Morgan Wheatly

By Sandy Anderberg

After a great season, the Lady Broncos were denied the right to continue on in post-season play by the Plains Cowgirls in Levelland last Friday night and were defeated 53-67.

The Lady Broncos played hard despite the loss and were solid in the first half of play. Plains hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the second period that gave them a three-point advantage into the break.

The third quarter went cold for the Lady Broncos on the offensive end of the court, and the Lady Cowgirls were able to take control of the game on the scoreboard. The Lady Broncos struggled to recover down the stretch and had to foul late in the game giving Plains the edge on the free throw line.

Deborah Howard led the ladies with 12 points, and Jentry Shadle finished with 10.

“Our girls fought hard and competed hard,” coach Molly Weatherred. “But things just didn’t fall our way. It was a great season, and I am proud of the girls for their effort.”

Scoring: D. Howard 12, Shadle 10, Ryann Starnes 8, McKayla Cartwright 7, Audrey Shelton 4, Jency Burton 3, and Taylor Gaines 3.

The ladies earned the right to an appearance in the Regional Tournament by defeating Claude at Frank Phillips College earlier in the week in overtime at 44-43.

With the score tied at 43 all, Jentry Shadle drove the lane with only ticks left on the clock and was fouled sending her to the bonus line. She was able to convert the first of a two-shot bonus to give the ladies the one-point lead.Time was on the Lady Broncos’ side as after the miss on the second free throw, the Lady Mustangs did not have enough time to advance the ball down the court and the Lady Broncos took the win.

Clarendon was down by nine points at the break and it looked like Claude was going to get the win, but the Lady Broncos hustled back to tie the game after regulation at 37-37 and sending the game into overtime.

Coach Molly Weatherred commented as to the ladies’ character in their comeback win.

“Our girls showed a lot of character in the win,” Weatherred said. “They stayed solid and deserved the win.”

Shadle and Cartwright led the ladies with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Gaines added seven and Starnes put in six. D. Howard had five and sister Lydia helped with three points.

Jentry Shadle, Jency Burton, Anna Ceniceros, McKayla Cartwright, Lydia Howard, and Audrey Shelton are the graduating seniors and will be greatly missed next year.

By Sandy Anderberg

The Clarendon Broncos are moving on and their latest win over Memphis last Friday was proof that they want to go the distance.

The Broncos stayed solid throughout and held off Memphis’ last-ditch effort to make good on a shot at the buzzer. The Broncos won the game 43-42.

In the intense Region 1 1-A thriller, the Broncos trailed by two points after the first eight minutes, but only one at the break. The game went back and forth until the end with neither team getting comfortable on the scoreboard.

Defense was the key in the low-scoring game, but the Broncos know they need to shoot better. Seniors Cole Ward and Adam Topper led the Broncos on the scoreboard finishing in double figures.

“We played hard and really got after it,” coach Brandt Lockhart said. “Both teams knew each other really well and it was a tough game. We were able to make stops when we needed them, but we missed some free throws down the stretch.”

Scoring: Ward 15, Topper 13, Trajen Johnson 7, Diego Santos 4, Cody Wood 3, and Charles Mason 1.

The Broncos will play Stratford in the next round, which, according to Lockhart, is a fairly good team.

“They have a big guy inside and two guards that are decent,” Lockhart said. “But we have a good shot to win.”

Earlier in the week, the Broncos knocked off Booker at Frank Phillips College to secure their Bi-District win at 61-48.

The Broncos had a huge third quarter surge, which allowed them to find a rhythm defensively.

“The big key was our defense in the third quarter,” Lockhart said. “We were able to get stops and turn them into fast break points. We outscored them 19-2 in the third. I was very proud of our effort and executing our halftime adjustments.”

Scoring: Santos 17, Wood 12, Ward 12, Johnson 8, Topper 7, Mason 3, and Jonah Sell 2.

By Sandy Anderberg

Springtime in the panhandle brings about yet another sport and the Bronco baseball team has begun their 2013 season with a big win over Wellington at 17-6.

