The third-ranked Abilene High softball team completed a perfect 12-0 run through District 3-6A on Tuesday, run-ruling Euless Trinity 12-0 at home to improve to 23-1-2 on the season.
Kaylen Washington tossed a five-inning one-hitter and the Lady Eagle lineup gave her all the support she would need in a six-run first inning.
If you ask most baseball coaches what they want in a pitching ace, consistency will rank pretty high on the list of responses.
To go deep in the playoffs, you need a No. 1 starter who can be counted on week after week to keep your team in games — even, or perhaps especially, when run support is limited.
For Abilene High coach Lee Fletcher and the 16-8 Eagles, senior Ryan Johnson is that guy.
One of AHS’ top pitchers a year ago as a junior, Johnson has taken his game to a new level in his final high school season. And it’s in the consistency he provides at the top of the Eagle rotation that you’ll find the best illustration of his growth.
Clyde junior Kaitlyn Turner is already recognized as one of the better softball pitchers in the Big Country.
What some don’t realize, however, is that the right-hander is a dual threat, both in the circle and in the batter’s box, as demonstrated in last week’s wins over Anson (5-1) and Colorado City (10-0).
Earning two wins in the circle, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week allowed just one earned run through two starts with 15 strikeouts, including a five-hit shutout of C-City.
She was nearly as harmful with a bat in her hands, going a combined 5 of 7 at the plate.
BIG SPRING — While it is universally accepted that remaining focused is a good thing in athletics, there are those who believe it can be taken a bit too far … beyond the point of having any fun.
Case in point: the 12th-ranked Big Spring Lady Steers (16-7) who enter this week with a District 5-4A title already in their back pocket, despite putting the enjoyment of the game at a premium.
The Lady Steers have taken the uber-serious road before and it didn’t work out so well, allowing frustration to bubble over in some of their losses.
These days, Big Spring is taking a different tack — one were obsessing over success is actually viewed as a hindrance to success.
Over its first five years, the annual PlayMaker: Making A Difference even has dealt with a constant venue change — never being held in the same spot twice.
This year’s event, however, saw a change that Hamlin football coach (and event organizer) Russell Lucas couldn’t have even predicted.
Slated to be a three-day retreat at co-organizer Dan Byerly’s ranch south of Hamlin (the sixth venue in the event’s six years), Lucas and his staff had to call a late audible Saturday morning to move the event from the ranch to Hamlin High School.
Yes, a second venue for this year.
By Mike Lee (special to Big Country Preps)
Photos by Calvin Best, Breckenridge ISD
The pole vault and high jump often are scheduled simultaneously at invitational track and field meets because so few athletes do both events.
No problem for Braden Campbell, the Breckenridge senior who has the top marks in Region I-3A of 15 feet, 6 inches in the vault and 6-6 in the high jump.
“I normally talk to whoever is running each event and tell them that I’m in both the pole vault and high jump,” Campbell said. “Most of the time, they’re good about working with me, giving me an extra five minutes before they move up to the next height.
“A few times when they were done with the competition, they even let me vault by myself and start at whatever height I wanted.”
Continue reading “FEATURE: Breck’s Campbell a rare dual threat in pole vault and high jump”
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SWEETWATER — Through 3½ hours, two lightning delays and five jams that saw runners in scoring position, Big Spring right-hander Maddie Daniels somehow managed the outward appearance of being calm in Friday’s game at Sweetwater.
That was for the benefit of her teammates.
On the inside, she was anything but relaxed as she battled through a marathon 4-3 win over their District 5-4A rival.
After being no-hit in a 1-0 loss Tuesday at San Angelo Central, the Abilene High baseball team got the bats going early in Friday’s rematch at Blackburn Field.
The Eagles grabbed the momentum with an eight-run second inning and did enough the rest of the way to pull back to .500 in district with a big 12-8 win.
AHS, now 16-8 overall and 5-5 in District 3-6A play, pounded out 14 hits in the victory, including six in the all-important second-inning outburst.
