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State’s top-ranked school excels

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IMG 7880Shelby Dickerson slides to field a grounder and flips to shortstop Brianna Nelson for the out. PHOTOS BY BRIAN BESCH

By Brian Besch
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Lady Lion softball competed with the best in Class 3A Thursday, coming up on the short end of a 12-0 score to Liberty.

Already down two, Livingston threatened in first inning with runners on corners and two outs, but Liberty pitcher Brookelyn Taylor worked out of that jam. The Lady Panther defense was also good all afternoon, taking away most everything put into play.

The Liberty offense was dangerous as always, but Livingston did its best to limit the damage in each inning. The Lady Panthers got two RBI-singles in the first inning, a solo home run and second run on a wild pitch in the third, a two-RBI single and two RBI-doubles in the fourth, making it 8-0 at that point.

They would add a run in the fifth and three more in the seventh. Kylee Bishop, Hollie Thomas and Bayleigh Taylor, who bat 2-3-4 in the lineup, were a combined 11-for-15 with eight RBIs.

Despite the offensive output, Livingston played well in the field at times. Corinne Henderson, Brianna Nelson and Brianna Burks each made plays defensively.

“When they hit balls to us, we made plays,” Livingston coach Heather Mosser said. “We hit the ball, but we just didn’t string anything together. They are a good squad and they have good hitters from top to bottom. We were able to keep them off balance a little bit to not get run ruled and that is kind of what we were hoping to do. At the end of the day, that is a win for us. If we can throw them off a little more with our pitching and string something together, I am hoping to score a couple of runs on them next time.”

Liberty is on a streak of 22 consecutive wins since the first game of the year. They dropped the season opener to Barbers Hill, but now hold a 22-1 mark and No. 1 ranking. Highlights along the way have been an undefeated run at a tournament in The Woodlands facing Class 6A competition, and doing the same in brackets at Brenham versus 5A schools. They are the state champions of 2018, 2021 and 2022. Last season, Liberty reached the state championship game.

“We talk about good things after our games and we still had good things to say,” Mosser said. “That is all you can ask for out of a team. They said that (Shelby) Dickerson had a good day at the plate, when balls were hit to our defense we made plays, we had great catches, and they lead our postgame talk with positives. Sometimes in years past, we come in and we are a little scared of (Liberty), but we were very comfortable today and we didn’t let them overtake us. They didn’t have any major outstanding innings, and they are very capable of scoring 15 runs in an inning. Just to keep them at bay and settled a little bit, we did a good job.”

The Lady Lions are now 2-1 in district, and enjoyed a 28-0 walloping of West Fork in their second contest.

“We were just ripping the ball,” Mosser said of the win.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t do that as much today, but (West Fork) are a young team of freshmen and sophomores. They couldn’t really make plays and we were ripping the ball. We were feeling it and hitting well and playing well, and I was hoping that would carry over. It did, we still had a good performance against a really good team, but this (Liberty) team is going to go really far. Even though we lost today, I feel like we gained confidence.”

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Coming up short in championship

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031424 onlaska one

By Clay Lilley

Onalaska baseball traveled to Weimar to play in the 47th Annual Weimar Invitational last weekend, finishing with a 2-2 record and second-place trophy.

The Wildcats started the tournament Thursday against the Burton Panthers. They fell behind early, giving up four runs in the first inning and couldnt recover, losing by a final of 6-4. Patrick Roth was 3-for-4 at the plate with three singles, Thad Lilley went 2-for-4 with a double and two stolen bases, while Brayden Topkins was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Onalaska’s first of two games Friday was against the No. 8 ranked Class 2A Bosqueville Bulldogs. In a back and forth game, the Wildcats took the lead in the fourth inning, scoring three runs on two doubles, then held the Bulldogs scoreless in the top of the fifth to get the win 6-4. Lilley went 2-for-2 with a walk and scored three runs, Wyatt Reyes went 1-for-3 with an RBI-double and scored a run, and Lucas Jackson went 1-for-2 with a big two-RBI double in the fourth.

Onalaska pitchers freshman Roth and senior Brody Hoover were superb on the mound, getting the 3-1 win against the Rosebud-Lott Cougars Friday afternoon. The Wildcats held an early lead until the fourth inning, when the Cougars tied it up 1-1 on four bunt attempts and three errors. The Wildcats bounced back in the bottom of the fourth, scoring two runs and taking a 3-1 lead. Hoover came in for the starter Roth in the fifth and held the lead, securing the win over Rosebud-Lott. Jackson went 2-for-3 with an RBI-double, Topkins went 1-for-2 with an RBI-double and a walk, Roth pitched four innings and allowed one run and no hits with two strikeouts. Hoover pitched three innings, and allowed no runs on one hit with two strikeouts.

The win against the Cougars setup a rematch against Burton in the championship game Saturday afternoon. Coach Cody Pinkert decided to go with senior Ryder Humbird-Smith as the starter against the Bulldogs. In his first varsity start, he threw three innings, giving up three runs on two hits and struck out four. Burton added another run in the fifth to make the score 4-0. Onalaska had only two hits through six innings, a triple by Lilley in the third and a bunt single by Conner Ruiz in the sixth. The Bulldogs scored two more runs in the top of the seventh, making it a 6-0 game. Finally, in the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcat offense came alive with four hits, a sacrifice, walk, and an error, but it wasn’t enough. Burton was victorious 6-4 once again. Ruiz went 1-for-2 with a run scored, RBI, and base on balls. Roth went 1-for-2 with a run, RBI and walk.

