Denton Record-Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas

05/08/2008

Baseball: Ryan's Petersen overpowers Cleburne

DRC/Al Key

Ryan’s Will Klausing, center, is mobbed by his teammates after hitting a home run during Game 1 of a Class 4A area round playoff series against Cleburne on Thursday.

Bret Warnack couldn’t have scripted a better playoff opener for his Ryan Raiders. Ryan got a dominating performance from starter Curtis Petersen through 6 2-3 innings. The Raiders (26-5) executed their small-ball offense to perfection, scoring at least one run in all but one inning. Ryan even got a little power at the plate in the form of a solo home run by Will Klausing in the fourth inning.

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Baseball: Firing blanks
MANSFIELD – Strikeouts have been a key part of Derek Howell's pitching outings this season. That facet of his game was again on display Thursday. In a 2-0 win over Blooming Grove, Howell struck out 19 and tossed a one-hitter as Krum captured the one-game playoff in the Class 2A Region II area round.

Track & field: Relay could hold key to UNT hopes
North Texas will begin the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships today at Fouts Field with what amounts to an ace in the hole. UNT has several athletes who are expected to compete for individual championships and was picked to finish second in the women's team race in the coaches' pre-meet poll. If the Mean Green performs to expectations, it could be in position to put its title hopes in the hands of its 4x400-meter relay team.

Track & field: McLeod has family legacy in pole vault
Michael McLeod has been waiting for this his whole life. Ryan’s pole vaulter watched his step brother, Laith McLeod, win a state title in pole vault at Highland Park his senior year. He’s listened to stories from his dad about the old days of using metal poles and sawdust pits.

Track & field: Barb aims for gold in return to state
There are two types of people at Guyer High School that Joe Barb doesn’t encounter often, if at all – those he won’t talk to, and those that can beat him in a foot race In fact, the junior track star is so talkative with all of his classmates, head track coach Sean Lonergan bestowed upon him a nickname – the mayor.

Track & field: Amadi jumping for joy over new event
Midway through the track and field season, Denton head coach Reginald Seastrunk decided to have Johnson Amadi, one of his top athletes, try out in the triple jump. Amadi had no experience in the event, but based on his athleticism and work ethic, Seastrunk figured Amadi would be able to build on his technique and eventually perform at a high level.

Baseball: Ryan's one-two punch

DRC/Gary Payne

Ryan High School baseball pitchers Cord Jezek, left, and Curtis Petersen have helped the Raiders roll to their second consecutive District 5-4A title.

Cord Jezek and Curtis Petersen have grown up competing with each other. From T-ball to select baseball, from bullpen sessions to district starts, Ryan’s top two starting pitchers are more than familiar with each other and get a kick out of getting the last laugh in friendly competitions.

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Track: Adams goes from walk-on to track star
Every once in a while, Alysha Adams ponders what her life would be like if she hadn’t taken a risk by lacing up her track spikes for what could have been the final time earlier this year. Adams was a star athlete at Houston Westside and had scholarship offers to play volleyball or basketball at junior colleges and Division II schools her senior year and even picked up a couple of Division I track offers after a standout performance in summer track nearly a year ago.

Men's basketball: Denton's Hunter signs with Nicholls
Fred Hunter’s hard work on and off the court has landed him a Division I scholarship. The Denton basketball standout signed a national letter of intent with Nicholls State on Wednesday.

Softball: UNT falls in 1st round of Sun Belt tourney
TROY, Ala. — Tanya McLean knocked in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to give Troy a 4-3 win against the North Texas softball team in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at the Troy Softball Complex.

05/06/2008

Football: Academic report costly for UNT

Rick Villarreal

The North Texas football and men’s basketball teams will be a little shorthanded next season after the NCAA handed both teams scholarship penalties for falling short of the benchmark score in its Academic Progress Rate report released Tuesday. The UNT football team lost five scholarships, the highest total in Texas and in the Sun Belt Conference, while the basketball team lost one scholarship.

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Baseball: Indians hope to make history in baseball playoffs
SANGER -- After capturing the No. 1 seed in District 8-3A, Sanger is on the verge of becoming the most successful baseball team in school history, if it hasn’t already. Sanger finished the regular season as co-champions in District 8-3A, sharing the honors with Argyle, which conceded the top seed. Sanger had not captured a district title in 30 years prior to this season.

Softball: Dad cooks up luck for Muller
Bernhard Muller barely had a chance to stretch his legs after an all-night flight from Beijing two years ago when he climbed into a car bound for Houston. His eyelids felt heavy and his body exhausted as he made the four-hour trip for one of those rare moments in his life that he will never forget.

