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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Coahoma-Henrietta regional quarterfinal softball game (55 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wall-Iowa Park area-round baseball game (65 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Stamford-Anson regional quarterfinal softball series (51 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Hico-Tolar regional quarterfinal softball series (32 images)”
ABILENE — The Brock baseball team put up two big innings around a near-five hour weather delay Saturday, and that was all the Eagles needed to secure a series-clinching 14-6 win over Clyde in the second game of their Region I-3A area-round series.
In a contest that took nearly eight hours and two venues to complete, BHS followed a six-run third inning with a seven-run fourth to finally take control of a series that was tight throughout to that point.
Brock, which defeated Clyde 3-2 in Game 1 on Friday at Weatherford College, led just 6-5 when the delay hit two batters into the fourth inning. But when things moved from McMurry’s Walt Driggers Field to Abilene Cooper’s Cougar Field almost five hours later, the Eagles exploded for seven runs off three Bulldogs pitchers to build a comfortable cushion it would preserve the rest of the way.
ABILENE — After a pair of thrilling 2-1 games to open their Region I-3A area-round series on Thursday, Jim Ned and Holliday shifted sites on Saturday to Abilene Christian University’s Crutcher Scott Field.
Both teams showed up with an offense ready to go as the Eagles took a 3-2 lead after the first inning before a two-out seventh-inning rally allowed Holliday to escape with a 6-4 win.
Holliday advances to face Brock in the regional quarterfinals next week.
ABILENE — With ace pitcher Emma Follis nursing a fractured thumb, the Stamford Lady Bulldogs weren’t just missing one player heading into Game 3 of a Region I-2A quarterfinal series with Anson.
In a realistic sense, they were actually missing two. Follis is not only SHS’ top pitcher, but is one of its top hitters as well. And her absence was simply too big of a handicap as Anson closed out the series with a lopsided 12-4 win on Saturday at Poly Wells Field.
ABILENE — Entering the bottom of the seventh inning with a tenuous lead after Westbrook had put up back-to-back three-run rallies to trim an 8-2 deficit to a single run, the May Tigers turned to Hagan Hester to slam the door on their one-game Region I-1A quarterfinal playoff with the Wildcats on Saturday at Abilene Christian High School’s Hudson Wade Memorial Field.
The senior left-hander did so … emphatically.
Tabbed with closing out a back-and-forth affair that had seen both games wrestle control and momentum away from the other over its duration, Hester needed just 11 pitches — 10 of those strikes — to put the finishing touches on a hard-fought 9-8 win and help the Tigers advance to the Region I-1A semifinals next week to take on unbeaten Ira.
When Amyah Starks suffered a season-ending knee injury in an early-season tournament, the Abilene High softball team was forced to find a new offensive identity with their slugger sidelined.
The Lady Eagles perfectly executed their small ball mentality in a five-run fourth inning, getting just a leadoff single in the frame as they finished off a Region I-5A sweep of crosstown rival Wylie with a 6-0 win Saturday morning at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.
Despite being sidelined, Starks said she’s having as much fun this year she’s had in her four years in the program.
STEPHENVILLE — Cruising along with a 3-0 lead over Tolar through four innings, the Hico Lady Tigers had the momentum and the scoreboard in their possession in Friday’s Region II-2A quarterfinal.
Two quick swings of the bat, however, and Tolar managed to turn Game 1 of a best-of-three series completely on its ear, using two fifth-inning homers to hand Hico a 4-3 loss at Stephenville High School.
The series picks up again with Game 2 at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
“This was supposed to end differently.”
Those words from first-year Wall baseball coach Jeremy Gordon carried pain, anguish and heartbreak after his squad was upset 5-2 by Iowa Park in a Region I-3A area-round matchup Friday night at Abilene Christian University’s Crutcher Scott Field.
Uncharacteristic mistakes in the first inning, including twice not being able to turn what would have been an inning-ending double play, were the difference in the single-game playoff.
The series opener between Abilene High and Wylie was the pitcher’s duel many expected for 4½ innings Friday at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.
But when the Lady Eagles finally broke through against Lady Bulldogs starter Halli Russell in the bottom of the fifth, they did it big, pushing across seven runs to turn a scoreless thriller into a comfortable 7-0 win and take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three Region I-5A quarterfinal clash.
The victory, which improved Abilene High to 24-13-1 on the year, has the Lady Eagles within one win of their first trip to the fourth round of the playoffs since 2003 — something they’ll try to secure when the series resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday back at ACU.
Since 2018, the city of Abilene has had at least one team reach the third round of the softball playoffs every year but 2020, when no postseason was played due to COVID.
