Tuesday, May 19, 2015

2014-2015 Athletic Banquet (5-5-2015) Pt 1.



2014-2015 Athletic Banquet (5-5-2015) Pt 1.

The 2014-2015 school year is drawing to a close and Tuesday was the Muleshoe Athletic Boosters Club annual Athletic Banquet. The Legends Award, if present, is always the first award presented each year.

The senior class of 2015 thought it was only fitting to honor Jack Rennels as the this year’s Legends Award recipient. MagAnn and Gil Robert Rennels were invited to the stage to accept the award in remembrance of Jack Rennels.

Coach Josh Woolbright introduced the Student Athletic Trainers for 2014-2015 school year as Alex Baca, Jaki Huerta, Daisy Montejano, Edith Castillo, Brylee Beall, Samantha Cortez, Gaby Gonzalez, Haley Hunt and Alexandria Sanchez.

Coach Woolbright recognized The Student Athletic Trainer as Alexandra Baca. She dedicated her high school career to taking care of the athletes of MHS. She is one of only two student trainers that have made the journey all the way from their freshman through senior year in the Muleshoe Sports Medicine Program. She plans to attend ENMU next year.

Woolbright also took the opportunity to thank the students, coaches, administrators and community for all their support over these past eight years. As he goes on to a new opportunity, know that he will always consider Muleshoe home.

The MHS cheerleaders were ask to the stage. The varsity cheerleaders had four senior members. Daniela Diaz, Kayla Preston, Gabi Chavez and Angie Perez. The juniors on the varsity squad were Shyanne Carpenter and Marissa Reyes.. The Mascot was Marilyn Melendez.

Coach Josh Woolbright was honored with a plaque for his years of service to Muleshoe ISD as well as Muleshoe athletes. He treated countless athletes and submitted an untold number of insurance claims. He always went above and beyond to get our athletes ready for competition.

Woolbright made everyone’s job easier by taking on the equipment manger roll, ordered supplies, organized calendars, ran drills when a coach was absent, set up spring physicals, order meals and the list just continues.

He was for all the students. He developed the Student Training National Honor Society. Helped start a state wide organization where the student trainers could compete and has the Muleshoe trainers competing in the National competition.

Woolbright never backed down from an invitation to help other organizations like Beautiful You, Shattered Dreams, Worth the Wait and numerous others. He is truly one of a kind and will be missed.
The varsity football team was brought to the stage. The Mules were 4-0 with district wins over River Road, Friona, Childress and Dimmitt with the final game being the War on 84. Littlefield was also sporting a 4-0 record going in to the final week.

The Mules trailed 27-26 with three minutes left in the game and Littlefield owned the ball. The Mules caused a fumble, converted a fourth down with seven yards needed for a first down and scored with just 40 seconds left on the clock to finish the regular season at 8-2.

Wall of Fame recipients were Braden Bessire  as an All State performer in 2013 and all district honors both his junior an senior year. Dustin Smith was named to the second team All State squad and was a second year first team offensive lineman. He was named to both the Globe News and All South Plains Super teams.

Ryder White was named as District 1-3A Defensive Player of the Year for 2014. Keagan Gonzales was named as the District 1-3A Most Valuable Player for 2014.

The senior Team Captains were for the 2014 year were Braden Bessire and JJ Gandera. Jaxon Lee and Danny Campos have served as captains for two years and were only juniors.

Dagen Dunham was named as Most Improved and received first team all district offense lineman as a sophomore. The Offensive Player award was presented to District 1-3A MVP Keagan Gonzales.

Defensive Player went to the District 1-3A defensive player of the year, Ryder White. The Football Most Outstanding Player was presented to Josh Lopez for rushing for 1325 yards.

The MVP-Fighting Heart Award went to Braden Bessire after being injured half of the season returned to help the Mules to an undefeated district season.

Cross Country coach Edie Niblett introduced the boys and girls cross country teams. Jasmine Garza was named as the Girl MVP for finishing in the top ten at district and qualifying for the Regional Meet.

