Month: May 2021

by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Fast start propels Eula to 7-5 win over Cross Plains in series opener

A big first inning put Eula up 4-0 and the Pirates never trailed after that in handing Cross Plains a 7-5 loss in Game 1 of a best-of-three Region I-1A bi-district baseball series Thursday at Abilene Cooper’s Cougar Field. 

EHS took advantage of two hits and three Cross Plains errors during that first inning, which staked starter Paxton Rock to an advantage he’d never relinquish in earning a complete-game win.

The victory gives the Pirates a chance to close out the series on Friday when the two teams return to Cougar Field at 4 p.m. for Game 2. Game 3, if necessary, would be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of the second game.

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by Evan Ren

STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Cameron pulls off stunning performance, Brock boys win team title

Not since way back in 1982 had any girl wearing a Stephenville uniform clocked a 100-meter dash any faster than Victoria Cameron did on Thursday. 

She picked the right time to do it — ripping through the girls 4A 100 meters in a blazing 11.48 seconds to capture gold at the UIL State Track and Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium. 

Cameron’s effort not only obliterated her previous personal best of 11.85, but it also smashed a 39-year-old school record of 11.70 and left race favorite Kaylee Lewis of Melissa with a distant second-place finish of 11.78. 

Lewis did come back for a measure of revenge, edging Cameron for gold in the 200. But Cameron’s gold-silver combination still stood as one of the top highlights for athletes in the Big Country Preps coverage area on Day 1, which also saw the Brock boys capture a 3A team championship.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Ballinger senior Vaughn relishing stretch run of injury-filled high school career

As a four-sport lettermen in his three years at Ballinger — and a freshman standout at Brady before that — Tyler Vaughn has been an impact athlete throughout his high school athletic career.

But with each of his last three years being derailed by significant injuries, Vaughn’s career has been marked by inevitable questions of what might have been had he been blessed with better luck.

Now serving as DH for the Bearcat baseball team after undergoing surgery in late January to repair a torn labrum, Vaughn isn’t focused on what wasn’t, however. With his team preparing for a bi-district series against District 5-3A champion Reagan County this weekend, and a college career at Howard Payne to look forward to after this school year, the Ballinger senior is devoting his energy to making the most of what remains of his time in a BHS uniform.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

FEATURE: Anson’s Reagan Jones excels in classroom and athletics

For Anson girls athletic director Ryan Dollar, there’s never been a student-athlete in his career that’s quite like Reagan Jones.

Calling her “smart, athletic and friendly” was just the starting point as Jones is in the middle of a week that’s included two berths in UIL state meets and seen her lead the Lady Tigers softball team into the second round of the playoffs.

It’s not just Dollar that feels that way about the junior, either.

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN: Handicapping the boys state track meet.

Having already released our picks for the girls state track meet earlier this evening, we now present the boys event, using the same approach. 

We’ll comb through each event involving a Big Country athlete (or athletes) and assess if they are favorites, dark horses or long shots to get on the medal stand. 

Let’s not waste any time. Let’s dive in. 

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN: Picking the favorites, dark horses and longshots at the girls state track meet

I don’t care who you are — even if you’re a non-fan when it comes to track and field. 

The excitement of the state meet in Austin will capture your attention if you catch sight or sound of it. It’s inescapable. 

And once per year, it is my pleasure to examine the multitude of Big Country athletes heading to Austin for the event and pick who we can expect to see on the medal stand from our area. 

Let’s begin with the girls side, looking at each event in which a Big Country athlete has qualified for state. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY SIGNINGS: Three Eastland athletes sign to play collegiately

Eastland ISD conducted a brief signing ceremony on Tuesday for three EHS athletes who have committed to play collegiately. 

Football players Brandon Fielding and Aaron Copeland, along with softball standout Jaeley May all signed at the Eastland Athletic Training Facility, putting an exclamation point on three impactful prep careers. 

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie’s Farrar pitches her way to honor

As a sophomore in her first playoff action, leading a fourth-place team against a district champion, no one would have blamed Wylie pitcher Reese Farrar for having jitters in the opener of her team’s Region I-5A bi-district series against District 3-5A champ Amarillo High.