A local team has reached the fourth round of the playoffs in three of the last five completed seasons.
With Abilene High and Wylie set for a Region I-5A quarterfinals series Friday and Saturday at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field, that’s already guaranteed to happen again this season. The only question is which of those two surging teams it will be that represents the Key City in the region semifinals next week.
ABILENE — For five innings Thursday, the Snyder Lady Tigers struggled to figure out Burkburnett pitcher Natalee Gray in the opener of their Region I-4A quarterfinal series with the Lady Bulldogs.
But trailing 3-2 in the home half of the sixth after Gray had broken a tie with a solo homer in the top of the inning, coach Regina Cummings’ team finally found a successful formula against the talented right-hander.
Utilizing a patient approach at the plate, the Lady Tigers loaded the bases with a leadoff single and a pair of two-out walks and then applied pressure to the Lady Bulldogs defense simply by putting the ball in play, taking advantage of a pair of run-scoring errors in a five-run inning to key a 7-3 come-from-behind win at Abilene Cooper’s Cougar Diamond.
ABILENE — For the third round in a row, the Coahoma softball team faced a do-or-die postseason situation as the Bulldogettes had another single-game playoff on Thursday evening at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.
Coach Alex Orosco’s message to his team, as it has been before all 27 games this year, was to weather the storm early knowing they’d get Henrietta’s best punch and then to wear down the Lady Cats in the later stages.
Coahoma did just that and unleashed an offensive onslaught in the fifth and sixth innings on its way to a 7-0 win in the Region I-3A quarterfinals.
ABILENE — One club left Abilene Christian University on cloud nine. The other left wondering how an apparent victory could so easily slip away at the last second.
Trailing Anson 1-0 with two on and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Stamford Lady Bulldogs were able to score two runs courtesy of an Anson outfield error to top the Lady Tigers 2-1 in Game 1 of a Region I-2A quarterfinal series.
Emma Follis delivered seven solid innings in the circle and Cassidi Macias singled and eventually scored the winning run to lead Stamford (22-8), which can close the best-of-three series with a Game 2 victory at ACU on Friday at 3 p.m.
Four Abilene High athletes from three girls programs celebrated with family and friends Wednesday as they made their college decisions official during a signing day ceremony at Eagle Gym.
Volleyball players Yasmine DeLaGarza (Vernon College) and Amelia Carr (Arlington Baptist), track athlete Adriahna Peeples (Hardin-Simmons) and soccer player Laila Brown (McMurry) all announced where they’d be continuing their academic and athletic careers, adding to a successful athletic year for AHS girls programs that will continue this weekend when the Lady Eagles softball team meets Wylie in the Region I-5A quarterfinals.
Wednesday’s four signees bring the list of Abilene High seniors who will compete collegiately to 16 for the school year after nine signed on Feb. 7 and three more did so on April 30.
Continue reading “SIGNING DAY: Four Abilene High girls make college decisions official”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Bangs-Stamford area-round softball series (79 images)”
ANSON — A year ago, the Anson softball team had suddenly cratered.
The Lady Tigers had started 2023 with a respectable 12-7 record but collapsed with an 0-8 tally through district. This included blowout losses to powerhouse Stamford (19-7 and 36-2), to Haskell (7-3 and 16-0) and to Hamlin (20-2 and 22-3). Thoughts of postseason play were put on the backburner as the Lady Tigers closed at 12-15.
But what a difference a year and some effective pitching can make. An influx of young talent, including the addition of freshman pitcher Kayme Elrod, has resulted in a completely different outcome.
Not only have the Lady Tigers reached the playoffs in 2024, but they’re still alive — advancing to the Region I-2A quarterfinals. There, they will square off will area rival Stamford in a best-of-three series, set to begin at 3 p.m. Thursday at Abilene Christian University.
ABILENE — With her team’s season on the line Monday in the third game its Region I-2A area-round series against Bangs, Stamford ace Emma Follis was nothing short of dominant Monday at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.
Coming off a rough 14-4 loss in Game 2 that was extended deep into Saturday night by lightning delays, the standout sophomore delivered a six-inning shutout in the decisive third game, collecting 15 strikeouts in a 13-0 run-rule victory.
The win, which improved Stamford to 21-8 on the year, earned the Lady Bulldogs a regional quarterfinal date with district mate Anson later this week.
ABILENE — Needing a Game 3 win to clinch their Region I-2A bi-district series against De Leon and extend their season another week, the Stamford Bulldogs delivered a knockout blow Monday at Abilene Christian High School’s Hudson Wade Memorial Field.
Junior left-hander Caden Moreno was dazzling on the mound, while the SHS lineup took advantage of nine hits, six walks and seven Bearcats errors in a 10-0 run-rule victory.
