Sports Editor

It’s been a busy week for Antwuan Davis.

The high school junior ran a 10.48 at the Region II Track and Field Championships last Saturday, earning the No. 1 seed in all of Class 4A, and then capped it off Friday by committing to The University of Texas to play defensive back. While events seem to be transpiring in the same blur the Bastrop standout becomes on the track, he has taken some time to reflect on it.

“This has been one of the greatest and most amazing weeks in my life,” Davis said. “Everything that has happened to me has been a real blessing.”

The Bastrop cornerback, who came back to BISD after five years in the Del Valle School District last season, has garnered offers from 33 schools over the past two years. Thursday night, after talking with his parents and coach Gerald Perry, Davis finally came to a decision.

““Last night I went to sleep on it,” Davis said Friday morning. “Usually when I tell people when I am sleeping on it, I don’t really think about it, but it kept running through my mind. Finally I said, ‘yeah, this is the place for me. I can see myself playing there for the next four years.’”

Friday morning Davis, his mother La Sean and his father Anthony carpooled to the University of Texas to make the commitment in person. The decision made Davis the first Bastrop player to sign at UT during the Mack Brown era, and allowed Davis to take one major concern off his list.

“It is a relief to know what school I’m going to,” Davis said. “Now I can focus on winning state in track and getting ready for a successful and fun senior season of football.”

It was the next step in a journey that has been years in the making. Davis’s special talents first materialized at age five, when he went for a run with his father.

“Not once during that run did I pass him, and every time I got close to him, he would speed up so I couldn’t catch him,” the elder Davis said. “I was just thinking, ‘this little dude just beat me in a mile.’”

Antwuan’s track career began at age five, competing with kids three years older, he cleared 10 feet in the long jump before his sixth birthday. Next came success on the soccer field, where Davis had to be taken out of games for scoring too many goals.

“People would get mad,” Anthony Davis recalled. “He was scoring 10 goals a game. He would just kick the ball out ahead of everyone and run to get it.”

Davis played pee wee football in Bastrop, then transferred to Del Valle in fifth grade. While he found some success playing sports there, it never quite felt like home.

“I went to Del Valle for five years, and something was missing,” Davis said. “That something that was missing was Bastrop. This is an all-football town. That’s not the way it is over there (in Del Valle).”

Upon enrolling at Bastrop, Davis found Perry to be a major asset in getting collegiate recognition.

“You can see all of the physical tools Antwuan has on paper,” coach Gerald Perry said. “His 40 time, the fact that he benches almost 350 pounds, but the thing you can’t see is what a good person he is and what a leader he is for his teammates.”

Perry would often stay late nights at the Bastrop sports complex or in his office, talking to college coaches about his star cornerback.

“He would tease me and say, ‘my wife is so mad at me and you right now,’” Davis said.

While he had already raised the eyebrows of several college scouts as a sophomore, it wasn’t until his first offer came from Texas Tech that things really started to pick up.

“Coach Perry told me that once I got the first one, they would start really coming in,” Davis said. “Sure enough, there were coaches talking to me from all over after that.”

Schools like Oklahoma, TCU, Florida State, Notre Dame, Florida, LSU, Alabama and Oregon all contacted Antwuan, and while he was mulling over his choices, one person in the Davis house knew from day one where he would end up.

“His little brother Adonis has been like his manager,” Davis’ mother said. “He said all along that he was going to end up at Texas. He was sure of it.”

Aside from his little brother’s campaigning, Davis found a bit more subtle council from his mother and father during the recruiting process.

“It (the decision) was about 80-20,” Anthony Davis said. “He has to be able to fit into that program and know that’s where he wants to be, and be happy. It was mostly on him to make that choice.”

Added his mom, “I knew that with his major (engineering) this was a good place for him. That as well as him staying close to us. He’s a small-town kid and this lets him stay around here. We are both interested in his academics, but me more so. I wanted to make sure he went somewhere that would give him a chance to get a good education.”

With his college choice shored up, Davis takes aim at a state championship in the 100 meter dash. The multi-sport athlete is aiming for a 10.3 or under in the UIL State Track and Field Championships.

“I love the competition in track,” Davis said. “I have always run my best in the big meets because when you look over at the guy on your right and left, you don’t want to get beat by them.”

The track state championships are slated for May 11-12 in Austin on the UT Campus.

Sports Editor

Josh Castor drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in the first inning, and the Cedar Creek baseball team held off Hutto as long as they could, but the powerful Hippos added six runs in the final four innings to earn a 6-1 victory Friday night.