If she did, she did a darn good job of hiding it.

All the right-hander did was pitch a six-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 10-0 victory in Game 1 and set the tone for a big series sweep, earning our Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week honor in the process.

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Wylie’s Aguilar perseveres through injuries to break vaulting records

Two-plus years of effectively handling adversity and injuries paid off in a big way for Wylie senior Kylor Aguilar at the recent Region I-5A track and field meet.

Completely healthy for the first time since his freshman season in 2018, Aguilar cleared 16 feet, 3 inches on April 23 in Lubbock. His vault broke the Region I-5A meet record, the Wylie school record and Aguilar’s personal record.

“To be honest, no, I didn’t sense something like that was going to happen,” Aguilar said of his record-setting day. “There was supposed to be some bad crosswinds, so going in, I was just trying to qualify for state.”

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Stephenville sprinter Cameron hoping to keep streak going at state

Victoria Cameron hasn’t been beaten to the finish line this year in the 100 and 200.  

That the Stephenville sophomore is undefeated in the sprints heading into Thursday’s Class 4A state meet isn’t a surprise to Cameron’s coach.  

Jeremiah Butchee has worked with plenty of prolific track athletes during his career. What makes Cameron special is that she has one of the best starts out of the blocks Butchee has ever seen.  

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL SOFTBALL ROUNDUP: Cooper pounds three more home runs in 11-6 win, sweeps Caprock

WOODROW — The Cooper softball team followed up Friday’s 19-5 win over Amarillo Caprock with a 11-6 victory in Game 2 on Saturday to sweep its Region I-5A bi-district series with the Lady Horns and earn an area-round date with District 1-5A champion El Paso Chapin.

The Lady Cougars, who pounded five home runs in Game 1, hit three more on Saturday, finishing with 15 total hits as they improved to 21-8 on the season.

Cooper scored four runs in the first inning and six in the third to go ahead 10-0, before Caprock tried to chip away at the lead over the final four innings.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL SOFTBALL ROUNDUP: Farrar no-hits Amarillo in High in 10-0 Game 1 win

WOODROW — The Wylie softball team gave sophomore starter Reese Farrar 10 runs of support Friday in the opener of its Region I-5A bi-district series against District 3-5A champion Amarillo High, but one was all she needed.

Farrar cruised through the Lady Sandies lineup, tossing a six-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 10-0 victory at Lubbock Cooper and put WHS in position to close out the best-of-three series when it resumes with Game 2 at 11 a.m. Saturday.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Thompson’s gem fuels Cooper to 3-1 win over Wylie in 4-5A finale

The Cooper baseball team didn’t have the season it wanted to have in 2021, but the Cougars closed a tough campaign on a high note Friday, scoring three runs in the sixth inning to rally for a 3-1 road win over crosstown rival Wylie in the District 4-5A finale for both teams. 

Senior starter Aidan Thompson delivered a complete-game gem for the Coogs, pitching through a steady drizzle from the fifth inning on, and the CHS lineup took advantage of some shaky fielding by Wylie late in the game to give him all the run support he would need.

The Bulldogs tried to mount their own rally in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs off Thompson, but the tall right-hander forced JT Thompson into a ground out to first on his 96th pitch to secure the victory for Cooper and spoil Wylie’s Senior Night.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Coahoma rallies to defeat Clyde in rainy Game 1

HERMLEIGH — Among those who keep tabs on area softball, the general consensus was that the Coahoma-Clyde Class 3A bi-district series would be a slugfest. 

And on Friday night at Hermleigh, through three hours and 10 minutes, two rain delays, 26 combined runs and 25 combined hits, the two area powers managed to demonstrate why.

Kenzie Canales was 2 for 5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs to lift Coahoma (22-5) to a 16-10 win in Game 1. The Bulldogettes, who trailed 6-0 early on before heating up offensively, can lock up the best-of-three series with a win in Game 2 at noon on Saturday in Hermleigh. 

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