Brooks Gay threw six innings of two-hit baseball and Wylie’s offense took advantage of three Cooper errors to take a 4-3 win in District 4-5A play Friday at Bulldog Field.
Gay needed just 82 pitches to get through his day as he recorded 12 ground ball outs, three fly outs and three strikeouts.
Picture a high school baseball team that has 10 players who are either freshmen or sophomores.
Add a stat sheet that has only one home run for the entire ball club through 14 games. And for good measure, add the fact that the team’s top pitcher is a freshman.
Now try to guess what the team’s record would be at this point. Sub-.500? Perhaps .500 at best?
You’d be incorrect with both estimates.
The team in question is the 2019 Winters Blizzards, who enter today at 10-4 overall (6-2 in District 7-2A), having already posted more wins than they’ve managed over the past two years combined.
Take a look at the District 3-6A and 4-5A softball standings and it won’t take long to find Abilene’s three local high schools.
Abilene High, the No. 3 team in Class 6A according to the Texas Girls Coaches Association, is head and shoulders above its mostly Metroplex-based league mates, while the only thing separating Cooper and Wylie at the top of their district is the one extra game the Lady Cougars have played compared to their new crosstown rival.
All in all, it’s been a banner year for local softball. Abilene High has already clinched its first district title since 2004, and one of Cooper or Wylie is likely to add some hardware to its trophy case before the playoffs begin as well.
And what’s at the heart of all that success? The same thing you’ll find fueling most successful baseball and softball teams — consistently strong pitching.
CLYDE — While it isn’t impossible for a high school baseball team to reach the state tournament without pitching depth, one would likely need two things in order to achieve it: extraordinary hitting and/or extraordinary luck.
Both avenues are longshots, with hitting serving as compensation and luck helping the pitching-challenged to avoid three-game series via successful coin flips.
The 2019 Clyde Bulldogs (18-4, 7-1 District 5-3A) have no such concern. And it’s a good thing, coming in a region that features Wall, Brock and Breckenridge — ranked first, third and 15th respectively by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association.
First-year Breckenridge baseball coach Kevin Bartley has the Buckaroos in the midst of one of their best seasons ever. Fresh off a win last Friday over then-No. 1 Brock and a run-rule victory over Peaster on Monday, Bartley’s squad is 20-2 overall, 8-1 in District 7-3A play and ranked 12th in Class 3A.
This week, Bartley took a few minutes to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about the Brock victory, the season his team having and the future of his program for this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss the latest developments of the Big Country baseball and softball season.
HALTOM CITY — The No. 3 Abilene High softball team clinched the District 3-6A title outright Tuesday, cruising past Haltom City Haltom for a 17-0 win.
The Lady Eagles, now 21-1-2 overall and 10-0 in league play, got a five-inning one-hitter from ace Kaylen Washington while tallying 14 hits off two Haltom pitchers.
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The Wylie baseball team continued its surge up the District 4-5A standings Tuesday, following last week’s home-and-home sweep of then-No. 7 Aledo with an 11-5 road win over Cooper.
The Bulldogs used a five-run second inning to take control early and tacked on five more runs in the sixth to put away the Cougars, who trailed 11-2 before plating three runs in the seventh.
The victory moved Wylie (11-6, 5-2) a game ahead of Cooper (11-14, 6-3) in the loss column and pulled them within a half-game of league-leading Aledo (19-4, 6-2) for first place with five district games remaining.
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SAN ANGELO — The Abilene High baseball team is in a fight for the final playoff berth out of District 3-6A and the emotions of that boiled over Tuesday night in a 1-0 loss to San Angelo Central.
The loss dropped the Eagles (15-8 overall, 4-5 in district) a half-game behind Weatherford (16-9, 4-4) for the fourth and final playoff spot.
Trey Neslage threw a no-hitter for the Bobcats (18-11-1, 6-3), taking advantage of a large strike zone to rack up eight strikeouts (five looking) while walking four and hitting two others on an efficient 86 pitches.
