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Month: March 2019
GAME STORY: Johnson’s one-hitter fuels AHS past Richland in 3-6A opener
The Abilene High Eagles only managed one run and two hits Tuesday night in their District 3-6A opener against North Richland Hills Richland. But with the way ace Ryan Johnson was throwing, that was enough offense to open league play with a victory.
Johnson, a senior right-hander, pitched a one-hit shutout at Abilene Christian University’s Crutcher Scott Field to carry AHS to a 1-0 win over the Rebels — the Eagles’ ninth straight victory overall.
GAME RECAP: Hill brilliant once again as Cooper tops Wichita Falls
The Cooper baseball team improved to 2-0 in District 4-5A play on Tuesday, scoring a 6-1 home win over Wichita Falls High on the strength of another pitching gem by senior Braiden Hill.
Hill, who one-hit Wichita Falls Rider in a 4-1 road win last week, was brilliant once again, allowing one unearned run on three hits and five walks while striking out 11 over 6.2 innings.
PHOTO GALLERY: Aledo-Wylie baseball (35 images)
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GAME STORY: No. 11 Aledo holds off Wylie for 8-5 win
The Wylie Bulldogs rallied from an early 6-0 deficit to pull within a run of Aledo in their District 4-5A opener Tuesday, but the No. 11 Bearcats regrouped after that to grind out an 8-5 win at Bulldog Field.
After Wylie had scored four in the fourth to cut the deficit to one at 6-5, Aledo answered with two in the fifth to go back up by three runs and held on from there for the victory.
Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Abilene High ace ‘K-Wash’ nabs award
For the second week in a row, a standout softball pitcher has earned the title of Big Country Preps Player of the Week.
This time, it’s Abilene High senior Kaylen Washington.
“K-Wash,” as she is referred to by coaches and teammates, continued what’s been a dominating season in District 3-6A wins over Hurst Bell (7-0) and San Angelo Central (6-1), helping the Lady Eagles (14-1-2 overall) stay perfect in league play at 3-0.
PHOTO GALLERY: Dallas Madison-Brock boys basketball state championship (30 images)
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PHOTO GALLERY: Slidell-Jayton boys basketball state championship (34 images)
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LOCAL BASEBALL ROUNDUP: AHS completes 4-0 run through Western Hills tourney
FORT WORTH — The Abilene High baseball team completed a perfect run through the Western Hills tournament Saturday, shutting out North Richland Hills Birdville 5-0 and routing Fort Worth Western Hills 13-2 to finish 4-0 at the event.
The victories improved the Eagles to 11-3, stretching the team’s winning streak to eight games.
GAME STORY: Late free throw lifts Dallas Madison over Brock in 3A title game
SAN ANTONIO — In the end, the Brock Eagles handled everything they were worried about when facing Dallas Madison in the Class 3A state title game.
They neutralized the Trojans’ pressure and kept the turnover margin close. They kept Madison’s vaunted rebounders at bay and won the glass.
There was just one thing missing: The normally sharpshooting Eagles hit just 18 of 45 field goal attempts (40 percent) and were 2 of 13 from the 3-point line in a 49-48 loss in the Alamodome.
GAME STORY: Slidell tops Jayton to capture Class 1A state championship
SAN ANTONIO — A fast start and strong finish propelled Slidell to a 49-36 win over Jayton in the Class 1A state championship game Saturday, ending the Jaybirds’ best season ever one win shy of the ultimate prize.
Making their first state tournament appearance since 1955, the Greyhounds (33-8) used a 13-5 first quarter and an 18-9 fourth period to hold off a scrappy Jaybird squad.
Hunter Horner scored 12 points and Ben McCasland added 11 more to lead Slidell offensively. But it was tournament MVP Slayton Pruett who did most of the damage, hauling in 21 rebounds and blocking five Jayton shots to go with 10 points.
