Lady Bulldogs softball

The Lady Bulldogs break out after a good outing in Honey Grove Tuesday. Photo by Alexa Brunner.

The Howe Lady Bulldogs (1-6) put up a 9-spot on Honey Grove in the first inning last week to get their first victory of the season. The big inning began as most do—with a walk. Jocee McCullar led off the game with a free pass followed by Emery Snapp. Meciaih Franklin was hit by a pitch and Kennadi Barrett singled in two runs. With one out, Chloe Scoggins doubled home Franklin to make it 3-0. Jordan Brunner followed with a single to score Barrett. Scoggins scored on a ground out by Shelbee Taylor to make it 5-0. The sixth run came when Payton Stapleton singled home Brunner.

With two outs and batting through the lineup, McCullar singled and Snapp singled, in which McCullar would score on a Franklin single to make it 80. Barrett doubled home Snapp to make it 9-0. The Lady Bulldogs would also add a 7-run inning in the fifth to run-rule the Lady Warriors 17-1.

McCullar led Howe with four hits and three runs including a double.. Snapp had three hits for Howe including a double. Barrett and Brunner each led the team with three RBI in the contest.

Riley Craven got the start in the circle and pitched 2.1 innings allowing no runs on one hit and one walk. She was relieved by Railyn Murphy who went 2.2 innings allowing one run on one hit and one walk.

CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE

The Howe Bulldogs celebrate after defeating Prairiland on Tuesday in Bonham. Photo by Michelle Carney.

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ble to get the ball on the other side of the floor at times before Madison would create a turnover and capitalize on it. It was 18-3 in the blink of an eye. Howe scored their second field goal with four minutes left in the first. The Bulldogs then began to settle in and make a push as they cut the lead to 11 with a minute left. The first period ended with Madison commanding a 24-11 lead.

Pierre Hunter dominated for Madison early in the game with 12 points in the first few minutes, got called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim on a dunk to end the half. Campbell was successful on free throws to make it a 38-20 lead for Madison. 46-43 loss at Leonard which put them with a 2-4 district record. But from that night on, Howe ripped off 9straight wins that saw them hold their opponents to an average of 32 points per game while scoring 48.22 points of their own. The Bulldogs finished district with a 10-4 record and took the third seed in the playoffs behind Leonard and Bells.

Howe will graduate seniors Kevin Bateman, Jared Brussow, Zak Defrange, Luke Lopez, Ethan Lopez, and Eli Wilson. Returning starters for next season will be Campbell and Haley. Jones, who was the team’s sixth man is most likely to be a starter next season. The Bulldogs could possibly have Noah Riley play the role of Wilson.

The third period was basically a repeat of the first two and Madison took a 51 -26 lead into the fourth.

With two minutes remaining in the game, Madison’s Latrelle Wright dribbled across the line and Haley stayed off of him by 15 feet which left the game at a complete standstill for the final two minutes. With under a minute remaining and the uncontested Wright dribbling to burn the clock, both team’s fans rose to their feet and cheered the moment as it was a symbolic tip of the cap from each team to the other and a superb sportsmanship moment.

Howe’s playoff run was unlikely seen midway through the season as they dropped to a game under .500 with a Head Coach Jay Forsythe has compiled a 25-18 record in two seasons at Howe. Much of the reduction in points on the scoreboard is due to his North Carolina style of basketball imported across the Mississippi. Before his arrival, Howe gave up an average of 56.48 per game in 2019-20. In his first season, they shaved that number by 14 points per game. This season they shaved another four points off the opponent’s board. Howe’s offensive scoring improved this season by over three points per game.

In a game that has gained its popularity by high scoring games and flamboyant players, the Bulldogs reverted to a game prior to slam dunk contests and Air Jordans. The result was simplistic and successful.