Sports

By Sandy Anderberg

Coach Brad Elam thought the shut out over Quanah was one of the biggest baseball wins ever accomplished in Clarendon with a 3-0 final.

The Broncos took control of the game defensively with Adam Topper on the mound and capitalized on Indian errors to score the runs needed. The win put the Broncos even at 4-4 in the District race and 7-8 overall.

“We were the underdogs going into the game but felt we could beat them,” Elam said. “(We) thought they would take us lightly.”

The Indians did take the Broncos lightly as they could not convert at the plate.

“Adam did a fantastic job of shutting them down the entire game,” Elam said. “He threw strikes which is what we needed.”

Elam also praised the defense for making great plays and getting stops.

“Our defense had their best game of the year making play after play,” Elam said. “Trevor Cobb and Caleb Mitchell anchored the infield while Gage Nelson made a good play in center. Chance McAnear threw out a runner attempting to advance to second.”

Despite not hitting the ball well, the Broncos managed to get the ball where it needed to go. “We were able to put the ball in play and they made some errors,” Elam said. “Dusty Rice, Jerami Johnson, and Cole Ward scored the three runs.”

The Broncos also got by Vernon Northside at 6-3 to up their record. It was not one of the Broncos’ best wins, but according to Elam it was enough.

“We escaped with a win,” Elam said. “It was a trap game for us coming off a big win, and we were able to do just enough to get by. Mitchell and McAnear pitched and did a good job of throwing strikes.”

Defensively, the Broncos committed some errors in the field that hurt them and allowed Northside a couple of runs.

“Offensively, we didn’t hit the ball well,” Elam said. “McAnear had a great day at the plate going three for four and scoring two runs and Mitchell had two doubles. Cody Wood reached base three times.”

The Broncos will play Memphis at home Friday, April 27, at 4:30 p.m. and continue to prepare for post-season play.

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos got past Follett last week to up their record to 12-1 overall and 6-0 in District play. The 10-9 win over Follett was not pretty according to head coach Gary Jack, but a win nonetheless.

The ladies trailed late in the game, but fought back to retake the lead and get the win. According to Jack, Audra Thomas slammed a couple of big hits that drove in runs and was a momentum swing for the ladies to get back on track.

“We had a ton of errors in the game,” Jack said. “We haven’t had much practice this past week because everyone is so busy, but we got by. They are a scrappy team and we were lucky to get out of it with the win.”

Earlier in the week the Lady Broncos stomped District foe McLean as they took advantage of the run rule shutting out the Lady Tigers 16-0. The ladies hit McLean hard in the first inning scoring six of their total runs. The second at bat for the Lady Broncos proved to be even more productive as they put on a scoring clinic racking up 10 more runs to end the game in only three innings.

“We did everything right,” said Jack.

Dronzek stayed solid earning the win and going to 11-1 for the season.

The ladies will travel to Booker next Thursday and play Claude at home on Friday in their last home game.

By Sandy Anderberg

The Clarendon Broncos racked up 53 points in the ten-team field of the District track meet held April 3-4. The top four finishers in each event earned the right to move on to the Area meet that will be held April 11 in Abernathy.

The 400-meter relay, run by Devonte Hardaway, Wes Williams, Charleston Harris, and Corey Barker, finished third at 46.58 and will advance.

Williams also qualified in the 100-meter dash and long jump. Adam Topper advanced in the shot put, Trajen Johnson will move on in the high jump, and Diego Santos will pole vault at the Area meet.

Overall results: 100-meter: Williams 2nd 11.26; 800-meter run: Gage Nelson 5th 2:13.42; long jump: Williams 2nd 22’6½”; shot put: Topper 4th 38’11¾”; discus: Rowdy Speed 5th 112’8″; high jump: Johnson 4th 5’8″; pole vault: Santos 3rd 10’6″.

The junior varsity Broncos also participated in the meet and finished fifth as a team with 50 points. Those participating in the JV division do not get to advance to the Area meet.