The lopsided win closed what had been a tight series to that point, with Stamford taking Game 1 by a 2-0 margin on Thursday and De Leon edging the Bulldogs 4-2 in a lightning delayed Game 2 on Saturday.
The end of the state track meet traditionally marks the end of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week awards for each school year.
So who gets this year’s final accolade?
How about Gordon’s Stryker Reed, who helped the Longhorns claim a 1A boys state title with a remarkable performance at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin last week.
To begin with, the son of Gordon Athletic Director-football coach Mike Reed won the 1A state title in the 110 hurdles at 14.60. He also took the top spot in the 300 hurdles at 38.60 for two individual golds.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Hermleigh-Santa Anna softball (44 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Bi-District baseball playoff games in Clyde (61 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Area softball playoff games in Clyde (41 images)”
Here are the recaps of the Big Country softball playoff results in the second round of the postseason: Continue reading “SOFTBALL PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Despite weather, 12 area teams advance to third round with Bangs-Stamford outcome still pending”
The Abilene High and Wylie baseball teams both won their opening playoff series over the weekend, with the Eagles surviving a wild three-game set with Plainview and the Bulldogs comfortably sweeping Amarillo Caprock.
After cruising to an 11-3 win in Game 1 on Thursday, AHS found itself down to its final outs on Friday, thanks to a 5-3 loss in Game 2 and a 3-0 seventh-inning deficit in Game 3. But the Eagles rallied for four runs in their final at-bat to extend their season with a 4-3 walk-off win on a bases-clearing double by Beckham Paul.
Wylie had considerably less trouble with Caprock, following a 6-0 shutout in Game 1 on Friday with a 12-2 rout in Game 2 a day later to end the series without the need for a third game.
With the series victories, both teams advance to the Region I-5A area round this week, where Abilene High will take on El Paso Ysleta and Wylie will face off with Canutillo.
The Abilene High and Wylie softball teams enjoyed a successful weekend, each sweeping their area-round series to advance to the Region I-4A quarterfinals, where they’ll play each other on Friday and Saturday.
Abilene High earned its second consecutive series win over a higher-seeded team, following its bi-district series victory over District 3-5A champion Amarillo High with an impressive showing against District 2-5A runner-up El Paso Ysleta. The Lady Eagles rallied past the Lady Indians for a 4-3 win in Game 1 before run-ruling Ysleta 11-1 in Game 2 to clinch the sweep.
Wylie, meanwhile, dispatched of District 1-5A runner-up Canutillo, following a 16-6 run-rule victory in the series opener with a hard-fought 7-6 win in Game 2.
The Lady Eagles and Lady Bulldogs will now meet in the third round of the playoffs after splitting their two district matchups. That series will be played at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field, opening at 6 p.m. Friday, before resuming with Game 2 ( and Game 3, if necessary) on Saturday, beginning at noon.
AUSTIN — Taking two medals in the first event of the day set the stage for Big Country Preps athletes to shine on the final day of the UIL Track & Field State Meet on Saturday at the University of Texas’ Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Area competitors claimed 16 medals in the field events (3 gold, 8 silver, 5 bronze) on their way to 38 on the day. Big Country girls athletes accounted for 23 medals, almost singlehandedly eclipsing the area’s total of 25 medals from the 2023 state meet.
The Roby girls were able to defend their 2023 team title as they finished with 60 points, while Throckmorton (44 points) and Gordon (42 points) finished in second and third place as a team. The Gordon boys completed the banner day by winning the team title with 83 points, while Jayton finished in third place as a team with 34 points.
ABILENE — Coming off a crisp 2-0 win over De Leon in the opener of their Region I-2A bi-district series, the Stamford Bulldogs were hoping to close out the Bearcats quickly Saturday at Abilene Christian High School’s Hudson Wade Memorial Field.
Both De Leon starter Justin Hornback and Mother Nature had different plans.
The former pitched six gutsy innings to fuel the Bearcats to a 4-2 series-evening win, and latter wreaked enough havoc through an extended lightning delay to ensure that neither team would be celebrating a series victory Saturday.
ABILENE — After coming from behind for a 3-2 win over Glen Rose on Friday to force a deciding third game in its Region I-4A bi-district series, the Snyder baseball team put itself in position to repeat the feat Saturday morning at Abilene Christian High School’s Hudson Wade Memorial Field.
Trailing 2-0 after an inning, SHS responded with three runs in the third to take a familiar 3-2 lead all the way to the sixth inning.