The Boy MVP went to Evan Paez for won both the district meet and Regional Meet and to earn a trip to Texas State Meet in Round Rock. The Mule Pride Award went to Noah Del Toro.

Coach Cary Sudduth and the Lady Mule basketball team was next to the stage. The All-District Awards went to Dani Diaz and Sadie Sudduth. The Newcomer of the Year award was present to Conley Niblett.

The Defensive Player of the Year Award went to the Shanice Rosas for playing in the middle of the Lady Mule zone defense. The Most Versatile Player Award was presented to Sydnie Sudduth. The Offensive MVP Award went to Sadie Sudduth.

The Most Valuable Player Award went to Dani Diaz. She is not very big but has a giant heart. 

Coach Clay White present the Mule basketball players before handing out his awards he stated, “Individual honors are made possible through successes and sacrifices of the team.”

The Iron Man Award was presented to All-District player, Jason Florez. The MVP Award went to Dagen Dunham.

(To Be Continued)

      

Mules vs. Presidio (Area) (5-15&16-2015)



Mules vs. Presidio (Area) (5-15&16-2015)

The Mules made Muleshoe High School baseball history over the weekend by defeating the Presidio Blue Devils two games to one. The wins gave the Mules the Area Golden Glove trophy in the Texas High School Baseball Playoffs.

During the three-game series neither team ever led by more than one run.

“These guys (Mules) won this series with the leather gloves on their hands,” said Mule coach Wes Boatmun. “We had talked all week about having a short memory, knowing the situation and playing in the now.”

“We did not want to worry about what we should have done but what we were going to do on the next pitch. We were not perfect but we beat a very good team in this series.”

“We had been told Presidio would make mistakes if we could put the ball in play. We did not put the ball in play much but when we did they did not make many mistakes. Our kids have developed a mental toughness that has elevated our game.”

“It was a long trip to Monahan’s and it was great to see all of the fans in the stands. We do appreciate the support they show for us.”

The Mules climbed on a chartered bus Friday for the long trip to the Monahans’ Lobo Field with an escort by the Muleshoe Police Department. The Blue Devils and Mules took the field at 4:00 PM and after seven complete innings the game was still tied at 0-0.

The visiting Blue Devils scored in the top of the eighth inning to briefly take a 1-0 lead. Bryce Mauricio drew a one-out walk just prior to Braden Bessire blasting a double over the head of the centerfielder to score Mauricio from first base and tie the game.

Nathan Rejino looped a single into shallow right field. The Blue Devil second baseman and right fielder failed to communicate and the ball fell to the turf. Bessire was running on the crack of the batted and sailed around third base and slide safely across home plate for the winning run.

The Blue Devil designated hitter slammed a homerun over the centerfield fence in the bottom of the first inning of the second game Friday. The Mules only run was scored by Wes Clarkson in the top of the fourth inning.

Presidio scored the winning run in the bottom of the fourth inning to defeat the Mules 2-1. The three-game series was tied at 1-1 with the tie breaker to start at 11:00 AM Saturday morning.

A storm blew through the area over night but the field was in shape by game time due to the work of the host Monahans’ coaches.
The Mules won the flip to be the home team Saturday morning.

Presidio scored first in the top of the third inning on a pair of doubles.

The Mules answered quickly with Bessire drawing a lead-off walk. Grey Johnson moved Bessire to second with a bunt single. Felipe Guerrero dropped a single into short-right field to load the bases. Bessire scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1. The Mules could add no more runs in the inning.

A lead-off single resulted in a second run for the Blue Devils in the top of the fourth inning.

Johnson singled up the middle to start the bottom of the fifth inning. That was followed by an error on the second baseman that allowed Guerrero to get to first base. Rejino sent a ground ball to the shortstop and Guerrero was forced out at second but Johnson was safe at third. Johnson scored on a wild pitch to retie the game at 2-2 after five innings.

