“It breaks your heart. It’s designed to break your heart.” 

    The above words were written by former Major League Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, when waxing philosophical about baseball in the November 1977 issue of Yale Alumni Magazine.

    Truer words never existed.

    For on a beautiful day for baseball, the hearts of the Hebron Hawks – and 10 seniors – were broken in the cruelest way possible. Just two outs away from a berth in the Class 5A state playoffs, the game turned its back on this group of young men.

    A season that began with so much promise (remember winning the Lake Cities Classic?) ended with such disappointment. Sure, there’s one more game for this team, but they’re playing for pride, for respect, for whatever else they can muster. The playoffs are out, and for the 10 seniors on the team, their paths soon will be taking them in different directions. Away from Hawk Field.

    Saturday’s 10-6 loss to Southlake Carroll sort of followed the flow from much of the season. The team’s inability to close games – to really put their opponent away – was a missing ingredient through much of the season. Most recently it was Marcus that erased a Hebron lead with a ridiculous 12-run top of the seventh, and Saturday it was Carroll, tying the game with a three-run home run in the top of the seventh that sent the game into an extra inning – an inning in which the Dragons scored four runs while the Hawks went down in order.

    And that was all she wrote.

    When the Hawks scored four in the bottom of the first inning, it looked like the team was on its way to a big win. It sounded that way, too, as the entire bench was making noise – a definite rarity this season. Jon McManemin doubled, Lance Warren (2-for-4, RBI) followed with an RBI double, Michael Putman (2-for-4, run) singled, Ryan Payne (2-for-3, 2 runs) walked and with the bases loaded, Jake Farley walked to bring in a run. John Allen drove in the fourth run with a fielder’s choice grounder.

    Hebron added two more in the third when R. Payne singled to center and stole second base, and then moved to third when Dragons pitcher Lanny Zier could not handle Farley’s grounder for an error. With Farley at first and R.Payne at third, the runners appeared to execute a delayed steal – at least that’s what it looked like – and when the throw went down to nail Farley (he was safe), R. Payne broke for home. Carroll second baseman Tommy Avers threw home but Payne slid around the tag of catcher Andrew Lacombe for the fourth Hawks run.

    Farley then scored on a second SLC error in the inning, and the Hawks found themselves up 6-0. Unfortunately, that would be the end of the scoring for Hebron.

    Carroll didn’t post its first run until the fifth inning, as McManemin worked through the lineup and was assisted by his fielders including two outstanding plays by leftfielder Blake Denton on sinking liners and another by first baseman Lance Warren. McManemin’s ninth, and final, strikeout came to open the top of the seventh. Then Avers, who had been 0-for-3, reached on an infield single. Then Ronnie Mitchell, who had been 0-for-3, walked. That brought up Lacombe, who already had hit seven home runs this season. And with one swing of the bat, the game was tied.

    Carroll’s four runs in the top of the eighth sealed it.

    No one player is to blame for this defeat or for any other this season. This is the nature of the game. It was a little of everything that undid Hebron Saturday afternoon, and indeed, it was a little of everything that undid them all season. It just didn't work out, but it certainly wasn't from a lack of effort or heart. 

    Hebron’s season will officially close on the road where they will play at Marcus Friday night.

    Giamatti was right.

WOW! - Hawks first baseman Lance Warren (left) makes a saving play to record the out of Tommy Avers in the top of the fifth inning. The field ump originally had called Avers safe, but after consulting with the plate ump the crew got the call right. Warren clearly is on the bag, with the ball in his glove. Out!

You have to kind of wonder why blue is looking up, and not down at the bag.

Jake Farley (left) slides into third base in the third inning as SLC third baseman Josh Rake waits for the ball. Catcher Andrew Lacombe's throw bounced into left field, allowing Farley to score the Hawks' fifth run.

   When they needed it most, the Hebron Varsity bats came alive and Ben Neyen provided a near-perfect pitching performance helping the Hawks to a 6-0 win over Lewisville Friday night at Farmer Field.

