San Jacinto County Sports

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Cyrus Martinez connects with a Hornet fastball during the first season game.

By Charles Ballard
SJNT correspondent

SHEPHERD — The Pirates got a great start on the diamond, winning against the Hardin Hornets 7-6 on Feb. 19.

Head Baseball Coach Anthony Trevino said, “We are a young team this year looking to make our mark. If we stay ahead of the batters, from our pitching staff we should be OK.”

There were a few athletes still playing basketball, but the Pirates still made an excellent showing.

However, the Pirates posted two losses following that: losing 5-2 against Groveton, and losing 8-7 to Lovelady on Saturday.

Against Groveton, leading on offense was Kyler Syracuse, who produced the only hit for Shepherd.

On defense, Cyrus Martinez pitched 4 innings, giving up 5 runs on 4 hits.

Coldspring

The Trojans posted 3 losses on the week, falling 9-0 to Liberty on Feb. 19, falling 12-5 to Lumberton on Thursday and losing 7-2 to Liberty on Friday.

In the Feb. 19 game, Coldspring was hitless. Pitchers Nolan Beaver and Jordan Ash pitched 2 innings apiece, both giving up a hit and both striking out 4.

Against Lumberton, Brennan Headley went 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs, and Nolan Beaver, Jacob Ash and Luke Monroe each had a hit apiece. On the mound, Brennan Headley gave up 9 runs on 6 hits, Cadyn Barton gave up 2 runs on a hit and Wade Currie gave up one run on one hit.

Against Liberty on Friday, Jordan Ash had the lone hit. Luke Monroe gave up 3 runs on 5 hits with one strikeout, and Jordan Ash gave up 3 runs on 2 hits.

Softball

Coldspring

The Lady Trojans beat Leon 18-3 on Feb. 21.

Trinity Rosales got the win on the mound only giving up 3 hits on the game.

Macie Anderson was 2-for-3 with a walk and had 3 RBIs, and Haylee Rosales was 2-for-4 and had 6 RBIs.

As a team, the Lady Trojans had 10 hits and 10 walks on the night.

On Friday, the Lady Trojans lost to Homeschool Christian Youth Association 7-5.

Shepherd

On Feb. 20, the Lady Pirates were downed by Groveton 4-0.

Isabelle Hooper went 2-for-3 at the plate, and Neveah Murphey, Rayen Alley, Rylei N and Jayci Wilson each contributed a hit, but no Lady Pirate crossed home plate.

Jayci Wilson gave up 1 run on three hits, and Isabelle Hooper gave up 3 runs on 2 hits and struck out 2.

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Darrian Matthews goes to the air to complete a jump shot. Photos by Charles Ballard

By Charles Ballard
SJNT correspondent

HOUSTON — The Pirates’ jaunt through the postseason came to an end in the area round of the state playoffs, losing to Kountze 74-52 on Friday.

In the bi-district round on Feb. 20, Shepherd downed the East Bernard Brahmas 65-52.

East Benard took the first and second quarters only by a few points, but Shepherd managed to keep the game close in order to get the win.

Tristen Cullum, center for the Pirates, said, “I think we took the game, a little, for granted. During our team meeting at the half, we fixed a few flaws in our game play and took control of the second half.”

Coach Jeremy Bennett said, “We started a little slow the first half but managed to regroup and take control of the second half of the game.”

The second half was entirely a different game as the Pirates managed to control the tempo and forced East Bernard to play a Shepherd style of game. The third quarter showed Shepherd with 24 points and East Bernard with only 10 and giving the lead to the Pirates.

East Bernard matched Shepherd the fourth quarter point for point at 14, but ran out of time, and the Brahmas took third in their district while Shepherd managed a strong second.

Braydon Mettlen had 9 points, and Payton Burton posted 4 3-point shots and went 6-for-7 at the line. Tristen Cullum had 13 points while Brayden White had a 20-point night while hitting 9-for-9 at the line.

Coldspring

The Trojans lost in the bi-district round of the state tournament on Feb. 20, falling to Hitchcock 69-49.

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Brayden White (No. 34) and Trinity’s D.C. Cooper move to the right for the loose ball.

By Charles Ballard
SJNT correspondent

The two teams tied for the district championship — Shepherd and Crockett, each with a record of 11-3 — met to decide top seed for the district tournament.