The Mule defense continued to shut down the Blue Devils through the top of the seventh inning.

Bessire walked with one out and scooted to second base on a Johnson ground ball to third base. Johnson’s groundball tied the hands of the third baseman for an error. Guerrero then ripped a ground ball back up the middle.

Bessire took off for third on the pitch and was waved around third by Coach Wes Boatmun. Bessire slide home well before the throw home arrived for the series winning run.

Dustin Smith was on the mound in the first game and pitched all eight innings. He gave up nine hits for two Presidio runs. The Mules stranded 11 Blue Devils on base, committed two errors and turned three double plays.

Smith fielded a hard-hit ground ball back to the mound in the second inning with the bases loaded. He threw home to Rejino for the force out. Rejino relayed the ball to Clarkson at first to complete a rare 1-2-3 double play.

Jason Florez charged a ground ball in the third inning. He scooped up the ball and threw to Bessire at second for the force out. Bessire turned and threw to Clarkson at first to complete the Mules’ second double play.

Smith fielded a bunt in the top of the fourth inning and went to Bessire at second for the force. Bessire again relayed to Clarkson to complete the third Mule double play.

The Mules only two hits in the first game came in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Danny Campos pitch a complete seven-inning second game. He had four strike outs, walked two, gave up five hits with one being a home run, left four on base and the Mules made no errors.

The Mules had five hits in the second game and stranded seven runners on the bases.

Campos started the final game and gave up a base hit to the first batter he faced. Campos fielded a sacrifice bunt and went to Clarkson at first for the first out.

The base runner rounded second and attempted to steal third but Clarkson gunned him down at third base with Guerrero applying the tag. A fly ball to center was handled easily by Johnson for out number three.

Campos gave up a second base hit to the lead-off batter in the second inning and an error put Blue Devils on first and second.

Smith took over on the mound and fielded a sacrifice bunt and tossed to Clarkson for the first out. Smith again fielded a bunt for the second out and the runner attempted to steal home. Clarkson pegged him out at home with Rejino applying the tag to complete the double play.

Presidio scored a run in the top of the third and fourth innings.

Smith struck out the first man he faced in the fifth inning. Clarkson fielded a ground ball and stepped on first for the second out. A fly ball to left field was caught by Guerrero as he had moved to the outfield during the pitching change.

Florez went deep in the hole twice for the first and last out in the sixth inning. Bessire camped under a fly ball at second for the second out.

Florez raced back and toward third base to field a hard-hit ball and fired a strike to Clarkson for the first out of the top of the seventh inning. A fly ball to Johnson in center resulted in the second out.

The number nine batter in the Presidio order singled to left field. Campos charged the infield to snag a ground ball to throw out the lead off batter at first to secure the win for the Mules.

The Mules had made the most of three hits, five walks and one Presidio error in the final game.

Three teams from District 2-3A will play in the Regional Quarterfinals this week. The Shallowater Mustangs will play the Alpine Bucks in a three-game series.

The Mules will face the Littlefield Wildcats for the third time this season in a best two-of-three-games series. The first game will be played Friday at 7:00 PM on Sundown’s Roughneck Field.

Saturday the Mules and Littlefield move to Levelland’s Lobo Field . The first pitch Saturday is scheduled for noon and a third game if necessary will be played 30 minutes after the completion of the first game.   


 
     

Mules vs Childress Bi-District (5-7&9-2015)



Mules vs Childress Bi-District (5-7&9-2015)

The Mules had to travel a long distance to meet the Childress Bobcats on a weather-proof field this past weekend. West Texas High’s Comanche Field was chosen because it is a complete turf field and rain was in the forecast. 

The Home team had the advantage in each of the three games and the Mules had won the flip to be the home team on Thursday afternoon. The Mules won 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Childress came back on Saturday morning as the Home team and won the second game of the series 3-1.

The Mules won the coin flip to be the Home team in the final game of the series and had to battle back from an early 7-0 deficit to score 10 unanswered runs to take the game and the series. 