Individual results: 100-meter dash: Charles Mason 2nd 11.68; 200-meter dash: Cedric McCampbell 3rd 25.88, Lee Buckhaults 4th 26.11; 400-meter dash: Jordan Stone 5th 1:02.39; 800-meter run: Stone 2nd 2:23.28, Zach Cornell 4th 2:26.77; 800-meter relay: 5th 1:44.69 Brandon Miller, Cornell, McCampbell, and Mason; long jump: Mason 2nd 19’3¼, Miller 6th 17’5″; triple jump: McCampbell 6th 34’4″; high jump: Mason 4th.

By Fred Gray

The Clarendon College men’s baseball team, behind excellent pitching and thunderous bats, swept a four-game home stand last Friday, April 6, and Saturday, April 7.

In the first game, lefty Sam Ouellet got the win, pitching a complete game that was called early due to the ten-run rule. The Bulldogs dominated the game, winning 17 to 5, behind the strong pitching of Ouellet and unrelenting Bulldog bats.

In Friday’s second game, the Bulldogs won a nine-inning contest, 10 to 4, behind winning right-hand pitcher Jacob Gosselin-Deschesnes. Jacob Orem, the big right-handed relief pitcher from Oklahoma City came on in the seventh inning for the save. Once again, the Bulldog bats thundered in support of excellent pitching. These guys can hit!

Saturday’s games were played in gale-force winds that skipper Chris Joblin pleasantly called “baseball weather.” While Friday’s games were played in benign conditions, with a slight breeze from the south, Saturday’s hitters had to fight a mean wind from the north. Fly balls were an adventure, diving into the ground wounded-duck-like, and taking hard-right turns.

In the third game of the home stand, the Bulldogs eked-out a hard-fought 6 to 4 victory. Bulldog right-handed pitcher, Jorge Perez, pitched another complete game. The native of Jamaica, New York, pitched a steady, consistent game in extraordinarily poor conditions.

The Bulldog’s skipper wryly commented that even though it was “a tough day to play,” they pitched an excellent game. Joblin was pleased with his team’s efforts and was pleased that they hit the ball hard all day long. I’ve never watched them when they didn’t hit the ball hard. This team habitually knocks the cover off the ball, a la “The Natural,” with Robert Redford, one of the greatest baseball movies ever.

In the final game of the series, Bulldog ace left-handed pitcher, Scott Cone pitched nine-inning gem, shutting out the New Mexico Military Institute. It was a fitting end to an excellent weekend of exciting baseball.

The Bulldogs leave for a six-game road trip before returning home against Seward County Community College, Wednesday, April 18. They will close out the 2012 regular season with four games against Odessa College on April 4 and 5.

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Bronco sprinted to a big district win in the sprint relay in the District meet at Wellington April 3-4.

Glory Bryley, Sarah Luttrell, Marqueda Gaines, and Amber Keelin’s time of 52.12 bested the field by seven tenths of a second. That same group also ran the 800-meter relay and finished second behind Wellington with a time of 1:52.47. They will be advancing to the Area meet in Abernathy April 11. The Lady Broncos finished the meet in third place with 98 points behind New Deal and Wellington.

In addition to the 400 and 800 relays, Luttrell will be advancing in the 100-meter dash. Abby Johnson and Samantha Sanderson earned a trip to the Regional meet in the 400-meter dash, and Audrey Shelton was third in both the 1600 and 3200-meter races. Trevela Dronzek was fourth in the 3200. Jentry Shadle will advance in the 100-meter hurdles, and Amanda Powell will move on in the 300-meter hurdles. Caitlyn Nowlin will throw in the shot put and discus with fourth place finishes.

Individual results: 100-meter dash: Luttrell 3rd 13.12, G. Bryley 6th 13.64; 200-meter dash: Johnson 6th 28.91; 400-meter dash: Johnson 2nd 1:0538, Sanderson 4th 1:08.50; 1600-meter run: Shelton 4th 5:511.92; 3200-meter: Shelton 3rd 12:36.13, Dronzek 4th 13:37.00; 100-meter hurdles: Shadle 2nd 16.55, Powell 5th 17.47; 300-meter hurdles: Powell 3rd 51.42; shot put: Nowlin 4th 30’3¾”; discus: Nowlin 4th 92’1″, McKayla Cartwright 6th 90’6″.