Despite a slow start, the Broncos regrouped and silenced the Skyrocket team. The last four innings were huge for the Broncos as they scored 16 of their 17 runs in those innings.

Dillon Nickell was on the mound for the Broncos and after the first inning, he settled in to throw a strong game according to coach Brad Elam.

“Dillion struck out eight hitters and only walked two.”

The Bronco defense struggled some, but put together some stops against the Rockets.

“Fielding, we struggled at times, but were able to make some plays,” Elam said. “And our hitting finally came around with the top six in the order having a great game, scoring 16 of the 17 runs. We still have a lot to work on, but I was pleased with the outcome.”

Dusty Rice was able to go four for five with three doubles and three runs scored and Nickell scored three runs and stole four bases. Caleb Cobb reached base four times, scored four runs, and drove in some big runs. Trevor Cobb reached base four times and scored three runs while Mitchell Parry reached base three times and scored two runs.

The Broncos will travel to Valley Friday, March 1, to take on the Patriots at 4:00 p.m. and play Wellington at home on Monday, March 4, also at 4:00 pm.

The Clarendon College softball team finished the Midland Classic undefeated this past weekend.

The Lady Bulldogs began the tournament with a 14-5 victory over the University of Chihuahua. Samantha Haralson picked up the win, with Natalie Bissell and Karina Juarez both having home runs in the contest. Nohemi Jimenez had a game high 4 RBI’s.

In the next game versus Trinidad State, Karen Mao pitched the victory and homered along with Deraj McClinton. Deraj went 4-4 with 2 RBI’s. The Lady Bulldogs defeated Trinidad State 8-4.

For the third game of the day, the Lady Bulldogs faced Dodge City.

Samantha Haralson picked up the win with Karina Juarez and Karen Mao going 3-4. Jizelle Morando had a home run in the game as well. Clarendon won the contest 9-5.

The Lady Bulldogs woke up bright and early on Saturday to face Trinidad State once again.

Karen Mao pitched with win with Samantha Haralson picking up the save. Natalie Bissell and Nohemi Jimenez hit back to back home runs in the 5th to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 7-5 victory.

In their last game of the tournament the Lady Bulldogs run-ruled Coastal Bend 9-0 in 5 innings.

Samantha Haralson picked up the win, with Karina Juarez going 3-3. Jizelle Morando and Karina Juarez both homered in the game.

Overall the Lady Bulldogs hit 9 homeruns from 6 different players.

By Fred Gray

The Clarendon College baseball team splits double header with Lamar Community College this past Sunday, February 24. The Bulldogs won the first game, 7–6, before falling the in the second game, 1-12.

First year baseball coach Devin McIntosh, said that relief pitcher Craig Snook, a recent transfer from Abilene Christian University closed out the final two innings of the game one win and pitched every well. Snook, a sophomore from Houston, allowed only one run to score in the final two innings, to get the save.

Jacob Gosselin-Deschesnes, the sophomore pitcher from Quebec, started the game. Coach McIntosh said of Gosselin’s performance, “Jacob is a mature pitcher who manages the game well, and was effective even though he didn’t have his best stuff.”

McIntosh also singled out the play of short-stop Gallie Cribbs, Jr., a sophomore from Sugar Land, Texas. He said, “Gallie got a couple of extra-base hits and stole a couple of bases for us. He played hard and gave us the spark we needed.”

In describing this year’s team, Coach McIntosh said that this year’s roster has had a lot of turnover, with a lot of freshman and sophomore transfers. It will take them a while to mesh and learn to play together, but he is confident that they will prove to be a good team. The Bulldogs are young and inexperienced on the mound, and could be a little inconsistent. Overall, the kids play hard, and don’t give up when they are playing from behind.

The Bulldogs host Vernon College for a 9 inning game on Wednesday, February 27.

On Friday, March 1, and Saturday, New Mexico Junior College comes to town for two double headers. The games will start at 12:00 PM.