Starting pitcher Michael Meuth quelled the Hippos for the first three innings, and finished the game with three strikeouts in nearly six innings of work.

Meanwhile, the Eagles posted eight hits and put 10 runners on base, but stranded nine in the defeat.

Marcus Perez led off the game with a double to left field, then moved to third on a bunt by Josh Melendez. One play later, Castor hit into a double play, but not before Perez made it home to score.

The game brought an end to the Eagles’ season. Cedar Creek finished the year with a 2-14 district record in its first season of varsity competition.

Moore held his team to a high standard in its expansion year, but saw plenty of building blocks for success.

“Our lack of experience got the best of us this year,” coach John Moore said. “We would have liked to have finished a little better, but our younger players had to get accustomed to varsity competition.”

The Eagles have the benefit of returning their entire team next season, a squad Moore feels gelled defensively as the year progressed.

“We pride ourselves on fielding the ball well,” he said. “We had a lot of guys moved around out there who had never played in their positions, but they got better, especially in the second half of district.”

Moore also pointed to a deep pitching staff, with four different hurlers (Meuth, Chance Schilhab, Castor and Dylan Murley) getting quality time on the bump this season.

“All of those kids were sophomores this year,” Moore said. “They all came along this season and will just keep getting better.”

Cedar Creek will field its first team to include upper classmen next year, and will move from 16-4A to 17-4A, which means they say goodbye to the likes of Bryan Rudder and Hendrickson, but that won’t make life any easier for Moore and his team.

“We are getting rid of a couple of good teams, but with Georgetown coming in  we know this will still be a tough district,” Moore said.

One benefit the Eagles will have is a returning roster and a pre-established chemistry for the next two seasons.

“We will only be adding to our roster and getting stronger next year,” Moore said.

Cedar Creek finishes the year with a 2-14 district record.

The former Bear and current Texas Longhorn was credited for the win in the final UT-A&M conference baseball game Sunday. Knebel went the final five frames, striking out five batters. He spread five hits and one earned run over his time on the bump and won his third game of the season.

The UT sophomore entered with the Longhorns trailing 1-0, but a walk-off hit in the ninth inning propelled the Horns and Knebel to the win.

Knebel was pelted with a line drive in the fifth inning that stopped the game, but continued on through the pain.

UT manager Augie Garrido planned on handing the ball to Knebel in the fifth inning all along, pulling starter Dillon Peters after four excellent innings.

The baseball game, which was witnessed by 7,741 fans at UFCU Disch Faulk Field, was the last scheduled men’s sporting event between the two schools as the Aggies depart for the Southeastern Conference.

The two teams have engaged in conference games for the past 118 years. At the end of the game Knebel and teammates rushed the field in the type of celebration usually reserved for conference championships and postseason wins.

RHE

Elgin   311     103     X —    9 9 0

Manor 101     000     0 —    2 8 5

WP: D. Scott (5-3)

LP: Middleton

Highlights: D. Scott 2-3, 2B, 3B.

RHE

Hutto   000     3120—6 1 0

CCHS 100     0000—1 8 0

Highlights: 2B: M Perez TB: M Perez 2, J Melendez 2, C Hamilton, L Miller, A Gonzalez, M Meuth, B Eaton RBI: J Castor FC: A Gonzalez  GIDP: J Castor SB: J Melendez

Softball

R H E

Elgin 012         0024—8 141

Red Oak 000   0000—0 43

WP: Wing (24-5)

Highlights 2B: V Gonzales 3B: H Sewalson TB: K Olson 2, A Prinz 2, B Alanis 3, S Swenson, M Schultz 2, A Wilkins, H Sewalson 4, V Gonzales 2 RBI: S Swenson 2, M Schultz 2, A Wilkins, H Sewalson, A Hernandez, V Gonzales S: A Prinz 2, A Hernandez

ROE: A Wilkins GIDP: H Sewalson SB: B Alanis, S McCarty

R H E

Red Oak 000   0000—0 1 1

Elgin 101         012X—5 8 1

WP: Wing (25-5)

Highlights 2B: B Alanis TB: K Olson, A Prinz 2, B Alanis 3, S Swenson 2, A Wilkins RBI: B Alanis 2, S Swenson 2 S: A Prinz, C EverageROE: M Schultz FC: A Prinz, H Sewalson

The junior set a new personal record in the prelims, qualifying first with a time of 10.40, .13 seconds behind his previous best time posted at the Texas Relays.

