Bangs Lady Dragons 18, Ballinger 8

BANGS – The Bangs Lady Dragons continued their roll through the District 8-2A softball schedule with an 18-8 victory over Ballinger Friday.

Coming off a 5-2 road win over Ballinger Tuesday, the Lady Dragons (19-6, 5-1) led by that exact score after one inning Friday. The lead stood at 8-3 after two frames and 9-7 after four, but Bangs put six runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning and added three more in the sixth to pull away.

Bangs compiled 17 hits and received five from Cheyenne Rush, three from Stormy Stringer, two each from Abby Wolf, Julianna Ethridge, and Adalynne Stephens, and one apiece from Justice Baker, Neeley Bradley and Aubree Buford. Wolf homered and finished with six RBIs while Ethridge and Stringer both contributed with three RBIs, and Rush, Stephens and Mattisyn Taylor each added an RBI.

In the circle, Wolf pitched all six innings and gave up eight runs on 11 hits with six strikeouts and five walks.

The Lady Dragons are back in action at 6 p.m. Tuesday as they look to avenge their only district loss when Cisco visits.

***

Early Lady Horns 6, Eastland 3

EARLY – The Early Lady Horns avenged an earlier District 8-3A softball loss, doubling up Eastland, 6-3, Friday.

Trailing 2-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth inning, Early (14-8, 5-6) evened the score, then struck for four more runs in the bottom of the sixth to seize the advantage.

Early recorded 10 hits – three by Andie Simpson, who doubled; two from Marissa Reedy, who tripled; two from Aleeya McCombs; a triple from Kyleigh Caperton; and singles from Jamie Vassar and Sydney Graves. Caperton recorded a team-high two RBIs and Simpson, Reedy and Vassar each drove in a run.

In the circle, Greaves tossed a complete game to secure the victory, yielding three earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. The Early defense committed a pair of errors.

The Lady Horns are back in action at 1 p.m. today as they host Comanche in a district make-up game.

***

Bangs Dragons 7, Ballinger 5

BANGS – The Bangs Dragons avenged an earlier loss in the week to District 7-2A rival Ballinger to split their league series, 7-5, Friday.

Bangs raced out to a 6-0 lead before Ballinger scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning, then the Dragons added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame.

The Dragons generated 10 hits – two each by Connor Bible, Jaxon Duncan and Everett Kirchner, and one apiece by Skylar Minshew, Hunter Crowell, Kaleb Biggs and Jackson Edmisten. Crowell drove in a team-high two RBIs and Bible, Duncan, Minshew and Kirchner added one RBI apiece.

On the mound, Crowell went the distance and allowed one earned run on nine hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. The Bangs defense committed three errors.

The Dragons (13-7, 4-4) are off until April 22 when they host Cisco.

***

Early Longhorns 17, Dublin 7

DUBLIN – The Early Longhorns completed a District 8-3A baseball sweep of the Dublin Lions with a 17-7 triumph Friday.

The Longhorns (6-13, 4-6) jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first inning, led 7-6 after two, and carried a 13-6 edge to the fourth frame.

Early collected 15 hits – three by Jack Nowell, two apiece from Caden Wilson, Ben Wilson, Jaxson Stockman and Lawson Barron, and one each by Skyden Stoddart, Brennan Rasor, Brayden Moya and Will Speck. Nowell, Stockman, Stoddart and Ben Wilson each finished with three RBIs while Levi Jones drove in a pair and Moya added an RBI as well.

Chris Ivy and Stoddart combined to allow seven runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and three walks. The Early defense committed four errors.

Early is back in action at 7 p.m. Tuesday when Millsap comes calling.