Category: Breckenridge Buckaroos

by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2022 BCP Baseball/Softball All-Hustle Team: The hardest-working players in the area!

OTHER 2022 ALL-BIG COUNTRY PREPS TEAMS

Character, grit and work ethic aren’t seen in a box score. And it is with our Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team that we wish to honor those players (male and female) who exemplify those qualities. 

The All-Hustle team isn’t about who the best baseball and softball players were. It honors the best teammates. 

It is here where effort, discipline and coachability — traits that coaches wish they had in every player and upon which championships are built — are honored.

It is for that reason that this team is largely selected by area coaches and described in their own words.

Big Country Preps is now honored to present these individuals to you — the best team players (boys and girls) that the Big Country had to offer during the 2022 baseball and softball seasons.

The players below are listed in no particular order. 

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by Evan Ren

2022 Big Country Preps Softball Superlatives

Here are our superlative award winners for the 2022 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP Player of the Week: Haskell’s Roewe hits for the cycle to claim award

Four hits in one day is a great day for any hitter. But to get one hit of each kind – single, double, triple and a home run – is one of softball and baseball’s genuine rarities.

Yet that is exactly what Haskell senior Emma Roewe pulled off last week when she hit for the cycle in a 17-7 area round win over McCamey.

But there was an added bonus: Nearly all of her hits had huge impact, beginning with an RBI triple to bring in the first run of the game.

She later broke a 7-7 tie with a two-run homer in the fourth inning and brought down the curtain with a walk-off double to score Olivia Camacho to bring the mercy rule into play.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Merkel closes out Breckenridge in grueling 12-inning Game 2 battle

TUSCOLA — It took 12 innings in 107-degree temperatures to decide it, but the Merkel Lady Badgers managed to close out their 3A area round series with Breckenridge on Saturday, edging the Lady Buckaroos 4-2 at Jim Ned High School. 

Josie Whitehead outdueled Chloe Whitmire in a intense contest that saw both pitchers work the full 12 innings.  And Merkel’s Kyleigh Mauldin provided the game-winning RBIs with a two-run homer  in the 12th to lead Merkel (25-2), which advances to face Coahoma in the Region I-3A quarterfinals. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Merkel plays small ball to overcome Breckenridge in Game 1

TUSCOLA — Locked in a scoreless pitcher’s duel between Breckenridge standout Chloe Whitmire and his own ace, Josie Whitehead, Merkel coach Bobby Williams elected to take the game in a different direction.  

Seeing that getting consistent base hits would be difficult against Whitmire, Williams gave Breckenridge a heavy dose of small ball, resulting in four runs over the final three innings and an eventual 4-1 win at Jim Ned High School.  

Eva Rodriguez was 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI and Jacee Tumlinson was 1 for 3 with a triple to lead Merkel (24-2), which backed a three-hit, 13-strikeout effort from Whitehead with four bunt singles to take a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 is slated for noon Saturday at the same location. 

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Whitmire’s aggression in the circle paying off for Breckenridge

By Zach Duncan, special to Big Country Preps

Chloe Whitmire isn’t afraid to challenge opposing batters.   

The Breckenridge sophomore has always had the heat to back up that aggressive mindset. Now Whitmire also has tweaked her off-speed repertoire, making her one of the Big County’s toughest pitchers to hit. 

“With my catcher in front of me and a solid defense behind me, it gives me the opportunity to really try some of the big bats,” Whitmire said. “Sometimes it gets us in trouble, but that’s just how we play.”  

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Breckenridge overcomes fifth-inning hex, closes out bi-district series with Bangs

EASTLAND — Two days earlier, in a Game 1 heartbreaker, the Breckenridge Lady Buckaroos saw a 1-0 lead vanish in a three-run Bangs fifth inning during a 3-1 loss. 

Saturday, with the series tied a game apiece and Breckenridge leading 3-0, the fifth inning proved nightmarish again for the Lady Bucks, with Bangs striking for three runs in the frame to knot the game at 3-3. 

This time, however, Breckenridge responded with three late runs over the final two innings to earn a 6-3 win and close out the Class 3A bi-district series at Eastland. 

Chloe Whitmire fired a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts and Joni Jackson was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs to lead Breckenridge (20-8), which advances to face Merkel in the area round. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Whitmire dominates in circle as Breckenridge evens series with Bangs

EASTLAND — Breckenridge sophomore pitcher Chloe Whitmire had her second straight dominant effort as the Lady Buckaroos evened their Region I-3A bi-district softball series with Bangs at a game apiece with a 9-2 win on Friday night.

After getting 15 strikeouts in Bangs’ 3-1 win in the opener on Thursday, the sophomore carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning of Game 2 and added 14 more strikeouts as she pitched her team into a deciding third game at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Wolf outduels Whitmire to give Lady Dragons series lead in Game 1 thriller

EASTLAND — For five straight innings, Breckenridge ace Chloe Whitmire challenged the Bangs Lady Dragons with high heat. And for five straight innings, she got away with it, holding a 1-0 lead with one hard riseball after another, allowing only two hits and fanning 12. 