The Pirates lost that bid 62-40.

It was just not the night for the Pirates, who had a very slow start and just could not hit the basket the in the first quarter, instead hitting only free throws.

The second quarter saw 10 Shepherd points, the third 9. The only double-digit score for the Pirates came in the second and fourth quarters. Crockett put two guards at the 3-point circle line and kept the Pirates at bay the entire game.

After the regular season games were split by the two teams, it was a shootout for the Bulldogs. Pirate Joshua Stowe had 4 points along with Darrian Matthews 5 points. Braydon Mettlen had 8 points for the night along with Tristen Cullum with 7 points. Brayden White led the team with 10 points.

On Feb. 13, it was a back-and-forth game with Trinity, which eventually went to the Pirates 56-50 in overtime.

Top scorers were Brayden White with 25, and he also dominated the boards with 14 rebounds. He was followed by Tristen Cullum with 15 points.

Coldspring

The Trojans, needing to find its seeding in the postseason, posted two losses and a win during last week’s play.

On Feb. 13, Coldspring lost to Onalaska 74-66, but turned around and posted a 73-60 win over Onalaska on Wednesday.

In the first Onalaska game, Luke Monroe posted 18 points for the night. Karvar Hays had 6 points while Bryan Douglas had 16 points. Eric Sykes had 16 points for the night.

In Coldspring’s 74-66 loss, Onalaska needed a win to stay in the playoffs, and came to play.

Coldspring jumped out to a slim 20-19 lead in the first quarter, and the half ended with Coldspring holding on to a 42-33 lead. It was not until the fourth and final period that Coldspring somehow lost the momentum and the Wildcats took advantage of it.

Onalaska posted 26 points in the fourth quarter to Coldspring’s 13, which put the Wildcats in the win column.

Jacorrion Jackson posted 7 points alongside Joshua Brimsey’s 8 points. Luke Monroe had 16 points for the night with Kelvin Harden led the Trojans with 21 points. Karvar Hays had a fantastic night at the line with 7-of-8 hitting the basket.

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By Charles Ballard
SJNT correspondent

SHEPHERD — It was standing room only as the two San Jacinto County rivals met in a very important match on Friday — the winner was to face Crockett for the district title.

After all was done, the Pirates took a 67-43 win over Coldspring-Oakhurst to tie Crockett and set up a tiebreaker.

Shepherd Coach Jeremy Bennett said, “The main deal tonight was we managed to secure a spot in the UIL playoffs. Where in the line we will be is still up for grabs.”

The Pirates posted a second win over Anderson-Shiro on Feb. 6, downing the Owls 47-41 and being second in district, tied with Crockett and one game ahead of Coldspring.

Top scorers were Brayden White with 24 and Tristen Cullum with 14.

For Coldspring, the Trojans dominated the Trinity Tigers 59-49 on Feb. 6.

It was a close first half as Trinty had the lead 28-26, and while Trinity had a 4-point lead at the end of the fourth, the Trojans found another gear quarter and took control of the game.

Coldspring posted 15 points to Trinity’s 9, which was the deciding factor of the game.

Jacorrion Jackson had 10 points while Luke Monroe posted 20 points. Karvar Hays had 3 and T.J. Johnson had 2. Kelvin Harden had 15 points while Eric Sykes had 4 points along with Bookie Barnes who had 5 points.

Girls

Coldspring

The Lady Trojans’ win on Feb. 6 spurred a Friday tiebreaker with Onalaska, one that Coldspring won 36-32, securing the team’s spot in the state playoffs.

Coldspring was to face Hitchcock in the bi-district rounds on Monday.

The path to the playoffs included a 49-28 win over the Trinity Lady Tigers.

The first quarter set the tempo for the game, with Coldspring ringing out 25 points in the first quarter to Trinity’s 6. The Lady Tigers only managed double-digit scoring in the second quarter.

Efreauna Bains posted 2 points while Shantel Goffney had 8 points. Camiya Hines had 3 points and Ella Phillips had 21 for the night and went an amazing 7 for 10 at the line. Honesti Bradford had 4 points and Akiah Harwig and Shaniyla Goffney rounded out the night with 11 points combined.