The ‘Cats will be back to district play this week with a series against the Trinity Tigers. They play in Trinity Tuesday and return to Onalaska Friday night, with both starting at 7 p.m. Friday will be Senior Night to celebrate this year’s graduating class. 

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Roaring in district opener

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Kason Nelson threw seven scoreless for the win.Kason Nelson threw seven scoreless for the win.

By Brian Besch
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Livingston Lion baseball got district started the right way, blanking the Panthers of Liberty 7-0 in a Tuesday matinee. Great pitching and production from the bottom half of the lineup were keys to the win.

Caden Vickery singled and stole a bag to get the second inning started. Karter Nelson singled and Chevy Peters drove in a run with a double. Bryce Barnes hustled down the line to beat out an infield single, loading the bags. J.T. Smith and Erik Fuentes were both hit by a pitch to drive in a run, then Copeland Bush cleared a few more off the bases with a two-run double, making it 5-0.

The Lions collected a few more in the fourth when Copeland Bush led off with an infield single. Jordan Bush then singled and drove in a run. Karter Nelson walked to load the bases and Peters delivered another run by beating out a throw at first base.

“We have gone through the meat grinder in preseason,” Livingston coach David Miller said. “These guys have been getting better and better every week, and I am proud we came out and played seven solid Innings of baseball – that is all I can ask them to do. We strung some at-bats together when we needed to, had a big inning, and Kason stepped up and pitched his tail off like he has been doing all year. I couldn’t be prouder of how these guys played and how they have been bouncing back through the adversity.”

The seven-run lead looked to be plenty, as Kason Nelson was in command on the mound. The right-hander threw a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits.

“Kason went toe to toe with China Springs, the No. 1 team in the state,” the coach said of his starter. “The next week, he shut down Bullard, who is No. 4 in the state. He threw well against Nederland this past week. He has been consistent this year, but all of our pitching has. We have a couple of things that we need to keep working on and keep getting consistent; that has been the thing we’ve really been trying to drive home. Cole Barrow is going to go on Thursday, Jordan Bush has been pitching well and Karter Nelson and Chevy Peters have been pitching well. Our arms have been getting us to this point right now.”

The obstacles of Porter, Spring Hill, Carthage, China Springs and Bullard are all ranked teams Livingston has faced over the past few weeks. The coach also mentioned Nederland, Navasota and Madisonville as significant challenges. The Lions are 5-9 overall, but the important mark after Tuesday’s game is the 1-0 they hold in district play.

“These guys have been through it and they have faced some tough competition,” Miller said. “I told them that I shouldn’t have to say anything to get them fired up. We have gone through probably one of the hardest preseasons in East Texas, as far as competition they have played. They have kept their head up and kept working and they started putting it together last weekend. It would have been very easy to go through that and just hang our heads. If we play solid baseball – and I’m not talking perfect baseball – with minimum mistakes, it will be however far they want to go. They are starting to see it. I told them that if they do that, they will go 1-0 today.” 

Livingston will travel to Liberty Thursday, then have a home-and-home with Huffman Hargrave next week. The Lions will play every Tuesday at home and every Friday away in district competition.

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Wildcat walkoff win

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Lucas Jackson prepares to swing. PHOTOS BY Clay LilleyLucas Jackson prepares to swing. PHOTOS BY Clay Lilley

By Clay Lilley

The Onalaska Wildcats opened up district baseball play with a come-from-behind win against the Shepherd Pirates Tuesday night.

Thad Lilley got the start for the Wildcats and went six innings, allowing only one unearned run on four hits and four walks, while striking out 11 batters on 107 pitches.

“One thing I know about Thad, he is a competitor," Coach Cody Pinkert said. "He’s always gonna give us a chance to win big games. All these kids understand what our team’s identity is and they do a good job of playing their roles. This is a special group of boys.”

The Pirates took a 1-0 in the fifth inning on an RBI-single by first baseman David Somers. In the sixth inning, with runners on first and third, Lucas Jackson laid down a bunt that scored Wyatt Reyes from third to tie the game 1-1.

Pinkert brought in Patrick Roth to pitch the seventh inning. Things immediately got tense for the Wildcats to start the inning. With a runner on first, Shepherd hit a single to left field, but the runner from first was thrown out at third while trying to get into scoring position. On the next batter, Roth hung a curve ball to Pirate starting pitcher, Marshal Reeves, who hit a laser off the left-field fence that was a few feet from being a home run. Again, the Wildcats got the ball in quickly to gun down another runner at third base. Roth got the last out on a pop up to the second baseman to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh with two outs and an 0-2 count, Shepherd needed just one more strike to send the game to extra innings. However, Brody Hoover, wouldn’t give in, showing discipline as he fouled off pitches to work himself into a walk, putting the winning run on first.

Pinkert inserted a pinch runner, Ryder Humbird-Smith. With two outs, the game tied, and winning run on first, pinch hitter Conner Ruiz stepped up to the plate. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Humbird-Smith stole second base, putting him in scoring position. With a 3-1 count on Ruiz, he hit a liner to center field.  Pinkert waved Humbird-Smith around third. Hve stumbled while crossing the base, hit the ground and rolled a few times. Shepherd’s centerfielder scooped up Ruiz’s line drive on the second hop and overthrew his cutoff man. The ball traveled to the backstop, while Humbird-Smith got to his feet and crossed home plate, giving the Wildcats a dramatic 2-1 win over the Pirates.

The Wildcats are off to Weimar to play in the their invitational over the weekend. District play continues Tuesday in Trinity against the Tigers.

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