   The win upped the Hawks District 6-5A record to 5-8 and in a tie for fourth place in the district race with Southlake Carroll – Hebron’s opponent Saturday at Hawk Field which also happens to be Senior Day.

   One of those seniors, Neyen, hurled a four-hit shutout Friday, striking out seven while walking just one. No Lewisville batter reached beyond second base, and that one – Joey Snelick – was thrown out by Hawks catcher Ryan McElveen trying to steal third to end the bottom of the fifth inning.

   Of the four singles Neyen allowed, three of them never left the infield.

   Hebron batters stroked 13 hits off Farmer pitching, including a 4-for-4 night by senior Ryan Payne, which included two doubles, and a 3-for-4 night by senior John Allen, who also collected two doubles.

   The Hawks scored in the top of the first when Lance Warren doubled to right, and scored two batters later when R. Payne doubled to right. That single run was all the Hawks could muster until the fourth when R. Payne singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on a ground out, and came home on a two-out single to left my McElveen.

   The Hawks broke it open in the top of the seventh when Michael Putman doubled to lead off the inning, then went to third on R. Payne’s single to left. One out later, Taylor Payne smashed an RBI single past the drawn-in infield, then T. Payne scored himself on Allen’s double off the right-center wall. Allen later scored on a passed ball to cap the scoring.

   One encouraging sight for Hawks fans was seeing Erin McCarver run the bases for McElveen in the third inning. McCarver is out six weeks with his finger injury, but is available to run for the Hawks, and will contribute in that manner the remainder of the season.

   Saturday’s game begins at 1 p.m. with the Senior Day activities beginning about 12:30 p.m.

   First, the facts: Hebron’s 4-2 loss to Coppell Tuesday dropped the Hawks’ District 6-5A record to 4-8 for the season.

   Now the good news: It ain’t over for the Hawks.

   With three district games remaining on the schedule, Hebron is still clinging to playoff hopes and could still experience postseason play if they win their final three games. . .and if SLC and/or Marcus fall in different scenarios.

   Long shot? Not really, especially when Hebron plays both teams in the next nine days.

   Right now, Hebron sits just one game behind Southlake Carroll (5-7 after losing to Marcus on Tuesday), and the two teams meet Saturday after at Hebron – Senior Day.

   But there is no margin for error.

   More good news: The Hawks got an outstanding pitching performance from junior righthander Nick Sawyer Tuesday. Sawyer flashed the ability to keep a good-hitting team off-balance, and proved that he doesn’t have to try and overpower every batter to be effective. Sawyer pitched a complete seven innings, allowing seven hits, four runs (three earned), struck out five, walked two and hit one batter. He threw 104 pitches.

   The bad news: Hebron may have lost starting catcher Erin McCarver to a finger injury sustained on a play at home. McCarver fielded second baseman Ryan Payne’s throw, and made the play on the runner trying to score. The runner was out, but a finger on McCarver’s throwing hand was inadvertently spiked. He was to have X-rays Wednesday morning.

   With Erin sidelined in the third inning, senior backup catcher Ryan McElveen caught the remainder of the game for the Hawks. He finished 1-for-2, stroking a single in the bottom of the third.

   Coppell struck first with a run in the second inning, but Hebron answered in their half of the inning after Ryan Payne led off with a single to center off Coppell’s Michael Apple. Payne moved to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a fielder’s choice by Michael Putman and scored on Jake Farley’s RBI ground ball.

   The Cowboys added three runs in the third inning, building a  4-1 lead but did not score again after that. Hebron’s second run came in the third after Jon McManemin (1-for-2) coaxed a two-out walk and Lance Warren (1-for-3) singled. Warren and McManemin then combined on a delayed steal, and when catcher Jonathan Walsh tossed down to second to try and get Warren, McManemin sprinted home uncontested.

   Warren was safe, and McElveen then followed with a single to center, but Cowboys centerfielder Jacob Morris threw a perfect strike to Walsh at home plate, getting Warren for the third out.

   Hebron appeared to be making some noise in the bottom of the seventh after Ryan Payne (2-for-3) singled sharply to left, and Putman (1-for-3) followed with a single to right that moved Payne to third base. One out later, Payne broke for home on a ground ball and ultimately got in a rundown before being tagged out.