The Lady Bronco junior varsity also participated in the District meet and finished second as a team behind New Deal with 148 points. The 400-meter relay took first place with a time of 57.63 and was run by Anna Ceniceros, Haley Ferguson, Lydia Howard, and Phara Berry. The 800-meter relay grabbed the gold as well with a time of 2:04.16 and was run by Deborah Howard, Ryann Starnes, Taylor Gaines, and Elizabeth O’Rear. O’Rear also won the 100-meter dash and long jump, placed second in the 200-meter dash. D. Howard won the 400-meter dash and the triple jump.

Individual results: 100-meter: O’Rear 1st 14.09, Lynzee Bryley 2nd 14.39; 200-meter: O’Rear 2nd 30.06, Starnes 4th 30.87; 400-meter dash: D. Howard 1st 1:12.74, Berry 4th1:16.68; 1600-meter run: Jessica Ceniceros 3rd 7:05.02; 100-meter hurdles: Emberli Holland 2nd 19.09; 300-meter hurdles: Holland 4th 1:00.67, Berry 5th 1:01.83; long jump: O’Rear 1st 13’11½”, Taylor Gaines 2nd 13’9″, Berry 3rd 13’3¼”; shot put: Ceniceros 3rd 25’5″; discus: Ceniceros 5th 65’7″; triple jump: D. Howard 1st 30’.

By Fred Gray

Behind the stellar pitching of Karen Mao and hot bats, the Lady Bulldogs won three straight games against the El Paso Community College Tejanos this past Thursday and Friday, April 5 and 6. El Paso Community College was finally able to prevail in the last game of the series.

Southern Californian Karen Mao pitched the Lady Bulldogs to two of their three victories, dominating the first game 9-0, in a game that was called after five innings, due to the eight-run rule.

While Karen was pitching a shut-out, the Lady Bulldogs’ bats plated five runs in the third inning and added four runs in the bottom of the fourth.

In the second game of the home stand, Kenzie Scifres pitched the Lady Bulldogs to a come-from-behind 5-3 victory.

Going into the seventh inning, CC was behind 3 to 1. Amanda Salvado and Jasmine Aguliar led off the bottom of the seventh with walks; and after an El Paso pitching change, Karen Mao was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with no outs. Kish Suniga then hit a sharp ground ball to third base. Two runs scored when the Tejanos’ third baseman threw the ball away in a play to home.

Nohemi Jimenez drove in the two winning runs with a double to center.

In Friday’s first game, Karen Mao once again pitched the Lady Bulldogs to victory. After being down 3 to 1 after three innings, CC rallied to win the game 5-4.

El Paso finally tasted victory in the last game of the home stand, beating the Lady Bulldogs 2-0.

Their next four home games will be against Howard College on Friday, April 13, at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m., and on Saturday, April 14, at 11:00 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The Lady Bulldogs are currently in third place in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference.

By Fred Gray

The Lady Bulldogs dropped a double header to Luna Community College, at home last Wednesday, March 28.

The first game was a heart-breaker, when Luna scored two seventh inning runs to beat the Lady Bulldogs 5-3. Lady Bulldogs pitcher, Karen Mao, pitched very well, allowing three runs before the fateful seventh, when two runs scored off a two out fly ball to center field, which bounced out of the centerfielders glove.

In the bottom of the seventh, Jessica Jasmine Aguliar led off with a walk and promptly stole second base. She was stranded at third base when the next two hitters hit long fly balls for out. The final out came when the last hitter, Shelbie Watson, hit a sharp grounder to short, and was called out in a bang-bang play at first.

In the second game, the Lady Bulldogs lost a close 5-4 game. They were unable to overcome a four – two first inning deficit. The Lady Bulldogs pulled to within one run when they plated a run in the bottom of the third.

Both teams exchanged runs in the sixth inning, resulting in the 5-4 victory by Luna Community College.

On Friday, March 30, the Lady Bulldogs travelled to La Junta, Colo., where they split a double with Otero Community College. They lost the first game four runs to one, and won a slug-fest in the second game, winning 15 – 14.

The Lady Bulldogs then travelled to Lamar, Colo., for a double header the following day, Saturday, March 31. They lost both games, 6 -4 and 5-2.

