouts followed to end the game, Blum winning 19-5 after five innings.
Johnson led the team with two hits and two RBIs while Cervantes and Skidmore each drove in one run.
Saint Jo had to dust off the game and play game two 30 minutes later.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
While school won’t start for another two weeks yet, Bowie tennis coach Dayna Boothe is getting her netters ready to start the 2026 Fall season.
Tryouts began July 21 with nearly 25 players trying out.
Boothe will have a young boys team this year but is excited about their prospects.
“Our boys team is returning with five juniors, a strong sophomore and some promising incoming freshmen,” Boothe said. “It will be a strong building year for our boys team.”
Boothe said the Lady Rabbits will be led by junior state champion in girl’s doubles last Spring Willow Seibert.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
The allure of coaching can be too much for some. Shea Diffie is just that type.
Diffie coached girl’s basketball at Slidell for a time. After the school moved up to Class 2A, Diffie quit coaching and took on a traveling salesperson’s position. After putting on what he says was more than 60,000 miles on his truck over the last year, he decided to get back into coaching.
He met with Bellevue’s athletic director, Colby Broussard, and recently became the new girl’s basketball coach. He replaces Larry Tidwell, who moved on to Arlington Baptist University to become their girl’s basketball coach.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
A positive culture can be tough to install but will reap dividends if done correctly.
Trinadee Imotichey is trying to do just that with her Forestburg Lady Longhorns.
Imotichey, an assistant coach on the 2025 Forestburg volleyball team, was moved into the head coaching position. Last year’s coach, Cori Hayes, took over as football head coach.
Imotichey, in her 2nd year in Forestburg, said she learned a lot from Hayes and is ready to take over.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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