Men's basketball: UNT basketball to lose one scholarship

Johnny Jones

The North Texas men’s basketball team will lose one scholarship today when the NCAA releases its Academic Progress Rate report, a source close to the situation said Monday. The report measures a school’s ability to keep its athletes in school and eligible and also rates each individual program. The formula the NCAA uses to calculate the APR gives each student-athlete a point for remaining eligible and another for remaining in school.

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Trevor Williams: Wheldon talks racing, soccer with FC Dallas
FRISCO -- “As a kid growing up in England, all you know is motor racing and soccer.” Those are the words of IndyCar driver and English native Dan Wheldon, who was able partake in both of his passions last week at Pizza Hut Park.

05/04/2008

Tennis: Breaking through

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Ponder’s Colton Ream is the first Lion to make the state tournament and only the second to advance to regionals where he finished second.

PONDER — Colton Ream certainly doesn’t have a rock star’s personality, but he’s getting that kind of treatment at Ponder High School. The quiet junior sees his face on T-shirts that are circulating through the school, and students are buzzing about Ponder’s first tennis state qualifier in school history, attention that is usually reserved for the basketball team.

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Baseball: Broncos bucked

DRC/Gary Payne

Denton's Hunter Dozier, left, misses a errant throw on an attempt tag out of Alex Hoeppner of Fort Worth Western Hills during Game 2 of a Class 4A Region I bi-district playoff series on Saturday.

Denton had the bases loaded as Christian Perry dropped a base hit into center field, but a mistake on the base paths for the final out was a fitting end to a frustrating afternoon for the Broncos. ort Worth Western Hills took the Broncos to extra innings Friday night before a 3-2 win forced a decisive Game 3 that the Cougars dominated, 8-2, in a Class 4A bi-district showdown Saturday at Bronco Field.

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Softball: Guyer girls sweep past Southwest
FORT WORTH – When a coach’s best hitter goes 0-for-3 in a playoff game, it likely would be a bit concerning, but not for Guyer softball coach Keith Medford. The Lady Wildcats’ top hitter, Kylee Crosek, who’s hitting over .500 this season, did just that Saturday in Game 2 of a Class 4A Region I area round playoff series with Fort Worth Southwest, and Guyer still beat the Lady Raiders 8-2 to sweep the series and advance to the regional quarterfinals to play the Ryan-Joshua winner.

Softball: Ryan stunned by Joshua in Game 3
KELLER – Whitney Haynes’ bases-clearing double in the seventh inning of Game 2 against Joshua seemed to give Ryan new life. It gave the Lady Raiders an 8-6 win and tied their area round playoff series at one game apiece. But as it turned out the hit only extended Ryan’s season by three hours, as the Lady Raider bats couldn’t stay as hot in Game 3. Ryan lost, 4-1, and was ousted in the Class 4A Region I playoffs on Saturday.

Baseball: Miraculous rally lifts Argyle in postseason debut
ALEDO -- The ice water from a bucket in the dugout was still sending chills down Ricky Griffin’s back Saturday when he stopped to tell his players how long the memories of what had happened on the field at Aledo High School would last. Scotty Stewart had just stroked a single to left field in the top of the seventh inning to score what proved to be the game-winning run, and turned around to close out Arygle’s 8-7 win over Breckenridge in the final game of a remarkable comeback in a bi-district playoff series.

05/03/2008

Softball: They’ll take it

DRC/Gary Payne

Guyer pitcher Kylee Crosek, left, looks to throw out Fort Worth Southwest's Carly Fulbright at first base during the first game of a Class 4A Region I area round playoff series on Friday. The Lady Wildcats won 6-2.

FORT WORTH -- After coming off a bi-district series win over Azle that featured flashy defense and pitching with very little offense, Guyer might not have called Friday’s area round opener the prettiest win it’s had. But the Lady Wildcats’ 6-2 win over Fort Worth Southwest gives them a 1-0 series lead over the Lady Raiders.

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Baseball: Broncos need extra innings for Game 1 win
FORT WORTH -- Denton persevered through its mistakes and captured a 5-4 win in 10 innings against Fort Worth Western Hills on Saturday in Game 1 of its Class 4A Region I bi-district playoff matchup.

Softball: Ryan shut out in playoff opener
KELLER -- The Ryan Lady Raiders hopes of another run to the state tournament hit an unexpectedly early bump against Joshua on Friday. Ryan couldn’t hit, didn’t pitch well and simply didn’t show the form that took it to Austin last year as the Lady Raiders were run off the field, 7-0, in Game 1 of the Class 4A Region I area playoffs.

