CANYON — Big Country Region II athletes had a long way to travel for their regional track meet — competing at West Texas A&M University in Canyon on Friday and Saturday.
Bangs was the top team finisher for the area, finishing fourth with 39 points — 28 behind regional champion Abernathy.
Coleman was the top area finisher in the girls meet with a third-place 52 points — 49 points behind a dominant performance by regional champion Panhandle.
SPRINGTOWN — With Porcupine Stadium serving as the backdrop for the Region II-2A Track and Field Championships, a couple of teams from the Big Country Preps coverage area scored big in the event.
The Hico boys earned the team championship with 78 points, topping Tioga (66) and Bosqueville (62). In the meantime, the Cisco girls earned second in the team standings with 65 points behind Hamilton’s 93.
HEWITT — The Cross Plains boys and May girls both finished second in the team race at the Region III-1A meet Friday at Saturday at Panther Stadium to headline a strong showing for the Big Country Preps Coverage area.
The Buffaloes finished with 70 points, 23 behind team champion Saint Jo, while the Lady Tigers tallied 54 points to finish 18 points behind Saint Jo, which also won the girls title.
Blanket (3rd, 62 points), May (7th, 26), Bryson (T8th, 24) and Gorman (T8th, 24) also posted top 10 finishes on the boys side, while Cross Plains (T5th, 37), Newcastle (T5th, 37), Perrin-Whitt (8th, 29) and Gorman (10th, 26) achieved the same feat for the girls, as area athletes combined for 43 total medals and 25 automatic berths to the Class 1A state meet May 16 in Austin.
LUBBOCK — The Brownwood girls track team feasted at the Region I-4A meet Friday and Saturday at Lowrey Field, collecting nine medals and five automatic state berths to make a comfortable run to the event’s team championship.
The Lady Lions, who accounted for all but two of the area’s medals on the girls side, got scoring from 13 entries on their way to 107 points — topping second-place Canyon by 31 points and third-place Krum by 44.
The BHS girls success headlined a strong overall showing by area athletes, who combined to claim 22 medals and 12 automatic spots to the Class 4A state meet May 14 in Austin.
LUBBOCK — The Wylie 800-meter relay team of Adrian Jurado, Max Thornton, Jett Wilson and Liam Chapman and Abilene High sprinter Jaden Jackson both earned bronze medals Saturday at the Region I-5A meet to top the list of performances by local qualifiers at Lowrey Field.
Behind its relay effort, the WHS boys finished with 12 team points, while AHS earned seven and Cooper finished with two.
On the girls side, meanwhile, Wylie scored two team points and Cooper earned one.
ABILENE — The Wall boys track team successfully defended its Region I-3A championship Saturday, piling up 141 points to run away from the field at Abilene Christian University’s Elmer Gray Stadium.
The Hawks swept all three relays, setting new meet records in two of those, while accounting for all eight of the area’s gold medals on the boys side.
Wall also had the top finish among area girls teams at the Region I-3A meet, taking second in that race behind champion Holliday — three points ahead of third-place Jim Ned, which also made a strong showing.
Collectively, athletes from the Big Country Preps coverage area combined for 37 medals, earning 23 automatic berths to the Class 3A state meet May 14 in Austin.
ABILENE — The Gordon Longhorns dominated the Region II-1A track meet for the second consecutive year, piling up an impressive 132 team points to take the boys title by a 50-point gap over second-place Hamlin on Saturday at Abilene Christian University’s Elmer Gray Stadium.
And the Lady Longhorns got in on the championship action as well, though the margin was not nearly as large.
The Gordon girls finished with 58 points to edge second-place Highland by four points and the third-place duo of Menard and Eula (last year’s girls champion) by nine in a tightly contested team race that saw six schools finish within 15 points of the lead.
Together the Longhorns and Lady Longhorns headlined a wildly successful meet for Big Country athletes, who combined to earn 74 medals and claim 40 automatic berths to the Class 1A state meet May 16 in Austin.
STAMFORD — Many of those who follow Big Country softball expected the Coahoma Bulldogettes to take a major step backward following the graduation of standout pitcher Hannah Wells (now at the University of Texas). And needless to say, the notion of them winning an unprecedented fourth straight state title hasn’t been getting a large amount of attention.
