Abilene High’s baseball and softball teams are closing in on postseason trips, and the track and field, golf, and tennis teams are gearing up for district and regional championship meets and a tournament this week.
BASEBALL
Abilene High ran its winning streak to five games last weekend with a 14-0 District 4-5A win over Wichita Falls Legacy and a 4-2 non-district win over Boyd. The Eagles are 14-5-1 overall and 5-1 in league play, one game ahead of second-place Wylie (3-1 in district), which hasn’t played since a 13-3 win over Wichita Falls Legacy on March 21.
Abilene High and Wylie will play twice this week in two games that could eventually determine the district champion. The Bulldogs will be at Blackburn Field on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. game against the Eagles. AHS will return the trip on Friday to take on Wylie at Bulldog Field at 6:30 p.m.
Two AHS wins, or even a split, would clinch a playoff spot for the Eagles, who are looking for their third straight postseason berth.
The Cougars were 1-2 last week, dropping an 8-0 decision to Wichita Falls Memorial last Tuesday before losing at Memorial, 3-2, Friday night. Cooper bounced back Saturday with an 8-6 win over Copperas Cove to improve to 13-6 overall. At 2-4, the Cougars are in fourth place in the district but two games ahead of fifth-place Wichita Falls Legacy, which is 0-6 in the league and has been outscored 75-4 in those six games. AHS has beaten Legacy three times by scores of 10-0, 11-0, and 14-0.
Cooper won’t have a chance to move up the district standings this week because the Cougars are playing non-district games against Fort Worth Chisholm Trail. The Cougars will host Chisholm Trail at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday before playing at Chisholm Trail at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
SOFTBALL
Last Friday night, the Lady Eagles improved their District 4-5A record to 4-0 (12-7 overall) with a 1-0 win at Wylie. The win pushed Abilene High to a 2.5-game lead over the Lady Bulldogs for first place in the district. Wylie is 1-2 in the league and third behind Abilene High and Cooper.
Abilene High is off Tuesday and will play at Wichita Falls Memorial at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Memorial is 12-14 overall and 1-2 in the district, tied with Wylie for third in the league. One of the two district losses was a 13-0 loss to Abilene High on March 18.
Cooper is 12-10 overall and 2-1 in the district and will play two big home games this week: Tuesday vs. Wichita Falls Legacy and Friday vs. Wylie. The Lady Coogs are second in the district, and two wins this week would push them closer to a playoff berth.
A Cooper win over Legacy (2-10 overall and 0-3 in the district) and an AHS win in its game Friday week would clinch a playoff spot for the Lady Eagles. Two victories this week for the Lady Cougars — who knocked off Wylie, 11-8, in the first district game – would push them to 4-1 in the district and closer to a playoff berth of their own.
GOLF
Abilene High’s Grant Duwe captured the District 4-5A individual medalist championship Monday at the final round of the District 4-5A golf tournament played at Live Oak Golf Club in Abilene (formerly Diamondback Golf Club). Duwe carded rounds of 75 last week in Wichita Falls and 73 on Monday in Abilene to finish at 148, one shot ahead of a pair of Wylie players. Cooper’s Branson King finished fourth in the medalist chase at 152 with rounds of 79 and 73.
Wylie won the team championship with a two-round score of 606 (rounds of 303 in Wichita Falls and Abilene), followed by Wichita Falls Memorial in second at 631 (rounds of 312 and 319) and Abilene High in third at 646 (rounds of 326 and 320). Cooper finished sixth at 724 with rounds of 372 and 352. The top two teams – Wylie and Memorial – have qualified for the Region I-5A Tournament, to be played April 16-17 at Lake Ridge Country Club in Lubbock.
Duwe qualified for the regional tournament as the individual champion and will play for the individual championship. And because the next two individual finishers at the district tournament are on the Wylie team that qualified for the tournament, King also advances to the regional tournament to play for the individual championship.
OTHER SPRING SPORTS
• Track and Field: The District 4-5A championship meet is set for Wednesday and Thursday at Wylie’s Hugh Sandifer Stadium. The top four finishers in each event will advance to the area meet, set for Friday, April 11, at PlainsCapital Park / Lowrey Field in Lubbock. The top four finners at that meet will advance to the Region I-5A championship meet, April 18-19, at Lowrey Field. The top two finishers in each regional event will advance to the Class 5A state track and field meet, May 1-3, at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
• Tennis: The District 4-5A individual championship tournament will be played April 24-25 at the Rose Park Tennis Center in Abilene. The top two finishers in boys’ and girls’ singles and doubles and mixed doubles will advance to the Region I-5A championship tournament, to be played May 7-8 at the McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock. The top two finishers in boys’ and girls’ singles and doubles and mixed doubles will advance to the Class 5A championship tournament, to be played May 15-16 at three sites in San Antonio.