| Sports
Highlights Texas journalists see
local athletes
Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Journalists around the state saw this photo (at left) of
Mabank Lady Panther junior Cheyenne Alldredge (42) using an
elbow to gain separation from Crandall Lady Pirate defender
Lauren Shirley during their Jan. 18 district basketball game in
Mabank. The Texas Press Association, which routinely requests
members to submit photos for its print and online publications,
included this photo in the February issue of the Texas Press
Messenger.
Bulldogs win own tournament
Error-prone Yellowjackets go 1-4 at Eustace
baseball tournament
Monitor Staff Reports
EUSTACE–After an early-round thumping by Grand Saline, the
hosting Eustace Bulldogs returned the favor Saturday, shutting
out the Indians 4-0 in the championship game to win their annual
baseball tournament.
Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Having forced out Kaufman Lion baserunner Trevor Curbo (2), Kemp
Yellowjacket shortstop Jeff Gandera winds up to throw to first
base for a possible double play. The Lion baserunner beat
Gandera's throw to first during the second inning of Kemp's 7-6
loss to Kaufman in the second game of the Eustace Bulldog
Invitational baseball tournament Feb. 24.
Kemp’s Yellowjackets went 1-4 in the tournament,
winning their final game 9-4 against Venus.
Eustace’s scheduled game against Kerens Tuesday was cancelled,
while Kemp was scheduled to visit Palestine Tuesday.
The Bulldogs were scheduled to visit Grand Saline this weekend
to play in the Indian Invitational tournament, while the
Yellowjackets were scheduled to play in the Malakoff baseball
tournament.
Tuesday, March 8, the ’Jackets are scheduled to host the
Bulldogs for a 6 p.m. contest. Next weekend, March 10-12, the
Bulldogs are scheduled to play in the Athens tournament, while
the ’Jackets are scheduled to host their own tournament.
The first round of tournament play was reshuffled after a
quick-moving line of thunderstorms forced a slight delay, but
the Bulldogs were thumped by Grand Saline 14-0, while the
error-prone ’Jackets saw an early 5-1 lead over the
Scurry-Rosser Wildcats slip away, thanks to five miscues, in an
8-5 loss.
Travis Miller got the win for the Indians, allowing just two
Bulldog hits, while starter Jordan Foote took the loss for
Eustace. Foote was relieved in the second inning by Brad Sawicki,
who, in turn, was relieved by Raymond Shutak.
In their second game of the day, the ’Jackets battled from
behind to tie the Kaufman Lions 6-6, only to see the Lions score
a go-ahead run in the bottom of the fourth as the tournament
time limit expired.
Friday, the ’Jackets opened with a rematch against the Lions,
and played “one of our best defensive games, with just two
errors,” first-year head coach Jeff Combs reported.
However, the Kemp bats were not awake yet, as the ’Jackets had
just three hits in five innings in the 8-0 loss, Combs said.
Eustace opened Friday’s play with a 5-1 win over Venus, as
Trevor Lane threw a six-inning complete game for his first
varsity win, striking out five and issuing no walks.
LSU signee Braden Strickland led the Eustace offense with a home
run and single (two RBIs), with Addison Scott, Tyson Oliver (two
RBIs), Alex Pharmakis (two singles) and Sawicki all had hits.
Eustace then nipped Scurry-Rosser 6-5 behind Sawicki’s
last-inning first varsity win, coming on in relief of Blake
Ward. Nine different Bulldogs hit singles (Jacob Petillo two)
during the contest.
Saturday, the ’Jackets played their final game of the
tournament, notching a 9-4 win over Venus.
“Finally, everything came together,” Combs said, behind the
steady pitching of sophomore Trevor King, who had four
strikeouts, three walks and hit three batters, but only allowed
one hit in the victory.
Junior first baseman Riley Lazard led the Kemp attack, batting
.400 in the tournament with four hits and three RBIs.
“The key for us this year will be reducing errors, which I feel
we did a much better job of as the tournament went on,” Combs
said. “We are scoring plenty of runs – now we just need the
defense to catch up.”
In the championship game, Strickland threw 5½ innings and
notched 14 strikeouts in the victory over the Indians, with
Petillo coming on to record a save, getting the last four outs.
The Bulldogs scored two runs in the second and two more in the
fifth inning to build their 4-0 lead.
Eustace had the bats working – the Bulldogs had seven hits, with
five doubles from Scott, Pharmakis and Strickland, and singles
from Oliver, Chad Barina and Petillo.
Scurry-Rosser took third place in the tournament, knocking off
Alba-Golden 6-4, coming from behind with three runs in the top
of the seventh.
Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Grand Saline Indian Austin Bolin (5) hustles safely into second
base as Eustace Bulldog senior second baseman Addison Scott
(center) sets to catch the pick-off throw and shortstop Tyson
Oliver (right) moves over to back up Scott during the first
inning of Grand Saline's 14-0 thumping of the hosting Bulldogs
in the opening contest of the Eustace baseball tournament Feb.
24. Eustace returned the favor two days later, defeating Grand
Saline 4-0 in the tournament championship game Saturday.
Fly Fish Texas set March 12
ATHENS—Tie a fly. Cast a fly. Catch a fish.
That’s all there is to fly-fishing, and Fly Fish Texas is the
place to learn it. The annual event takes place Saturday, March
12, at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens.
Show hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All Fly Fish Texas activities
are free with regular paid admission to the center.
“Fly Fish Texas is a great show and the only event of its kind,”
said Walter McLendon of Lufkin, who has organized the show since
its beginning. “Other shows cater to people who are already
fly-fishers, but we try to introduce people to fly-fishing.”
Fly Fish Texas emphasizes hands-on learning and immediate
application of newly acquired skills.
Visitors can collect aquatic insects from the center’s streams,
tie a fly to imitate one of those insects under the supervision
of a skilled tier, learn to cast it from a certified fly-casting
instructor, then use it to catch a rainbow trout from one of
TFFC’s stocked ponds or streams.
Vendors will be displaying and selling fly-fishing gear, and
seminars will brief visitors on where and how to fly-fish in
Texas fresh and salt waters for a variety of species. The
program will include presentations on fly-fishing locations such
as the Devils River, the Texas Hill Country, tailwaters below
dams and urban waters.
Speakers will also detail where fish are and how to fish for
them in both salt and fresh water. In addition, instruction will
be available on rigging a kayak for fly-fishing, leader making
and Spey rod casting.
For a complete schedule of activities and seminars plus a video
of the event, visit
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/tffc/
and click on the Fly Fish Texas link.
The Dallas Fly Fishers will teach classes for beginning
fly-fishers; pre-registration is required and is available by
calling Craig Brooks at (903) 670-2222.
Instruction will lead to basic fly-fisher certification by TPWD
and will focus on learning about fly-fishing equipment,
performing the basic four-part cast, sampling aquatic insects to
see what fish eat, discussing freshwater ecology, how to tie
useful fishing knots, learning about safety and ethics issues
associated with fly-fishing and fly-tying.
Food service will be available, including Cajun crawfish boils,
Texas barbecue and fair-type food.
Event sponsors include the Sabine River Authority, Holiday Inn
Express Hotel and Suites-Athens, Dallas Fly Fishers, Temple Fork
Outfitters, Red Hat Rentals, Best Western Royal Mountain
Inn-Athens, Friends of TFFC and Cripple Creek BBQ.
|