GAME RECAP: Midland High edges Cooper softball on eighth-inning passed ball
MIDLAND — A two-out passed ball in the bottom of the eighth provided the walk-off run for Midland High on Friday in 3-2 nondistrict softball win over Cooper.
The teams traded runs from the third inning to the sixth, setting up a 2-all tie at the end of seven innings. The game looked as though it might go to a ninth frame until a 1-1 pitch got past the Cooper catcher, allowing Bryleigh Morris to score the game-winning run.
LOCAL BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Abilene High tops Azle 5-3, Cooper falls to Birdville
FORT WORTH — The Abilene High baseball team improved to 2-0 at the Western Hills tournament Friday, downing Azle 5-3 on the strength of some early offense and a strong pitching effort by starter Bailey Aulerich.
The Eagles scored all their runs in the first three innings, amassing a 5-0 lead after the top of the third, and Aulerich took care of the rest, holding the Hornets to three runs — two earned — in a six-inning complete game.
PHOTO GALLERY: San Angelo Central-Abilene High softball (48 images)
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GAME STORY: Washington strong again as Lady Eagles take down Central
Senior right-hander Kaylen Washington gave the Abilene High softball team another gem Friday, pitching the Lady Eagles to a 3-0 start to District 3-6A play with a 6-1 win over San Angelo Central.
Washington, who is 5-0 over the last two weeks, took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, finishing with one run allowed on four hits and a walk over seven outstanding frames.
The win pushed AHS to 14-1-2 on the year, extending its unbeaten streak to 14 games.
PHOTO GALLERY: Brock-East Chambers boys basketball state semifinal (30 images)
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PHOTO GALLERY: Nazareth-Jayton boys basketball state semifinal (31 images)
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LOCAL BASEBALL ROUNDUP: AHS opens Western Hills tourney with win
FORT WORTH — Abilene High scored two runs in each of the first two innings and that was all the offense starting pitcher Ryan Johnson needed Thursday in a 7-3 win over Fort Worth Brewer on the opening day of the Western Hills baseball tournament.
Trailing 1-0 heading into their first at-bat, the Eagles tied the game on an error and pushed ahead on Josh Carroll’s RBI single, before adding two more runs to their lead the next inning on a passed ball and an error.
GAME STORY: Brock uses big fourth quarter to eliminate East Chambers
SAN ANTONIO — Prior to Thursday’s Class 3A state semifinal with Winnie East Chambers, Brock coach Zach Boxell was concerned enough over a Buccaneer full-court press that he made it a top priority in his game prep.
The extra effort paid off with a 58-49 Brock win at the Alamodome — pushing the Eagles (33-6) to Saturday’s state championship game where they will meet Dallas Madison (20-15) at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
GAME STORY: Jayton advances with buzzer-beating upset of Nazareth
SAN ANTONIO — For most of the second quarter in Thursday’s Class 1A state semifinal with Nazareth, Jayton’s Tye Scogin sat on the bench with a bloody nose after catching an inadvertent elbow from NHS’ Jake Gerber.
Scogin, however, would eventually get his chance, returning in the second half to deliver a game-winning shot in the lane as the buzzer sounded in a thrilling 38-37 win for the Jaybirds in the Alamodome.
GAME RECAP: Washington shines in circle as Abilene High softball shuts out Hurst Bell
HURST — Kaylen Washington tossed a complete-game shutout and the Abilene High Lady Eagles turned eight hits into seven runs Wednesday to rout Hurst Bell 7-0 and improve to 2-0 in District 3-6A play.
AHS, 13-1-2 overall, took control with a four-run second inning and added two more in the third to stake Washington a lead she would have little trouble protecting the rest of the way.
BCP Podcast No. 36: Brock’s Boxell, Jayton’s Bleiker talk state hoops
The Brock Eagles and Jayton Jaybirds are headed to San Antonio for the UIL boys basketball state championships. But before they touchdown at the Alamodome for Thursday’s semifinals, their coaches — Brock’s Zach Boxell and Jayton’s Ryan Bleiker — took some time to talk to Big Countr Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss Wall and Hermleigh’s performances at the girls state tournament and the three regional tournaments involving area boys teams last week.