CLYDE — With Clyde’s Payton Laughlin on the hill, the Anson Tigers knew coming into Tuesday’s District 5-3A road game that they would have to take advantage of what few opportunities that came their way.
Unfortunately for AHS, Laughlin was able to close the door nearly every time it opened, stranding four Tigers in scoring position in a 5-1 Clyde win.
Tossing a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts, Laughlin (6-1) overcame three errors behind him and three of his own walks to earn the win with his seventh complete game of the year. His ERA dropped to 1.12 in the process.
Before the season began, Wylie baseball coach Clay Martin didn’t really know what to expect of his team’s first year in Class 5A.
The Bulldogs had closed out their time in 4A with state championships in 2016 and 2017 and a trip to the region quarterfinals last spring. But they brought back just six total starters from last year’s 23-5-1 squad and would need a largely rebuilt pitching staff to mature quickly to have a chance to carry that success over to their new landscape.
Sitting at 11-6 overall heading into its final six district games, Wylie has had something of an up-and-down season to date. But coming off back-to-back wins over then-No. 7 Aledo (18-4) last week and an 11-5 triumph over crosstown rival Cooper on Tuesday, the Bulldogs feel like things are coming together at just the right time.
When selecting our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, the quality of competition is one of the top considerations we look at.
And in a week that is absolutely loaded with nearly 50 quality nominations from area coaches, choosing the player to occupy the top spot was no easy task.
Our choice: Breckenridge junior Owen Woodward, who helped Breckenridge in its stunning 3-0 win over top-ranked Brock with a three-hit, no-walk, 12-strikeout complete game.
Even before they had pulled off a stunning upset of Brock on Friday night, there were whispers that the 2019 Breckenridge baseball team was one of the best the Buckaroos have ever fielded.
Friday’s 3-0 win over the top-ranked Eagles might confirm it in the long run, though a 19-2-1 start may suffice in the view of some.
In the meantime, first-year coach Kevin Bartley’s crew is bringing a noticeable level of relaxed confidence to the table in a season where one of their primary goals from the outset was to simply enjoy the game.
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The Cooper Cougars rallied from an early 4-3 deficit to beat Wichita Falls High 9-5 on Friday at Cougar Field, clinching a season sweep of the Coyotes and moving into a first-place tie in District 4-5A in the process.
The Coogs answered a four-run WFHS third with two runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and three in the sixth to secure the win and improve 11-13 overall and 6-2 in district play.
SAN ANGELO — The No. 3 Abilene High Lady Eagles clinched the District 3-6A title Friday with another dominating effort, blasting San Angelo Central 16-0 to improve to 20-1-2 on the year.
AHS, now 9-0 in league play, pounded out 18 hits and got yet another shutout from ace Kaylen Washington in the blowout victory.
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The Wylie Bulldogs pushed the reset button on the District 4-5A title race Friday at Bulldog Field, holding off a late Aledo rally for their second straight win over Class 5A’s seventh-ranked team.
Friday’s 10-8 win, which was sealed with a diving catch by right-fielder Cooper Cothran, pulled Wylie even with district co-leaders Aledo and Cooper in the loss column with six district games to play.
Up 8-0 after four innings, it appeared the Bulldogs might follow Tuesday’s 11-6 win at Aledo with a drama-free victory Friday. But some shaky defense in the fifth and sixth innings opened a door for the Bearcats that wasn’t shut until Cothran’s game-saving grab in the seventh.
BROCK — For at least three full innings during Friday’s game at top-ranked Brock, Breckenridge starting pitcher Owen Woodward was nervous, his breaking ball was hanging and he wasn’t quite sure if he and the Buckaroos were going to pull off the upset they had in mind.
But after being staked to 1-0 lead in the third inning, the junior right-hander settled in, his curve developed a nasty snap in the late innings and he finished with a jaw-dropping three-hit shutout in a shocking 3-0 Breckenridge win.