The UIL State Track and Field Championships will be held Friday and Saturday May 11-12 at The University of Texas campus.

Cedar Creek had that lesson reinforced the hard way against Elgin, dropping a 1-0 game on a sixth-inning RBI ground ball.

Pitching dominated the Friday night in-county clash, with the teams mustering just seven hits total between them. Elgin’s Zack Evans limited Cedar Creek to three hits in seven innings of work, walking one and striking out seven. Cedar Creek’s Josh Castor allowed four hits, striking out six, walking one and hitting two batters, one of whom would end up scoring Elgin’s winning run.

Castor struck out two in the first inning and didn’t give up a hit until the third, when Geno Perez got a groundball through the left side of the Cedar Creek infield. Evans was successful in spreading the baserunners he allowed across his innings of work, giving up a single to Dylan Murley in the first, another to Josh Melendez in the fourth, and the final one to Adrian Gonzalez in the fifth.

The Eagles struggled to drive the ball against Evans, and the Elgin pitcher got 11 groundouts to just 2 strikeouts.

Elgin loaded the bases but failed to score in the top of the fifth. Trey Swenson reached on an error, then consecutive singles from Marquee Miller and Dalton Irwin put three men on, but Castor got a strike out and a groundout to end the inning with no damage.

The Wildcats finally broke through in the sixth, beginning their rally when Michael Wellings was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Wellings stole second, then came around to third after Devin Word’s single. Castor got one strikeout, but Swenson’s ground ball to second would score Wellings, giving Elgin their margin of victory.

Bastrop 9, Cedar Creek 1

The Bastrop baseball team snapped its four-game losing streak Saturday, getting a needed win over Cedar Creek 9-1.

Bastrop used a patient approach at the plate to get its offense going, drawing nine walks to supplement their six hits. Bastrop pitcher Jared Van De Hoef gave up just three hits in seven innings and struck out nine Eagle batters while walking no one in a winning effort.

It didn’t take long for the Bears to get on the board, thanks to Cedar Creek’s only errors of the game. Lead-off hitter Dillon Becker lined the first pitch he saw into center field and came up safe at second. His courtesy runner, Alec Kana, scored on a Cedar Creek error that allowed Clifton Hendrix to reach base. Hendrix scored when the next batter, Kent Winkler, doubled to left field. Winkler scored from second on another Cedar Creek error.

For the next two innings the game settled down into a pitcher’s duel. Josh Castor singled to start the second off for Cedar Creek’s first hit and made it to third base when Devin Tuggle reached on an error, but Van De Hoef escaped the jam. Cedar Creek got another base runner in the third when Brady Eaton reached on an error, but Bastrop got a double play to escape the inning.
Cedar Creek cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the fourth. Josh Melendez reached first on a dropped third strike and made it to second when Eagle pitcher Dylan Murley singled. Another Bastrop error loaded the bases, but the Bears got one out at home before Tuggle picked up an RBI single to right. Van De Hoef got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat.

Bastrop responded to the Eagles’ run in a big way. Brock Wickliffe and Cameron Williams both scored on wild pitches after reaching on a walk and a single. Winkler’s double scored Becker and Logan Allen, who had both walked. Jake Hernandez capped the inning off with a single to score Hendrix, who had reached on an infield single. Hendrix scored his third run of the game, and Bastrop’s ninth, in the bottom of the sixth, driven home by a Luke Griego groundout.
Winkler finished 2-4 with three RBIs for Bastrop; Becker, 1-1 with three walks and a run and Griego had two RBIs. Tuggle went 1-3 with an RBI for Cedar Creek. Castor and Murley added hits as well.

Murley struck out two and gave up six hits in a losing effort on the mount. Melendez pitched two innings of relief, allowing one run on no hits and striking out one batter.

Cedar Creek plays Bryan Rudder tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Rudder before taking on Hutto next Friday, April 27 at Cedar Creek in the final game of their season.

Bastrop played at Hendrickson Tuesday evening, and will finish the season Friday evening in Bastrop against Elgin.

Saturday’s games
Elgin 13, Early 1
Early    000    10    -    1    2    3
Elgin    303    43    -    13    11    1
WP: Jenna Wing
LP: Battle
Highlights: Bailey Alanis 3-3, RBI

Friday’s games
Bastrop 12, Manor 2
Manor    000    101    -    2    6    3
Bastrop    703    002    -    12    12    0
WP: Lillian Raemsch
Highlights: Rachel West 2 2Bs, Tori Spakes 2 H, Maureen Byrd 2 H, Caroline Castor H, Maddie Parker H, Lillian Raemsch H, Gisella Paranich 2B, Ashley Murray H, Becca Roe H.