EVAN REN: Three keys for Brock and Jayton to win their semifinals
You won’t find cupcakes at a butcher shop.
You won’t find them at the state basketball tournament either. In fact, the expiration date for easy-to-beat pastries usually doesn’t extend beyond the area round of the playoffs, depending on what the pairings dictate.
So when I say that Big Country representatives Brock (3A) and Jayton (1A) are in for a real challenge when they open play at the state tournament in San Antonio on Thursday, a shrug of the shoulders and a raise of the eyebrows is expected.
GAME RECAP: Hill pitches Cooper baseball past Rider in 4-5A opener
WICHITA FALLS — Braiden Hill pitched a complete game one-hitter and the Cooper baseball team scored four runs over the final two innings to open District 4-5A play with a 4-1 win over Wichita Falls Rider on Tuesday at Hoskins Field.
Rider led 1-0 after scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth, but the Cougars rallied for a 2-1 lead in the sixth on RBI hits by J.D. Creel and Jacob Hummel, before adding a little insurance in the seventh.
FEATURE: Top-ranked Brock heads to state on a mission
For most high school basketball programs, a trip to a state tournament is a historic achievement. For the Brock boys team, it’s almost an expectation.
That’s what happens when you’ve made 12 state appearances in your program’s history, including 11 since 1992 and five since 2012.
But don’t let the Eagles’ businesslike demeanor or tempered reaction to a dominant regional run fool you: There’s nothing easy about what they’ve done this season. And though they are a confident bunch, their sky-high expectations come with a matching drive and work ethic.
GAME RECAP: Cooper softball rallies past Wichita Falls in 4-5A opener
Trailing Wichita Falls High 5-3 through 5½ innings, the Cooper Lady Cougars exploded for six runs in the sixth to open District 4-5A play with a 9-5 win over the Lady Coyotes at Cougar Diamond.
After tying the game on Jennika Willis’ single and taking the lead on Keiana Kemp’s double, Symone Gary provided the big blow for the Lady Coogs, blasting a three-run home run to center with two outs.
FEATURE: Young, guard-heavy Jayton heads to San Antonio
While it’s generally accepted that height and experience are advantages in basketball, the Jayton Jaybirds have managed to work around the fact that they have neither.
All the way to San Antonio.
Fielding a 14-man roster in the Region II-1A tournament over the weekend, no fewer than 12 Jaybirds who dressed at Abilene Christian University were listed as guards, and none of them stand taller than 6-foot-2.
Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Brownwood senior Ellett tosses two no-nos to take award
No-hitters are fairly common in fastpitch softball, but they are to be respected, nonetheless — especially when someone throws two of them in one week.
Chyanne Ellett, Brownwood’s senior ace who has been among the area’s top hurlers since her freshman year, accomplished the feat last week in a 5-0 win over Chisholm trail and a 1-0 loss to Granbury that saw GHS pitcher Alison Been match Ellett’s no-no with one of her own.
UIL boys basketball state tournament results (March 9)
Here are the pairings and results for the UIL boys basketball state championships:
Continue reading “UIL boys basketball state tournament results (March 9)”
PHOTO GALLERY: Irion County-Jayton boys basketball region championship (35 images)
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REGIONAL SIDEBAR: Confidence, focus lift Jaybirds to state tournament (w/four videos)
After three close calls with the state tournament that had died on the regional vine, even Jayton coach Ryan Bleiker had begun to wonder if he would ever guide the Jaybirds to the final four.
But somehow, someway, this weekend in Abilene, he saw it coming — a two-game regional sweep with consecutive wins over Eden (58-25) and Irion County (47-32) to send Jayton to its first-ever state tournament in boys basketball.