Nonetheless, Coahoma remains alive in postseason play in the aftermath of winning a Region I-3A DII area championship on Saturday by eliminating Childress, 5-1, at the Stamford High School softball field.
Addi Hart and Blakely Rodgers both had solo homers and Kyndal Lee delivered 6.1 innings to get the win in the circle to lead Coahoma (22-3), which advances to face Holliday (29-3) in the regional semifinals.
Lee was a key element in the win, holding Childress scoreless on two hits through the first six innings. She was eventually replaced by Bentli Wright after giving up a run on one hit and two walks in the seventh.
She finished with four walks and six strikeouts.
ABILENE — Trailing 2-1 and down to their final out in Game 3 of their Region I-4A Division I bi-district series with Lubbock Estacado at Abilene Christian University’s Crutcher Scott Field, the Stephenville baseball team had the guy they wanted coming to bat in junior Trot Jordan.
While he didn’t drive in the tying run, Jordan did enough to extend the inning as the Yellow Jackets rallied for a 5-2 win in nine innings.
Stephenville coach Alec Bryant said there was nobody else on the team that he wanted at the plate in that situation after Jordan set school records for stolen bases and home runs this season.
ABILENE — An eventful week for the Mineral Wells baseball team came to a close as the Rams finished off a Region I-4A Division I bi-district series sweep of Frenship Memorial with a 6-4 win Saturday afternoon at Abilene Christian University’s Crutcher Scott Field.
The week started with the Rams dealing with a devastating EF-3 tornado that tore through town and ended with the baseball and softball teams extending their season with playoff sweeps.
Mineral Wells coach Jacob Clay was pleased with how his squad dealt with the events of the week — and the resiliency they showed in the aftermath.
ABILENE — With Mother Nature doing her best to interfere with sporting events across the Big Country this week, area athletes still managed to gather on Friday at Abilene Christian University for the UIL 3A Region I and II-1A Track and Field Championships.
The schedule wasn’t exactly as originally scheduled at Elmer Gray Stadium, with all field events bumped to Saturday to escape inclement weather and running preliminaries bumped to late Friday evening.
There was, however, an opportunity for a pair of area athletes to punch their tickets to the state meet in the 1A girls and boys 3200 meters, with Jayton’s Jace Chisum and Roby’s Camden Lummus both taking regional gold at 11:49.38 and 9:51.21 respectively.
EULA — Instead of letting a bases-loaded situation with no outs in the first inning that saw them score on two wild pitches and nothing else demoralize them, the Brock baseball team used it as a way to demonstrate that it will take what an opposing pitcher gives it and cruised to a 12-1 win over Levelland to close out a sweep of the Region I-4A Division II bi-district series.
The Eagles achieved the series win without having to use Arizona State University signee Evan O’Connor on the mound — though he was ready and available to start Game 3.
Instead, Brock coach Koby Page turned to Colton Ripple for Game 2 after Weston Pickard earned the win on the mound in the series opener on Thursday. Page said that pitching depth is a nice luxury to have.
ABILENE — A tough break and some missed opportunities in key spots were the difference between a series sweep and another trip to Abilene for the Stephenville baseball team, which was left asking, ‘what if’ after a 3-2 loss to Lubbock Estacado on Friday in Game 2 of its Region I-4A Division I bi-district series.
Holding a 2-1 advantage after 3½ innings at Abilene Christian University’s Crutcher Scott Field, the Yellow Jackets lost the lead after having a would-be inning-ending double play wiped out by a judgement call. And trailing from that point forward, SHS failed to cash in on a pair of excellent scoring opportunities, leaving the bases loaded in both the fifth and seventh innings.
The end result was a frustrating loss and a deciding third game back at ACU, where coach Alec Bryant hopes to see his team arrive on Saturday more prepared to seize the moment.
EULA — Needing a win to avoid elimination after dropping a 1-0 thriller in the opener of its Region I-2A Division II bi-district series against Stamford, the Coleman baseball team stood tall Thursday, defeating the Bulldogs 5-3 at the Eula Athletic Complex to even the series and force a deciding third game on Monday.
And at the center of that effort was the tallest Bluecat of them all, 6-foot-5 junior Hunter Edington, who pitched a complete-game gem and matched teammate Braylon Stewart and SHS standout Alek Hernandez for the game’s hits lead to ensure that the District 7-2A champions would have at least one more game this season.