Elgin 9, Cedar Ridge 5
Cedar Ridge    011    100    2    -    5    7    3
Elgin    100    260    x    -    9    11    2
WP: Jenna Wing
LP: Merrill
Highlights: Kaci Olson 1-3, R; Abby Prinz 1-3, 2B, 2 RBIs; Bailey Alanis 1-4, 2B, RBI; Shelbi Swenson 1-3. R; Morgan Schultz 1-4, R; Alyssa Wilkins 2-3, 2 R; Haley Sewalson 1-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B; Adriana Hernandez 1-4, 3B, RBI; Chelsea Everage 3-3, R, RBI.

District 16-4A Standings
OVERALL        DISTRICT
W    L    W    L     PCT    GB
Elgin    5    0    5    0    1.000
Bryan-Rudder    4    1    4    1    0.800    1
Cedar Ridge    3    0    3    1    0.750    1.5
Hutto    3    1    3    1    0.750    1.5
Hendrickson    2    2    2    2    0.500    2.5
Connally    1    3    1    3    0.250    2.5
Cedar Creek    1    3    1    3    0.250    3.5
Bastrop    1    4    1    4    0.200    4
Manor    0    4    0    4    0.000    4.5

BASEBALL
Monday’s games
Bryan Rudder 4, Bastrop 0
Bastrop    000    000    0    -    0    1    2
Rudder    004    000    x    -    4    4    2
WP: Kopetsky
LP: Williams
Highlights: Jake Hernandez 1-2

Cedar Ridge 7, Cedar Creek 2
Cedar Creek    000    020    0    -    2    4    5
Cedar Ridge    130    030    x    -    7    7    0
WP: Larez
LP: Dylan Murley
Highlights: Chance Schilhab1-2; Josh Castor 1-3; Dylan Murley 1-2, 2B; Devin Tuggle 0-1, R; Jared Hiatt 1-2

Saturday’s games
Bastrop 6, Lexington 2
Bastrop    150    000    -    6    6    1
Lexington    011    000    -    2    5    5
WP: Alec Kana
LP: Hibbler
Highlights: Clifton Hendrix 1-3, R, RBI; Jake Hernandez 1-3, R, RBI; Dillon Becker 1-3; Kent Winkler 1-3; Logan Allen R; Brock Wickliffe 1-2, R; Jared Van de Hoef R, Thomas Solomon 1-3, R

Liberty Hill 16, Elgin 4
Liberty Hill    712    006    -    16    13    2
Elgin    111    010    -    4    3    4
LP: Daryl Scott
Highlights: Devin Word 2-2, RBI, Trey Swenson 0-3, R, RBI; Marquee Miller 1-1

Friday’s games
Bastrop 2, Franklin 0
Franklin    000    000    0    -    0    7    1
Bastrop    020    000    0    -    2    3    0
WP: Jared Van de Hoef
Highlights: Van De Hoef 3 Ks; Jake Hernandez 1-3; Brock Wickliffe 1-2, 2B; Cameron Williams 0-2, R; Luke Greigo 1-3, R, 2B

Wimberley 7, Bastrop 4
Wimberley    120    202    -    7    7    5
Bastrop    200    020    -    4    6    1
WP: David Mason
LP: Devin Weiss
Highlights: Jake Hernandez 1-2, 2 R; Blake Zimmermann 1-3; Dillon Becker 3-3, RBI; Adam Gonzalez 0-3, 2 RBIs; Thomas Soloman 2 Rs; Logan Allen 1-3; Weiss 10 Ks

Taylor 4, Elgin 2
Taylor    002    001    1    -    4    5    1
Elgin    000    200    0    -    2    4    2
LP: Geno Perez
Highlights: Trey Swenson 1-3, Geno Perez 1-4, Micheal Garcia 1-1, R; Daryl Scott 1-2, RBI

District 16-4A Standings
OVERALL        DISTRICT
W    L    W    L     PCT    GB
Hendrickson    9    4    2    0    1.000    -
Bryan-Rudder    2    1    2    0    1.000    -
Cedar Ridge    1    1    1    0    #DIV/0!    .5
Connally    3    3    1    1    1.000    1
Bastrop    2    7    1    1    1.000    1
Hutto    3    2    1    1    0.000    1
Manor    3    2    0    1    0.000    1.5
Elgin    3    3    0    2    0.000    2
Cedar Creek    3    3    0    2    0.000    2

Bastrop boasts what is arguably the best collective pitching staff in District 16-4A with five pitchers throwing in the 80s.