Dustin Smith got the nod to be the starting pitcher in Thursday’s game. He gave up three runs on four hits and struck out three in five innings. Danny Campos came on in relief and struck out one. 

The Bobcats went in order in the first inning with Smith only throwing nine pitches. 

Brayden Bessire lined a lead-off single to right field in the bottom of the first inning. Nathan Rejino bunted Bessire to second base. An error on the third baseman allowed Felipe Guerrero to reach first base and Bessire went to third. 

Wes Clarkson lined to centerfield to plate Bessire and give the Mules a 1-0 lead after one inning.
The Mules added a second run in the bottom of the third inning. Rejino drew a one-out walk. He stole second and third base. Clarkson plated Rejino with a line drive back up the middle. The Mules led 2-0 after three innings. 

Childress scored twice in the top of the fourth inning. The first batter walked, a base hit, a hit batsman and a second base hit scored a pair of runs. The Bobcats scored a run in the top of the fifth inning to take a 3-2 lead. 

The score remained 3-2 until the bottom of the seventh inning. 

Grey Johnson tied the hands of the pitcher and reached on the error. Jason Florez beat out a bunt for an infield single and Johnson moved to second base. Bessire reached on a fielder’s choice but Florez was forced out at second base. 

Rejino sent a ground ball back up the middle to score Johnson and tie the game. Guerrero hit a slow roller to the second baseman. Bessire was running from third on the crack of the bat and beat the throw home for the winning run. 

The Mules only run of the first game came in the first inning. Bessire singled to right field and then stole second base. He scored on a double to left field by Filipe Guerrero. The Mules held that lead until the bottom of the six inning. 

The Bobcats loaded the bases with a lead-off single, a bunt and a single. Two more singles brought three runs across to give the Bobcats the win. 

Thirty minutes later the Bobcat’s bats had not cooled off. Childress put seven runs on the board in the top of the second inning to take a 7-0 lead over the Mules in the deciding game. Smith came on in relief in the bottom of the second inning.

Florez led off the bottom of the third inning with a single to right field and he went to second on an error by the right fielder. Bessire singled to center field and Florez moved to third. Rejino singled right field to score Florez. Guerrero sent a fly ball to deep left field and Bessire tagged up and scored. The Mules had chipped two runs off the Bobcats lead to trail 7-2.

Smith issued a walk to the first Bobcat he faced in the top of the fourth inning. The second batter line out to Florez at short stop for a double play. A fly ball to Johnson in center ended the inning.

Campos reached on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fourth inning. Bryce Mauricio doubled to put Mules at second and third. Bessire singled into the corner in right field to score both Campos and Mauricio. The Mules had trimmed the Bobcats lead to 7-4 after four innings. 

Smith gave up a two-out triple in the top of the fifth inning and walked a batter. Smith fielded a ground ball for the final out and strand the runners at first and third. 

Guerrero singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning. Clarkson followed with a single to left field. Both runners advanced on a passed ball and Guerrero scored on a balk by the Bobcat pitcher. Clarkson went home on a two-strike bunt by Johnson. The Mules had made it a ball game and trailed 7-6. 

The first Bobcat of the sixth inning singled to right field. Smith got the next two batters to pop out to Florez at short. The final batter went down swinging. 

Mauricio led off the bottom of the sixth inning with ground ball that tied the hands of the short stop. Florez bunted to move Mauricio to second with a sacrifice. Rejino walked on four pitches and Guerrero tripled to right center field to score both Mauricio and Rejino. 

Clarkson tripled to score Guerrero and went home on a single to center by Smith. The Mules scored four runs to take the lead for good. 

Childress had no answer for the Mules in the top of the seventh inning and the final Bobcat batter lined out to Rejino at second base. 

The Mules did not get much time to celebrate on the all-turf field as River Road and Friona had to move their final two games to Comanche Field because of rain in Amarillo Saturday morning. 