Edington went all seven innings on the mound for Coleman, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits and no walks while striking out six Bulldogs hitters. He also had a near-perfect day at the plate, going 2 for 2 with a pair of walks and an RBI.
Together, those efforts sparked a strong response from the Bluecats, who now find themselves in the same situation they were in a year ago — in this same round against the same opponent.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 30. This will be our final baseball stat leaders post for the 2026 season.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
EULA — For seven full innings Wednesday, Stamford’s Alek Hernandez and Coleman’s Brayden Torres went toe to toe and blow for blow like a couple of heavyweight champs.
With each looking to pitch his team to an early advantage in a high-profile Region I-2A Division II bi-district series between the Bulldogs and Bluecats, the senior starters delivered a pitcher’s duel for the ages in front of a strong and appreciative crowd at the Eula Athletic Complex.
In the end, a single run was all that separated the two, and it took seven innings to score as Hernandez and his SHS teammates outlasted Torres and the Bluecats 1-0 in a thrilling series opener that had both coaches feeling romantic about baseball in its aftermath.
COAHOMA — One great game deserves another.
Only 24 hours after Cisco had edged Forsan 2-1 in Game 1 of their 2A DI area round series, the Lady Buffaloes evened things up by taking Game 2 in a 7-6 nailbiter in eight innings on Wednesday.
Madi Roach doubled home Elyssa Amaro with the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the eighth — the latter of whom was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored to lead Forsan (20-10). The decisive third game of the series is currently slated for 8 p.m. on Saturday in Clyde.
Forsan, which saw leads of 4-1 and 6-4 evaporate by the seventh inning, took the disappointments in stride — retaining a lighthearted demeanor that saw them dancing together as a team during warmups.
It eventually paid off.
“If they’re not doing some sort of dance routine before the game I know they’re nervous,” Forsan coach Jason Phillips said. “We want them relaxed, because believe it or not, they’re as dialed in as you could ever believe.”
ABILENE — For just the second time this season, the Big Spring softball team was held to two hits as the Lady Steers lost the opening game of their Region I-4A Division I area-round series against Springtown 3-1 on Wednesday night at Cooper’s softball field.
The only other time Big Spring was held to two hits this year was a 3-0 tournament loss to Boyd in a game that ended in the sixth inning by virtue of a time limit. The only other time the Lady Steers were held to one run or less this year was in an 8-1 loss to Snyder on April 7.
Big Spring coach Chelsey Jordan was quick to credit Springtown pitcher Kylee Spray for shutting down the Lady Steers’ offense, but she said that the remainder of the series on Friday, starting at 5 p.m., would play out differently.
EULA — The Hamlin baseball team kicked off its playoff run in dominant fashion Tuesday, scoring early and often in a 19-2 win over Cross Plains in Game 1 of a best-of-three Region I-1A bi-district series at the Eula baseball field.
The Pied Pipers broke a scoreless tie with a five-run second inning and increased their lead to 9-2 by the start of the fifth, when they exploded for 10 runs to put the run rule into effect.
Ian Gruben limited the Buffaloes to two unearned runs over four strong innings to earn the win, which puts HHS in position to clinch the series when play resumes at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Eula.
EULA — It took the Cross Plains Lady Buffaloes a few innings to find their offensive stride Tuesday in the opener of their Region I-1A area-round series with Westbrook. But once they did, it was smooth sailing in a 9-1 win over the Lady Cats at the Eula softball field.
With freshman standout Kenzie McLean tossing a gem in the circle, Cross Plains didn’t need to generate much run support. But after breaking through for the game’s first run in the bottom of the third inning, the Lady Buffs put up multiple runs in the each of the next three frames to pull away for the comfortable victory.
McLean, who allowed one hit and one walk while striking out 16 in a complete-game effort, carried a shutout through six innings, before allowing an unearned run in the top of the seventh. The game was well in hand by then, though, putting the Lady Buffs in position to close out the series when it resumes with Game 2 at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in Eula.
ABILENE — Defense and pitching were at the forefront in Game 1 of a Region I-2A DI area round series between Cisco and Forsan on Tuesday at Cooper High School.
Cisco’s Aubrey Corpus outdueled Forsan’s Makayla Garza in a 2-1 win for Lady Loboes, who can close the series with a Game 2 victory on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Coahoma. If needed, Game 3 of the series will be on Saturday in Clyde at 8 p.m.