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” — Vincent T. Lombardi
CLYDE — When he took over a successful softball program at Clyde three years ago, coach Reagan Sewell had to find a way to elevate something that was already quite good, without falling into the trap of fixing something that wasn’t broken.
He may have found a way, in a simple motto: Be legendary.
Simply put, Sewell wanted a motivational tool that would lead the Lady Bulldogs toward an absolute commitment to excellence and an unwillingness to settle for anything else.
Apparently, it stuck. Because over Sewell’s three-year tenure at CHS, you would be hard-pressed to find a more successful Class 3A program in the Big Country.
Kaylen Washington’s success in the circle this season has been well documented during the Abilene High softball team’s historic run to its current 19-1-2 record.
The senior right-hander’s emergence as a true and legitimate ace has been the chief storyline in the Lady Eagles’ rise to No. 3 in the Texas Girls Coaches Association statewide softball rankings.
But while many have rightly credited Washington and her ability to consistently shut down opposing lineups, the pitcher herself shifts a surprising amount of the credit for that ability to another, less heralded player — her battery mate, Hannah Lopez.
The relationship between a pitcher and catcher is one of the most unique in all of sports, and both Washington and Lopez attribute the success they’ve shared — both individually and as part of a successful team — to the trust they’ve built the last two years.
In his time as the Cisco baseball coach, Mark Adams has built the Loboes into a consistent winner. Sitting at 11-2 after a win over Comanche on Tuesday, this year is no different.
Earlier this week, Adams took a few minutes to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about this year’s team, the sustained success of the Cisco athletic program and some keys to playoff success in this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.
Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss some of the top developments and storylines of the Big Country baseball and softball season.
The Wylie Lady Bulldogs continued their recent tear Tuesday with a 3-1 home win over Aledo.
It was the fourth consecutive win for coach Heather Collier’s squad, which entered that game in a three-way tie with the Ladycats and Cooper for the District 4-5A lead.
The Lady Bulldogs, now 10-14 overall and 4-1 in district play, avenged their only district loss — a 13-3 beating March 5 at Aledo — with the victory.
ALEDO — The Wylie baseball team exploded for eight fifth-inning runs against Aledo on Tuesday to rally from a 6-3 deficit and secure an important 11-6 win over the District 4-5A leading Bearcats.
The Bulldogs pounded out 16 hits, including eight consecutive singles during their fifth-inning outburst, to improve their record to 9-6 overall and 3-2 in league play.
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CLYDE — Jim Ned’s Landon Tant was coming off a no-hitter in his last appearance, but it was Clyde’s Payton Laughlin who had the electric stuff at Bulldog Field on Tuesday night.
Laughlin took a no-hitter into the third inning before yielding his first hit and had seven strikeouts in a dominant performance as Clyde took a 2-0 win in District 5-3A play to create a first place tie in the district standings.
Limited by Kallie Erwin to just two hits and one unearned run on Tuesday, the Abilene High Lady Eagles needed a near perfect effort from ace Kaylen Washington to avoid dropping their first District 3-6A game to Hurst Bell.
As has been the case all season, though, the senior right-hander delivered.
Washington held the Lady Raiders to a hit and two walks and struck out 12 Bell hitters to notch her sixth shutout of the season and lift AHS to a 1-0 win.
CISCO — He’s a noteworthy football player. He’s one of area’s best prep basketball players. He’s a standout in the making in baseball who is also solid in track.
Whether or not he has any time to sleep after completing his studies, only Cisco’s Gibson Hearne knows for sure.
One thing is certain: Hearne has worked his way into elite status among the Big Country’s top multi-sport athletes.
The best news for Cisco? He’s just a junior.
Hermleigh junior Makia Gonzales is no stranger to Player of the Week awards. But Big Country sports fans are more accustomed to seeing her snag the accolade on the basketball court, where she is notably one of the area’s best best players.
Surprise, surprise, she’s not all about hoops.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Hermleigh’s Gonzales takes the top spot”