“We are deep in our pitching staff,” Williams said. “It should be an advantage for us because a lot of teams lost their pitching staff.”

Bastrop’s staff consists of 6-foot-5 sophomore Cameron Williams, 6-1 senior Jared Van de Hoef, 5-10 junior Alec Kana, 5-10 junior Devin Weiss and 6-1 senior Dillon Becker.

All five throw from the low-to-upper 80 miles per hour range and are battling for a spot on the rotation.

Becker and Williams have the best arms, with fastballs clocked in the upper 80s, according to Mark Williams.

Van de Hoef and Kana have fastballs clocked in the mid-80s and newcomer Weiss is throwing in the lower 80s.

The disadvantage to Bastrop’s rotation is that all five pitchers are right handed and as of Wednesday, the middle reliever and closing pitchers have yet to be determined.

“We don’t have any lefties, but we have a lot of kids with different speeds and pitches,” Mark Williams said. “If we find a middle reliever and a closer we should be OK.”

Sophomores Logan Allen and Brian Hendrix, along with junior Luke Greigo are in contention for those spots.

The key, according to Mark Williams, is keeping everyone healthy and ready for a grueling district schedule that includes three games per week.

“We are getting them in better shape,” Mark Williams said. “Good pitching will be more important this year due to our district schedule. Right now, we have three games per week through district. If any of those get rained out, we could be playing four or five games.”

The additions of Cedar Ridge and Cedar Creek moved District 16-4A from a seven-team district to nine teams.

To accommodate the extra four games, every team in the district will play three games per week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

But pitching isn’t all Bastrop has as the Bears hope to snap a 16-year playoff drought.

Blake Zimmerman and Jake Hernandez both return after leading the Bears in hitting last season.

Zimmerman had a .352 batting average, 18 RBIs, five doubles, two stolen bases, a .478 on-base percentage and a .942 fielding percentage.

Hernandez hit .309 with 11 RBIs, two doubles, 30 stolen bases and a .505 on-base percentage.

However, all players will have to get used to a new bat. The change is equivalent to the change the NCAA made last year.

The bats use a technology to make aluminum bats act more like wood bats, thus lessening the power and shrinking the “sweet spot.”

“It will make a difference,” Mark Williams said of the new bats. “It did last year in college baseball. The number of home runs was way down.”

Bastrop hasn’t made the playoffs in baseball since 1996, but was in contention in 2007 before losing out to Bowie.

Last year, Bastrop got off to one of its best starts in the school’s history, but lost nine of its last 10 games.

Mark Williams said he believes his team has gained a lot of experience from last year’s slide.

“I think we believe we can make the postseason,” he said. “Last year we were so young.”

Bastrop opens the 2012 baseball season Feb. 20 at Wimberley. The Bears play their first home game on Feb. 28 against Manor to open District 16-4A play.

Bastrop pitchers, from left, Alec Kana, Jared Van de Hoef, Cameron Williams and Devin Weiss, collectively could be the best pitching rotation in District 16-4A. All four will try to help Bastrop snap a 16-year playoff absence in 2012. (Michael Adams/ The Bastrop Advertiser)

SCHEDULE
February
20    Gonzales    H    6:30 p.m.
23-25    Katy Tournament
28    Connally*    H    7 p.m.
March
1-3    Lexington Tournament
5    Cedar Ridge*    A    7 p.m.
8-10    Bastrop Tournament
15    Hendrickson*    H    7 p.m.
17    Elgin*    A    1:30 p.m.
20    Bastrop*    H    7 p.m.
23    Manor*    A    7 p.m.
24    Bryan-Rudder*    H    7 p.m.
29    Hutto*    H    7 p.m.
31    Connally*    A    1:30 p.m.
April
3    Cedar Ridge*    H    7 p.m.
10    Hendrickson*    A    7 p.m.
13    Elgin*    H    7 p.m.
14    Bastrop*    A    1:30 p.m.
17    Manor*    H    7 p.m.
20    Bryan-Rudder*    A    7 p.m.
27    Hutto*    H    7 p.m.

Josh Castor