Baseball: Chaparrals fall to Bells in bi-district playoffs
WHITESBORO -- Aubrey put together one of its best regular-season performances of the last few years by executing in clutch situations. All season, the Chaparrals put down bunts at key times and came up with hits when it needed them the most. It was a trend Aubrey couldn't continue Friday night when its season came to an end in a 5-4 loss to Bells in a Class 2A Region II bi-district playoff game.

05/01/2008

Softball: Do over

DRC/Al Key

Ryan softball players run the bases before practice Thursday at Tina Minke Field. The Lady Raiders will open the Class 4A Region I playoffs with an area round series against Joshua beginning today.

The Ryan Lady Raiders aren’t satisfied with resting on their laurels. Ryan had a breakout season in 2007, which saw the program reach new heights, but fell short of a state championship by losing to Boerne in the Class 4A state title game. Now, with almost the entire team back from their run last year, the Lady Raiders are focused on finishing what they started by returning to Austin and bringing home the 4A crown.

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Football: Experienced QBs have yielded Sun Belt success
Perhaps the biggest difference from a year ago for North Texas coming out of spring practice is the comfort level the Mean Green has found in its quarterback situation.

05/02/2008

Baseball: Aubrey looks to use small ball strategy
AUBREY — The task for Aubrey is simple — manufacture runs and pitch well. That’s the strategy head coach Eric Rosar explained Aubrey would use in the playoffs.

05/01/2008

Baseball: Ready for playoff push

DRC/Al Key

Denton senior pitchers Miles Mulkey, left, and P.J. Andress are preparing for their last run together as teammates

Denton’s Miles Mulkey and P.J. Andress know each other pretty well. The two seniors, having played baseball since the fourth grade as teammates and on rival teams, are prepared to make one last run together. “We’ve been playing together for a long time,” Andress said. “The fact is, it’s our senior year, and that’s enough for both of us to want to play well.”

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04/30/2008

Baseball: Hair-raising success
ARGYLE — It was the second game of the season at the Denison tournament and the second game Ricky Griffin had ever coached as the head coach of the Argyle baseball team after spending three years at Wylie. Even though he thought it was a low-risk proposition, he was about to give his new players the ultimate motivation — at his hair’s expense.

05/01/2008

Softball: Mallory Cantler posts game-winning single against UTA
Freshman Mallory Cantler drove home the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the North Texas softball team a 3-2 victory against Texas-Arlington on Wednesday night at Lovelace Stadium.

04/29/2008

UNT notebook: North Texas softball looks to bounce back
North Texas will have an opportunity to bounce back from a disappointing series against Louisiana-Lafayette today in a home game against UT-Arlington. The crosstown showdown will be the Mean Green's final game before the beginning of the Sun Belt Conference tournament on May 5 in Troy, Ala.

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04/30/2008

Denton teams prepare for playoff series
All three Denton ISD high schools will be in baseball/softball playoff action beginning Friday night in best-of-three series that will wrap up on Saturday.

Dashing for the finish

04/26/2008

Softball: Guyer defeats Azle, advances
JUSTIN – What had been close to impossible for Guyer through 19 innings of play suddenly became easy in the sixth inning of Saturday’s Game 3 of the Class 4A Region I bi-district series with Azle. After managing two hits through nearly three games, including being no-hit in their Game 1 win, the Lady Wildcats’ bats came alive in the clutch as Amber Gonzales doubled, and Layne Greenlee had an RBI triple and scored on an error to give Guyer the 2-0 win and a spot in the area round against Fort Worth Southwest next week at a site and time to be determined.

Softball: All tied up

DRC/Gary Payne

Guyer first baseball Lindsay Vochoska, left, tags Azle's Brittany Wilson during Game 2 of a Class 4A Region I bi-district softball playoff series Friday in Justin. Wilson was called safe on the play.

JUSTIN -- A day after pulling out a series-opening win despite being no-hit by Azle pitcher Sarah Mendez, Guyer’s fortunes at the plate in Friday’s Game 2 weren’t much better. But the final result was much worse. Azle evened up the Class 4A Region I bi-district playoff series at one game apiece with a 3-0 win on Friday, as Mendez tossed a two-hitter and finished with 12 strikeouts, giving her 23 in the two games. Azle (17-11) forced a decisive Game 3 at 11 a.m. today at Justin Northwest.

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Baseball: Raiders power past rival Broncos
Ryan Salter isn’t Ryan’s pitching ace, he’s not the big bat in the lineup and he’s not the dominant closer. But the senior is having as big an impact for the Raiders as anyone on the team, and showed it in another stellar performance in Ryan’s 10-5 win over Denton on Friday at a packed Bronco Field.