AJ Pevey was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and Corpus was 1-for-3 with the game-winning RBI to lead Cisco (20-8-2), which broke a 1-1 tie when Pevey singled and scored on a Corpus triple in the bottom of the sixth.
Forsan dropped to 19-10 with the loss.
“Both teams are coached well and both showed up to play today,” Cisco coach Vanessa Longoria said. “(The win) was very important. It gives us the momentum, but we can’t get too calm and take it easy tomorrow.”
If you’re going to top someone who throws a perfect game in our in our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column, you had better do something very special.
This rare occurrence took place last week when Brock sophomore shortstop Kayden Blue helped the Lady Eagles to a three-game bi-district series win over Levelland with a truly memorable performance. In the process, she edged Abilene High ace George Ferguson, who delivered a perfect game win over Cooper.
With Brock sandwiching wins in Games 1 and 3 (5-1 and 5-2) around a 5-4 loss in Game 2, Blue was quite literally unstoppable, going 10-for-10 in the series with five runs scored (accounting for more than a third of BHS’ run tally. Yet it doesn’t stop there. She also posted a pair of walks (one intentional), making her a perfect 12 for 12 in reaching base throughout a difficult series against excellent competition.
“Kayden showed all the characteristics of a great leader in all three games and was phenomenal in the leadoff spot for us”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Clyde-Ingram Moore softball bi-district playoff (41 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Albany-Hawley baseball (54 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Snyder-Hawley softball (19 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Brock-Levelland softball bi-district playoff (60 images)”
ABILENE — If it were possible for two high schools separated by 308 miles to become rivals, Brock and Levelland may have just achieved it.
A year removed from a pair of one-run bi-district wins over the Loboettes, Brock eliminated Levelland yet again on Saturday, taking a 4A DII bi-district series with a come-from-behind 5-2 win in Game 3 at McMurry University’s Edwards Field.
After falling to Levelland in a 5-4 Game 2 thriller on Saturday, the Lady Eagles regrouped behind backup pitcher Delanee Parsons and a mind-blowing performance from shortstop Kayden Blue to take Game 3 and advance to the area round. There, they will meet Fort Worth Eagle Mountain in a best-of-three series beginning next week.
Parsons delivered four solid innings to earn the win with a save from ace pitcher Alison Coleman. Blue, in the meantime, capped a 10-for-10 batting tally for the series with a 2-for-2 effort in Game 3 with two runs scored to help Brock improve to 26-10 with the win.
CLYDE — After spending a portion of the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the state, the Clyde softball team found itself with its back against the proverbial wall on Saturday at the Hanner Sports Complex in the Region I-3A Division I bi-district round against Ingram Moore.
With home field advantage in Game 1, the Lady Warriors took advantage of six Clyde errors in a 6-2 win, forcing the Lady Bulldogs into a situation of needing to take two games on their home field to keep their playoff run alive. The loss in the series opener was the Lady Bulldogs’ fifth in their previous six games.
Despite jumping on the Lady Warriors early, the Lady Bulldogs saw their season come to an end in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss. It was a season-ending conversation in the outfield that came too soon for Clyde coach Reagan Sewell as he completed his 30th year in coaching.
EULA — The Snyder softball team left nothing to chance in its Region I-4A Division II bi-district series with Glen Rose, following a 7-0 win in Game 1 on Thursday with a 10-0 victory Saturday to clinch the best-of-three affair at the Eula softball field.
After using a four-run first to take control of the opener, coach Regina Cummings’ squad scored five in the second inning of Game 2, which was more than enough offense for starter Sydnee Gomez, who tossed six shutout innings for the second consecutive game.
Gomez allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out 13 to earn her second win of the young postseason, while Hannah Rangel closed out the game with a scoreless inning, just as she did in Game 1.
The Abilene High baseball team locked up a share of its first district championship in more than a decade on Friday, shutting out Cooper 7-0 at Cougar Field to finish the District 4-5A season in a first-place tie with Wylie.
Led by junior starter Gavin Colley, who struck out 11 on his way to a two-hit shutout, the Eagles (21-9-1 overall) improved to 9-3 in league play to match Wylie (20-5-1, 9-3), which rallied for a 5-2 win over Wichita Falls Legacy on Friday to clinch its share of the district title.