Then it happened. 

Down a run with only six outs left, the Lady Dragons broke through with three runs on two hits, a walk and an error in the sixth inning and held on for a 3-1 win at Eastland softball field. 

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP Player of the Week: O’Malley overcomes injury to punch regional ticket

Merkel’s Alyssa O’Malley is no stranger to our Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week column. 

If she’s not in the weekly mix during the basketball season as one of the area’s top players, she’s competing for our top spot during the spring in track and field. 

Her latest exploit: How about four area championships in solo events, despite having a painful foot injury? 

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Sprinters lead Breck boys’ track to first district title in 22 years

Photos courtesy of Breckenridge boys’ track coach Mark Young

It’s not unusual for one sprinter to lead the area in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Breckenridge has two such sprinters in juniors Sean Cooksey and Adrian Ruiz.

Cooksey leads the Big Country in the 100 with his fastest time of 10.75 seconds. Ruiz leads the Big Country in the 200 with his 22.38.

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jim Ned duo shares this week’s spotlight

Even in high school baseball, perfect games are rare. Two perfect games in one week in the same league are extremely uncommon. 

Two perfect games in one week, thrown by a pair of teammates are about as elusive as a Lochness Monster sighting.

And coincidentally, that’s about how often Big Country Preps names two players for the Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Feb. 3)

Each Thursday night, Big Country Preps will publish area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days. 

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by Evan Ren

UIL REALIGNMENT: Big Country football landscape will change dramatically

While icy road conditions may have changed the UIL’s method of delivering the news, the results of its biennial realignment still offered the usual mix of surprises on Thursday. 

Held via live feed over the internet, area coaches learned their fate on the web. 

Topping the list of stunners for area teams would be the shift of Brownwood from its centralized home in District 5-4A DI to the far west in District 2.  There, the Lions will join Big Spring, Lubbock Estacado, San Angelo Lake View and Andrews — the last of which will produce a 480-mile round trip.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 20)

Each Thursday night, Big Country Preps will publish area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 20)

Each Thursday night, Big Country Preps will publish area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days. 

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN’S 2021 TRUE GRIT TEAM: The toughest, hardest-working players in the Big Country!

Most high school football teams have that one player acknowledged by the coaching staff as the prime example of what a teammate should be. 

He’s the guy who seldom misses any practice time and is a regular in the weight room. He’s early to arrive. He’s late to leave, takes pride in being coachable but seldom needs direction. 

He always sets the right example for younger players. He doesn’t gripe and, above all else, he’s tough enough to make all the aforementioned traits possible. 

Know someone like that? Here is where they are honored. 

Welcome to Big Country Preps’ “True Grit” team — a collection of area players nominated by their head coaches, who exemplify the character traits football mentors want throughout their roster. 

Not all of them are great players. In fact, many of them will never play a down of college football. But every single one of them is making the most of their high school football experience and has helped those around them do the same.

We are absolutely honored to present these young men to you — the toughest, hardest-working football players the Big Country had to offer in 2021. 

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by Evan Ren

2021 BIG COUNTRY PREPS MAX EFFORT TEAM: The hardest-working players in area volleyball!

While our All-Big Country Preps Volleyball team is in place to honor those who achieved the most on-court success, our “Max Effort” team is something much more uncommon. 

This is a special accolade, which has nothing to do with talent or stats.

It is here where character, grit and work ethic — traits that coaches wish every player had — are recognized. It is here where we honor the best teammates and best citizens that area volleyball has to offer.

It is for that reason that this team is selected by area coaches and described in their own words.

Big Country Preps is now honored to present these individuals to you — the hardest-working, toughest volleyball players in the Big Country. Ladies and gentlemen: Our 2021 Big Country Preps Max Effort Team. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Boys Basketball Position Rankings: Guards

With boys basketball season beginning this week, it’s time to shine a spotlight on some of the players you’ll be reading about throughout the 2021-22 season.

For the first installment in a three-part series that will cover all positions on the area boys basketball scene, we’ll be taking a look at the Big Country’s top guards, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this winter.

We hope you enjoy reading through our list.

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by Evan Ren

District 3-3A Div. I Week 11 Report: Early stuns Wall to force tiebreaker for the No. 2 seed

Early 24, Wall 14  — Jaxyn Price threw for 185 yards and two scores to lead Early to a big win over Wall. 

Trailing 14-10 in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns (8-2, 3-2) got a pair of late touchdowns to  force a three-way tie for second place in the league standings between the Longhorns, Wall and Breckenridge. 

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by Evan Ren

District 3-3A Div. I Week 10 Report: Jim Ned locks up district title with win over Breck

Jim Ned 35, Breckenridge 12 — Tate Yardley threw for 185 yards and three scores and Xavier Wishert rushed for 237 yards and one score on 31 carries to help Jim Ned (9-0, 4-0) lock up the district title.

The Indians rolled up 478 yards in total offense en route to the win, including 293 yards on the ground. 

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