Something in the Jaybirds’ demeanor told Bleiker that his stretch of losing three regional semifinals in four years was over.
GAME STORY: Jayton knocks off Irion County for first state berth (w/ video)
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The Jayton Jaybirds boys basketball team is heading 332 miles south to the state tournament for the first time in school history.
Some of coach Ryan Bleiker’s final instructions to his squad in the locker room before the game were: “Never been done before. Never been done. There’s not many things in Jayton you can say has never been done before. This is one of them.”
The Jaybirds punched their ticket to San Antonio with a 47-32 win over Mertzon Irion County on Saturday afternoon at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum.
PHOTO GALLERY: Childress-Brock boys basketball region championship (42 images)
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GAME STORY: No. 1 Brock routs Childress for I-3A title, gets back to state tourney
PLAINVIEW — Coming into Saturday’s Region I-3A title game against Childress with four state tournament appearances since 2012 and the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A, the Brock Eagles were expected by most to represent their region at the state tournament next week in San Antonio.
But that didn’t make the achievement of clinching yet another state berth any less satisfying for coach Zach Boxell or his squad.
Bradon Smith scored 20 points and Scott Thomas added 16 to lift Brock to a 58-40 win over Childress at Wayland Baptist University’s Hutcherson Center, improving the Eagles to 33-5 on the year and completing a dominant run through Region I in which the Eagles won each of their first five playoff games by at least 14 points.
PHOTO GALLERY: Brock-Brownfield boys basketball regional semifinal (35 photos)
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GAME STORY: Jayton advances to first regional final since 1977 with win over Eden
They say that history has a way of repeating itself but the 2018-19 Jayton boys basketball team evidently missed that memo.
After losing in the regional semifinals in three of the past four seasons, the Jaybirds finally broke through in an emphatic way with a 58-25 win over Eden at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum on Friday night.
The win secured coach Ryan Bleiker’s squad a berth in the Region II-1A final on Saturday at 2 p.m. Jayton will face Irion County for a berth in next week’s state tournament in San Antonio. Irion County knocked off Paducah 69-58 in the late game.
GAME STORY: No. 1 Brock fends off Brownfield to earn spot in I-3A final
PLAINVIEW — The top-ranked Brock Eagles are one win away from their fifth state tournament appearance since 2012 after riding a strong first half to a 67-52 victory over Brownfield in their Region I-3A semifinal Friday at Wayland Baptist University’s Hutcherson Center.
Brock outscored the Cubs 15-8 in the first quarter and 24-18 in the second to take a 13-point lead into halftime and kept Brownfield from ever making a serious run at the lead over the final two periods to improve to 32-5 on the year.
GAME STORY: Slow start, free-throw line hurt Eula in semifinal loss to Slidell (box score included)
Coming into the Region III-1A semifinal with Slidell, the Eula Pirates were on fire from the field, canning no fewer than 24 3-pointers over their last two games.
That stretch came to an icy finish on Friday, with Eula struggling from the floor in a 51-36 loss at Mansfield High School.
Brock Harwell scored 23 points and Slayton Pruett added 14 more to lead Slidell (30-9), which advances to face top-ranked Lipan in the Region III title game at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Daniel Youngblood: Region tourneys offer challenges for area’s three survivors
After nearly four months of basketball, just three Big Country boys teams remain.
Brock, Jayton and Eula stand alone as the area’s last remaining survivors, and each now finds itself two victories away from a trip to San Antonio for the state tournament.
The Eagles, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, must survive the field at the Region I-3A tournament in Plainview, while the Class 1A No. 9 Jaybirds and 11th-ranked Pirates will compete in the Region II-1A and Region III-1A tournaments, respectively.
Which, if any, of those teams will still be playing after this weekend? Only time will tell. But let’s take a look at what each group is up against, and what it will need to do to reach high school’s equivalent of the Final Four.
PHOTO GALLERY: Wall-Chapel Hill 3A state semifinal (29 images)
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