In support of Colley, who worked around a pair of walks and three errors to keep Cooper off the board, AHS scored one run in each of the first two innings before breaking the game open with a four-run third. That early production allowed the Eagles to coast to the season sweep of the Cougars, who fell to 11-20-1 overall and 3-9 in league play with the loss.
ABILENE — In a rematch of last year’s thrilling Class 4A DII bi-district series, the Brock Lady Eagles posted a workmanlike 5-1 win over Levelland on Friday at McMurry University’s Edwards Field.
It scarcely resembled what occurred a year ago, when Brock escaped with a pair of one-run victories — 2-1 in Game 1 and 7-6 in 13 innings in Game 2. This time around, the Lady Eagles (25-9) took control of Game 1 early and never relinquished it behind the pitching of Alison Coleman.
Kayden Blue was 4-for-4 with four singles and one run scored and Sloan Booth was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs to lead Brock, which coasted behind a one-hitter from Coleman. The Lady Eagles can end the series with a win in Game 2 on Saturday at noon at McMurry.
Game 3 (if needed) will follow 30 minutes after Game 2.
“I thought our girls came out and (played) hard with a lot of first-game jitters,” Brock coach Gregory Connors said. “We have six freshman starting and it was their first time in a playoff atmosphere. But we started off in that first inning with our bats the way we needed to and it carried us throughout the game.”
EULA — The Snyder Lady Tigers opened their postseason with a shutout win Thursday night, using a four-run first inning to set the tone for a 7-0 victory over Glen Rose in the opener of a best-of-three Region I-4A Division II bi-district series at the Eula softball field.
Coming off an undefeated run to the District 5-4A championship, SHS controlled the game from start to finish, thanks to the early offensive explosion and a strong start in the circle by Sydnee Gomez.
Coach Regina Cummings’ Lady Tigers, who reached the state semifinals a year ago, will now have a chance to close out the series when it resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday back in Eula.
After singling in the first inning, Mineral Wells first baseman Kimber Prentice, a freshman, put together a career night as the Lady Rams claimed a 23-8 win over Frenship Memorial in a Region I-4A Division I bi-district game on Thursday night at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.
Prentice tripled in her next three at-bats and drove in six runs in the game as the Lady Rams advanced to face either Decatur or Fort Worth Western Hills next week.
Entering the playoffs, Prentice was hitting .311 on the season with three triples. With a season-high five hits, she raised her batting average by 36 points to .347. The monster night came after she was forced to miss Mineral Wells’ regular-season finale after sustaining a concussion on April 14 against Stephenville.
Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through April 23.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 23. With the regular season now concluded, this will be our final softball stat report for 2026.
Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions.
If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.
TUSCOLA — The District 6-3A race saw a fierce battle between No. 4 Wall and No. 5 Jim Ned all season long and it came down to the final night of the regular season between the two heavy hitters on Wednesday night.
After being postponed by 24 hours due to the storms that came through the Big Country on Monday night, the Hawks won a 2-1 thriller in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Indian Field.
It was a much different outcome than Wall’s 10-5 win over the Indians on Friday — a game that gave Jim Ned its first loss of the season as it had entered that game ranked No. 1 in the state.
During a junior season that might best be described as “otherworldly,” Abilene High ace George Ferguson has flirted with perfection on several occasions.
On Tuesday, against crosstown rival Cooper, the 6-foot-4 flamethrower finally achieved it.
Pitching in front of a packed Senior Night crowd at Blackburn Field, Ferguson retired all 21 batters he faced to lead the Eagles to a 5-0 win over the Cougars. The University of Texas commit needed just 82 pitches to complete his first career perfect game, notching 16 strikeouts in the process.
HAWLEY — The Hawley baseball team ended its run in the current itineration of District 8-2A on Tuesday night the same way that it started it during the 2014-15 school year: as district champions.
The Bearcats claimed their third district championship in that span — matching the effort of the 2015 and 2019 squads — with an 11-4 win over Albany.
Having spent the past dozen years competing against the likes of Albany, Stamford and Anson, among others, the Bearcats will find themselves in a new look District 8-2A starting next year with Albany, Abilene TLCA, Bangs, Coleman and Cross Plains. After Tuesday’s game, Bearcats coach Jamie Seago took time to recognize the competition that the current version of the district has given his squad.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Jim Ned-Wall softball (30 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Anson-Stamford baseball (25 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Hawley-Stamford baseball (35 images)”