Polk County Sports

Write a comment

Maddodx Murphy is safe at home after a throwing error. PHOTO BY BRIAN BESCH

By Brian Besch
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Corrigan-Camden baseball took advantage of double-digit walks and strong pitching for an 11-1 win Tuesday over Alto on Polk County’s north side.

The Bulldogs were one of the county’s better teams last year and are on pace to repeat that success.

Maddox Murphy took a base on balls in the first inning, and with two outs, Brayden Dobson, Mason Murphy and Bayden Lawrence did the same to push in Corrigan-Camden’s first run of the contest.

Landry Nash and Cooper Kilgore started the second inning with walks, and Alto starter Keegan Davis was pulled after seven walks in an inning-plus of work. Michael Sullivan then greeted new pitcher Layden Rogers with an RBI-single. Brenden Shelley grounded into a fielder’s choice and Dobson walked. Mason Murphy also walked on a wild pitch that scored a run, and another came around to touch home on a throwing error at the plate. Bayden Lawrence grounded into a fielder’s choice and Bryce Lawrence brought in another run with an RBI-single. Batting a second time in the inning, Nash walked and Kilgore was hit by a pitch to load the bases, then Sullivan walked to bring home a run. After a new pitcher was inserted into the game, Maddox Murphy was hit in the helmet and jogged to first, scoring the eighth run of the inning. The Bulldogs led 9-0 after just two frames.

“Tonight, I thought a lot better of them than I had earlier in district games,” Corrigan-Camden coach Kevin Purvis said of his squad. “We played the 1A teams (earlier) and just looked a little sluggish and hadn’t been hitting the ball like we should. Tonight, my Bulldogs that I have seen throughout the year finally showed up a little bit against a pretty decent Alto team.”

In the third, Dobson doubled, Mason Murphy walked and the twins Bayden and Bryce Lawrence both grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring a run for the double-digit lead.

Shelley came on in relief for Sullivan after 3.2 innings of shutout ball. Other than a few Yellowjackets reaching scoring position, Sullivan had little trouble versus the Alto lineup.

Corrigan received a valuable insurance run in the fourth when Kilgore reached on error, Sullivan singled and Maddox Murphy moved the runner to third. A Shelley sacrifice grounder made the score 11-0 after four innings. Alto would get on the board in the fifth, scoring from third on a wild pitch. However, the Bulldogs secured the run-rule win after five.

“We finished last year strong and lost three great seniors, but we had the core coming back and we were plugging in two or three,” Purvis said of the team. “We are 13-3 right now, and I am pretty pleased, but hopefully there is a lot more in front of us.”

With the ‘Dogs reaching the third round of the postseason in 2023, the team is looking for even more in ’24. Purvis said district will be a big challenge with Cushing, Groveton and Douglass ahead. Groveton, considered the district favorite, brought back all nine starters from last year’s team.

“It is going to be a dogfight each week, day in and day out,” the coach said of district. “Pitching (has been a strength), which is usually not our strongpoint, but pitching has kept us in games. We are throwing strikes and playing defense behind it so far. I like our chances all the time. This is a scrappy bunch that will battle and compete, so I will take them up against anybody.”

Write a comment

Onalaska took two games from Trinity this week. Photo by clay Lilley

By Clay Lilley
Sports Contributor

The Onalaska Wildcats were back at it Tuesday night on the road against the Trinity Tigers, and packed the big bats in a blowout win, 23-3.

The game didn’t start as well for the Wildcats, going three up and three down in the top of the first. In the bottom of the inning things almost got out of hand. Trinity came out swinging with a double, two singles, and a walk, but with the bases loaded and one out, they weren’t able to score. The Wildcats took the lead in the second with help from a two-RBI double by Conner Ruiz. Onalaska exploded in the third inning, scoring 10 runs on two doubles, a single, six walks, and two batters hit by pitch. They added four more runs in the fourth and six in the fifth. Trinity was not able to keep up with Onalaska’s hot bats.

Thad Lilley got the start against the Tigers, struggling early, but remained focused and fought his way through three innings. Brayden Topkins and Brody Hoover both pitched an inning apiece to close out the big win. Topkins went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks, three RBIs, and three runs. Ruiz went 2-for-3 with a double, one run, and three RBIs. Senior Grant Thornton went 2-for-2 with two hits, two runs, two walks and two RBIs.

Game two of the district series was played Thursday. It was another lopsided outcome for the Wildcats, beating the Tigers 15-0. Starter Topkins and reliever Jarrett Puckerson threw a combined no-hitter, allowing no runs or walks. Topkins threw three innings, striking out six and Puckerson went two innings striking out four. The Wildcats scored five runs in the first inning, adding eight in the third and two more in the fourth. Jackson went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs, two walks and four stolen bases, Lilley went 1-for-3 with a triple, walk, three runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases, Roth went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, three runs, and two RBIs.

With the series sweep of the Tigers, the Wildcats are 3-0 in district and in a three-way tie for first. Next week’s series will pit two of those first-place teams, as the ‘Cats take on the No. 14 Anderson-Shiro Fighting Owls.

“Anderson has been so good in this district for years,” Onalaska coach Cody Pinkert said of the upcoming games. “So, every time we play them is a huge game. I think the boys are playing with confidence and they are starting to believe in one another.”

The Wildcats and the Owls battle for first place in District 23-3A, with Tuesday in Anderson at 7 p.m. and Friday in Onalaska at the same start time.

Write a comment

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

By Brian Besch
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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.”

Write a comment

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.