The Bi-District Champion Mules will playThe Mules will now play for the Area Championship against Presidio in a three-game series this Friday and Saturday, May 15 & 16, in Monahans. Game one will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15. Game two will follow that evening. Game three, if needed, will be played Saturday morning, May 16, at 11:00 a.m. for the Area Championship against the Presidio Blue Devils in a three-game series this Friday and Saturday, May 15 and 16, in Monahans. Game one will begin at 4:00 PM on Friday, May 15.  Game two will follow that evening.  Game three, if needed, will be played Saturday morning, May 16, at 11:00 a.m.  

Lady Mules vs. Kermit (5-8&9-2015)



Lady Mules vs. Kermit (5-8&9-2015)

The Lady Mules lost the Area round of the Texas State High School Softball Playoffs in back-to-back games to the Kermit Yellow Jackets. The extended layoff for the Lady Mules appeared to take some of the edge off of their game. 

The Lady Mules lost Friday’s game 8-5 on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Saturday morning the Lady Mules tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning and kept the game close until the top of the sixth inning. The Jackets rallied for six runs in the top of the sixth inning to defeat the Lady Mules 8-2.

Adrianna Loya provided both offense and defense for the Lady Mules. She went three for four at the plate Friday with a pair of doubles, a single, an RBI and scored a run. She also tagged a runner out at the plate and caught a pop fly in foul territory. Saturday morning A. Loya threw out two runners and tagged out three runners at home.

Mireya Ruvalcaba started the game with a lead-off walk. She took the count full and stayed alive by fouling off a pitch. The next pitch was high and wide of the plate so Ruvalcaba took first base.
Adrianna Loya followed with a stand-up double that she blasted over third base and into the corner. Ruvalcaba was off and running on the pitch and did not stop until she crossed the plate for the first run of the game. 

Miranda De Bruin slammed a one-out single to left centerfield to plate Loya. Brianna Barron took De Bruin’s place at first as a courtesy runner. Sasha Esparza lined a single up the middle and moved Barron to second base. 

Gabi Chavez bunted back to the pitcher to sacrifice Barron to third base. The pitcher threw to first and Barron did not slow down and scampered home for the Lady Mules third run of the inning.

Kermit scored one run in the first inning and tied the game with two more runs in the second inning.
The Lady Mules snapped the tie in the top of the fourth inning. Reagan Reynolds lined her first of two doubles off the right field fence. She went to third a sacrifice bunt by Crystal Flores and scored on a sacrifice by Ruvalcaba. 

The Lady Mules tacked on their final run of the day on a two-out single to left field by Chavez. Leti Loya was hit by a pitch to move Chavez to second. Reynolds blasted her second double of the day to the fence in left field to score Chavez. 

An error in the sixth inning allowed the Jackets to cut the Lady Mule lead to 5-4. But the bottom of the seventh did in the Lady Mules. A lead-off double, an error, a walk and a homerun over the centerfield fence gave Kermit the win. 

Saturday Kermit scored first on back-to-back base hits. 

It took Ruvalcaba six pitches before she earned a lead-off walk. She stole second base and scampered to third base on a passed ball. De Bruin scored Ruvalcaba with a sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher.
The Lady Mules broke the tie to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Brittany Mendoza received a one-out walk. She went to second on a ground ball by Reynolds. L. Loya walked to load the bases and Flores walked to force home Mendoza. The Lady Mules struck out to end the inning with the bases loaded.  
      
Kermit matched the Lady Mules in the top of the fifth inning with a two-out double followed by a triple. The runner that hit the triple attempted to stretch it to an in-the-park homerun. L. Loya chased down the ball off the fence and threw to Flores at second base. Flores fired a strike to A. Loya guarding home plate for the tag to end the inning.

Saturday morning seemed as if a ticking bomb was waiting to explode. It finally exploded in favor of the Jackets in the top of the sixth inning when Kermit plated six runs. That proved to be an insurmountable lead for the Lady Mules. 

The Lady Mules will only graduate three seniors in 2015 so will have many returning members of their team for next season.