The game of baseball always comes down to pitching and defense. In the baseball version of the Silver Spike Monday night at Sherman’s Veterans Field, one team had great pitching and one team played subpar defense. The result was a 5-0 win for Howe (17-8) and a matchup with Whitesboro (event) at Sherman in the first round of the playoffs.
A combination of six errors committed by Van Alstyne and a solid starting outing by Howe sophomore Mason Riggs and three shutdown innings in relief by senior Matt Griffin was truly the story of the game. Riggs escaped a one-out bases loaded jam in the third inning by getting a strikeout and a fly out. That was the only trouble Riggs ran into the entire game as he went four innings, allowing no runs on five hits, striking out four, and walking one. Griffin’s numbers were equally impressive as he tossed three shutout innings, allowing one hit, and striking out five.
Mason Riggs gets a talk from Coach Rollins. Michelle Carney/Howe Enterprise
Howe took an early lead in the bottom of the first as Griffin drove in Brice Krantz on a line drive single to right. Howe added two more runs in the third as Jaden Matthews came home from third on a wild pitch and Griffin reached on a shortstop error that allowed Krantz to score.
In the bottom of the fourth with two on, Krantz singled to left and the ball escaped the left fielder allowing both runners to score for a 5-0 Howe lead.
The Lady Bulldogs, despite muddy conditions, despite having four head coaches in four years, despite a one-game series, and despite falling behind early against a really good pitcher, stared adversity down in the face, made in-game changes to the approach to the game and came from behind to win their third consecutive bi-district title.
The series with S&S was changed from a three-gamer to a one-gamer due to UIL’s ruling of not allowing two games on Thursday night, which was to be played in S&S. With the ruling, the game was relocated to Gunter for Wednesday and the field, despite great efforts from Gunter ISD, was on the sticky side. That was evident as the field conditions played a role in the very first batter Howe faced. A bouncing ball was tapped back to pitcher Torrey Stubblefield who turned to throw to second baseman Madisyn Hargrove covering first base. However, Hargrove slipped and never made it to the bag and the runner was safe. At that point, things seemed to unravel for the Lady Bulldogs in the first inning as Stubblefield then fielded a bunt and quickly made an errant throw to first base to Hargrove covering which resulted in an error and runners at the corners with no outs. Howe then traded a run for an out on a grounder to Blackburn. The next batter hit a grounder just out of the reach of Hargrove which allowed the second run of the inning to come in.
Michelle Carney/Howe Enterprise
Howe trailed 2-0 after the first frame and couldn’t get on top of the constant high fastball from S&S’s lefty Jada Muller. The Lady Bulldogs popped out five times of their first nine outs in the game. Howe head coach Jeff Martin then changed the strategy in stride and forced the game into the S&S defense via an attack of bunts. The Lady Rams had trouble picking the ball off of the sticky surface and making the plays. In the top of the fourth, Peyton Streetman walked with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a bunt by Hargrove. The run cut the Lady Rams’ lead in half at 2-1.
The game was turned around in the top of the fourth inning thanks to a tremendous at bat by Payton Griffin. The tall power hitter worked a full count and fouled off several pitches to stay alive before drawing a leadoff walk.
“I was just thinking that I needed to get on to start the inning off. I had to be a leadoff (hitter) and I had to show it.” Said Griffin.
“That was a big part of it.” Said Martin. “We had to get something going. It was hard at first because we couldn’t get anyone on base to get bunts going. We knew that the first and third baseman were playing deep and were not coming up. So we just went down the lines.”
Consecutive bunts by Dani Ross and Kamryn Fulenchek loaded the bases with no one out. Emily Sanders then hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Griffin to tie the game at 2-2. Erin Blackburn followed with a single up the middle to drive in Ross and give Howe their first lead of the night at 3-2.
Michelle Carney/Howe Enterprise
Beyond the first inning, starting pitcher Stubblefield began to settle in and faced only two over the minimum in the last five innings of the game. Overall, she struck out nine batters while walking two, allowing one earned run on three hits and went the distance by throwing 119 pitches. S&S starting pitcher Muller also threw a complete game, striking out eight, walking four and allowing four earned runs on seven hits. She threw 125 total pitches.
Howe’s two insurance runs came in the top of the seventh inning when Blackburn led off with a single and was driven home on a sacrifice fly by Hargrove. Stubblefield then reached on a hard liner that was “too hot to handle.” Kayla Anderson then rammed one off of the right centerfield wall to bring in Stubblefield for the game’s final score of 5-2.
Stubblefield slammed the door on the Lady Rams with strikeout to end the game.
“I thought the kids showed a lot of grit tonight. We didn’t play very well and left too many people on base.” Said Martin. “It’s about surviving and advancing.”
After serving as interim director of the Grayson Crisis Center for the last six months, Shelli Shields was promoted to executive director by the center’s board of directors at a recent board meeting.
Shields, who lives in Pottsboro and is a 2002 graduate of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, has been with the Crisis Center since 2012. Her duties have included overseeing the agency’s advocacy and SART/SANE programs, community education, school/community-based primary prevention, batterers/anger managements groups, as well as assisting in the agencies fiscal growth and development. She has many years of experience responding to family violence and studying ways to create change within the movement.
Shields has “the passion, enthusiasm, and vision to lead this organization to success and to new and greater heights,” said Crisis Center Board President Asa Jessee. “Over the past six months as interim executive director and the past several years in various positions at the Crisis Center, she has excelled and has often exceeded expectations. The board believes Shelli’s abilities as a leader and the relationships she has fostered with the community, the board, and the staff will be a strong factor in the future success of the Crisis Center.”
The new executive director said she is humbled by the opportunity “to lead such an amazing team that continues to support survivors in a way that is second to none.”
She added: “I believe there is no limit to the impact our agency can make in our community with the support of our board members and local collaborative partners. I gladly accept the challenge and responsibility to meet the needs of victims and survivors of family violence while providing awareness, prevention, and education through the resources at the Grayson Crisis Center.”
The Crisis Center provides a safe haven and various services for adult and child victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. To find out more about the center, its mission or to make a donation, please go to www.graysoncrisiscenter.org.
On Monday, March 27, 2017, Raymond Langford reported to the Howe Police Department that someone broke into his rental property in the 400 block of South Hughes Street. Mr. Langford stated that between March 25th at 4 pm and March 27th at 9 am, someone broke a door window pane to make entry into the building. Once inside, the actor(s) spray painted letters on the concrete floor and poured an unknown paste or liquid in a couple of areas inside the shop. The estimated damage was $100.00. Police are following up on the case.