But unlike the day before, which saw coach Shane Stewart’s club rally for two runs in the seventh to claim a thrilling walk-off win, it was Glen Rose that was left celebrating Saturday, scoring single runs in the sixth and seventh innings — the last on a walk-off wild pitch — to escape with a dramatic 4-3 victory.
CLYDE — With 15 wins this year by a run-rule heading into their best-of-three series with Decatur, the Snyder Lady Tigers had not faced much adversity.
A 13-2 win in the opening game of the series on Thursday had it feeling like the Lady Tigers would roll into the third round of the Region I-4A postseason.
After storms interrupted Game 2 of the series, the Lady Eagles walked off Snyder with an Abby Steele home run for a 6-5 win on Saturday morning. Snyder, meanwhile, answered the bell with a 6-2 win in the series finale to advance to the next round.
CLYDE — The May and Abilene TLCA baseball teams had not played many close games this year as they headed into their Region I-1A bi-district matchup.
After getting started on Friday night and making it just a few pitches before being interrupted by lightning, the two teams returned to the Hanner Sports Complex for what turned into a thrilling 7-4 win by the Tigers on Saturday morning.
May coach Chad Dail was happy to see how his team dealt with the adversity of falling behind multiple times with a response — especially with a lineup missing numerous starters due to injuries.
CLYDE — Two innings into its one-game Region I-3A area-round playoff with Holliday on Friday at the Hanner Sports Complex, the top-ranked and defending state champion Coahoma softball team found itself in unfamiliar territory. The undefeated Bulldogettes were trailing on the scoreboard.
But down 1-0 heading to the bottom of the third, CHS righted the ship in a major way, putting three runners on in front of Brynn Rodgers, who blasted the second pitch she saw over the fence in center for a grand slam that turned the tide in what would eventually be a 9-3 win for CHS.
Rodgers’ blast, the senior’s first of two home runs in the game, staked the Bulldogettes to a 4-1 lead when play was stopped by lightning in the bottom of the fourth inning. And when the game was finally resumed more than three hours later, Rodgers added a two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth to build a 6-1 lead that proved a far larger cushion than needed with ace Hannah Wells in the circle.
AUSTIN — After area Class 3A and 4A competitors opened the UIL Track & Field State Meet with a combined 10 medals on Thursday, Big Country Preps athletes took partial ownership of the medal stand at Mike A. Meyers Stadium at the University of Texas on Friday in the Class 2A and 5A portions of the event.
Area athletes combined to claim 18 medals on the day, with Hico junior Kaylee Hunt joining Goldthwaite seniors Lainey Jernigan and Hope Hermesmeyer in a dominating performance.
The trio combined for six medals on the day as Goldthwaite, Stamford and Hico all posted top-five finishes in the 2A girls team competition.
AUSTIN — The UIL Track & Field State Meet kicked off Thursday with Classes 3A and 4A competing at Mike Meyers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas, and Big Country athletes made their presence felt to start to the three-day affair.
Area competitors didn’t quite match the 14 medals accrued on the opening day of the 2023 state meet, but they still made a solid showing with 10 combined medals.
Headlining the list of medalists were Brock’s Dylan Foster (300-meter hurdles), Stephenville’s Creece Brister (shot put) and Brownwood’s Ike Hall (triple jump), who all left Austin with gold medals. Continue reading “STATE TRACK ROUNDUP: Stephenville’s Brister, Brownwood’s Hall and Brock’s Foster claim gold medals at 3A/4A meet”
EARLY — While the Bangs Lady Dragons may have been victimized by a little bad luck on Thursday, Stamford pitcher Emma Follis only compounded their problems.
Tossing a four-hit shutout with a whopping 15 strikeouts, Follis led Stamford to a 6-0 win in a best-of-three 2A area round series at Early High School.
Follis was so dominating, she rendered numerous Stamford bloop singles a moot point. One run would have been enough.
The series will resume with Game 2 on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Abilene Christian University.
Here is a complete list of the state track and field qualifiers from the Big Country Preps coverage area with seed ranking and time/mark:
Continue reading “Big Country Track & Field State Qualifiers List (w/ seed ranking, time/mark)”
STEPHENVILLE — Creece Brister could have very easily chosen to feel sorry for himself in the aftermath of a devastating knee injury suffered during the football season.
He instead chose to count his blessings and to get back to work.
Track season was right around the corner and moping wasn’t going to help the defending Class 4A state shot put champion prepare for the event. So the 6-foot-5, 310-pounder (who also earned state silver in the discus last year) put his nose to the grindstone and began prepping in earnest in November.
The effort has now paid off with regional titles in both the shot put and discus, giving him two state berths despite being less than 100 percent. He will compete in both events in the 2024 UIL State Track & Field Meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium on Thursday in Austin.