The Lady Bulldogs return home this Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, for a four game home stand against El Paso Community College. Friday, April 5, play begins at 1:00 p.m. Saturday’s games begin at 11:00 a.m.

The Lady Bulldogs are very entertaining to watch and everyone is encouraged to come out and watch some extraordinary female athletes play ball. It is time well spent.

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos were ready for a tough game against the Claude Mustangs on the road last Tuesday but were able to breeze to a 14-4 win in the District contest. Trevela Dronzek got the win to go to 7-1 on the year, and the ladies as a team moved to 8-1 overall and 3-0 in District.

After a scoreless first inning, the Mustangs struck first and took a two-run lead at 3-1. But the Lady Broncos stormed back in the third to put up five solid runs that put them up by three. They made three runs in the fourth and fifth innings before adding the deal closer in the sixth to seal the win.

On Friday, the Lady Broncos faced off against West Texas High and defeated them 13-7. In the come-from-behind win, the ladies were down three runs at the end of the third inning but exploded in the fourth scoring seven runs to go up by four. They followed that big inning with another in the fifth and anticipated the win. WT showed signs of coming back in the sixth, but the Lady Bronco defense ended their attempt after they scored four runs. Clarendon added one more in the final inning to get the six-point win.

The ladies will play at home against Follett on Saturday, April 7, at 1:00 p.m. and travel to Booker Monday, April 9.

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos slammed in 10 runs in the third inning to secure a 15-4 win over Follett in their district opener at home last Monday night. The win put the ladies at 6-1 overall and 1-0 in district play. Trevela Dronzek was on the mound and Audrey Shelton was behind the plate.

The Lady Broncos jumped on the Lady Panthers early and led 3-0 after one inning. They were able to add to that lead after two before their big inning in the third.

“It was a pretty good game for us,” head coach Gary Jack said. “Trevela did a good job pitching, and Audrey Shelton was great at catcher. She made some good plays and threw out some runners.”

Jack also credited Maci White with doing a good job at shortstop and Amber Keelin, Camra Smith, Taylor Gaines, and Savannah Topper had big hits. He also noted that Skyler White had a good game.

“This was a good District win for us,” Jack said.

The ladies took on Booker on Saturday at home and racked up a well-earned win at 8-6. The ladies stayed strong in the back and forth matchup and were determined to get the win.

They are at 7-1 on the year and 2-0 is district play.

Dronzek was on the mound once again and pitched six good innings according to Jack.

“Trevela went six innings and then Camra (Smith) came in and finished the game for us. It was a 2-1 ballgame until the sixth inning and then they went ahead by two. But we scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth to retake the lead.”

Booker would score two more runs, but the Lady Broncos held them off in their comeback attempt to get the win.

“They are a tough team,” Jack said. “They had a runner on third with only one out in the seventh, but we played good and won the game.”

Maci White made several good plays at shortstop, and Jentry Shadle and Taylor Gaines made some good catches for the Lady Broncos.

“We didn’t have that great of a day hitting, but we’re playing well,” Jack said.

The ladies will take on West Texas at home on Friday beginning at 4:00 p.m. and will play against the Alumni on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

By Fred Gray

Clarendon College split a double header with Otero Junior College, last Monday, March 19, in La Junta, Colo. The Bulldogs lost an extra innings heartbreaker in the opener, 4-3. In the second game, the Bulldogs pounded Otero 9-3.

They then travelled to Snyder for four games against Western Texas College. In the opener, Sam Ouellet, the Canadian fireballer pitched a sparkling seven inning shutout, powering the Bulldogs to a 3-0 win. Clarendon College then dropped the next three games when their bats went quiet.

Chris Joblin, the Bulldog’s skipper, said that they were not swinging the bat well. Joblin added that the Bulldogs continue to pitch well and play good defense. They are going through a spell where they are not getting the run support they need. Aussie Alex Howe continues to consistently hit well.

Before returning to Clarendon on April 3, the Bulldogs travel to Big Spring for four away games against Howard College.

Clarendon College is now 8 and 4 in conference play, which puts them in a third place tie.