   With two out, Coppell shortstop Chad Kettler than made a nice play to throw out a hustling Taylor Payne at first base.

   It was a loss, and that’s never good, but there were some strong indications that this Hebron team could make the next nine days very interesting for themselves.

One of the most unusual doubleplays occurred in the top of the fourth inning Monday night in Flower Mound's 8-3 win over Hebron. With the Hawks in the field, and a runner at first base with one out, Jaguars leadoff batter Trenton Layne reached on an error. But as the ball skipped into the outfield, both Layne and baserunner Michael Williams took an extra base.

The throw came into third baseman Jake Farley, but Williams was safe. Farley then fired down to second base in an attempt to get Layne. The runner initially appeared safe, but his slide carried him past the bag where Hawks second baseman Ryan Payne applied the tag.

Williams then broke for home, but Payne threw to catcher Erin McCarver who took the throw before Williams had even reached the home plate dirt area. McCarver blocked the plate and was waiting for the easy tag out as Williams' slide was two feet short of the plate.

Not the way you normally draw up doubleplays, but it was a timely execution.

- (Great photos by Sonya Warren)

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   The playoff hopes of a struggling Hebron varsity team took a serious blow Monday with an 8-3 loss to Flower Mound at Hawk Field.

   Hebron had a few moments early in the game, but the Hawks weren’t particularly impressive in any facet of the game. They managed just six hits, and just one extra base hit – that a Michael Putman double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Hawks batters fanned eight times against three different FM pitchers, and the team left nine runners on base.

   No inning was more devastating for Hebron than the fifth when the Jaguars – down 2-1 when the inning started - batted around, scoring six runs on a double, single, three walks and a grand-slam home run by FM catcher Austin Frapier.

   On the mound, Hebron pitchers struck out seven in the game, but walked eight batters - four of whom came around to score.

   On the plus side Monday, Blake Denton was 2-for-2 and Reid Davis pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

   Hebron is now 4-7 in district play with four games remaining, including Tuesday night against undefeated Coppell.

SHARP DRESSED HAWKS

Their game with Flower Mound may have been rained out earlier in the day, but seven members of the Hebron Varsity Baseball Team did get together with their dates and friends to attend the Hebron Senior Prom Saturday night (April 18). Hawks players include (from left): Ryan Payne, John Allen, Blake Denton, Jake Farley, Jon McManemin, Erin McCarver and Michael Putman.

SIGNING DAY FOR MICHAEL PUTMAN, ERIN McCARVER

Hebron coaches Jim Farley (left) and Steve Stone (right) witnessed the recent college baseball signings of Michael Putman and Erin McCarver at Hebron. Putman, the Hawks' shortstop, signed with Weatherford College while McCarver, a senior catcher, has signed with Harding University. Congratulations to both players!

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   The Hebron varsity continued on their roller coaster ride through District 6-4A, beating Flower Mound at Flower Mound HS for the first time in varsity school history.

   The Hawks improved to 4-6 in district play and snapped a three-game losing streak to district opponents. The Hawks hope they can string together a couple of wins to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot. They’ve been up and down, losing the first three district games of the season before peeling off three straight wins, only to follow with three straight losses before Tuesday’s win over the Jaguars.

   Jon McManemin pitched and hit his way to victory Tuesday, hurling a complete-game four-hitter. The only two runs he allowed came in the seventh inning on Collin Ashley’s two-run home run. Through the first two innings, however, McManemin had surrendered just two singles.

   J-Mac also collected three singles himself, joining Lance Warren as the only two Hawks with three hits against Flower Mound. Erin McCarver stroked a single and double while Blake Denton had two singles in the Hawks’ 12-hit attack.

   Hebron scored three runs in the top of the first, added one in the third and then three more in the fifth. They rounded out the scoring with one in the sixth.

   Every hitter in the Hawks lineup collected either a hit, RBI or scored a run.

   Hebron hosts Flower Mound Friday night at Hawk Field.

   The Hebron Varsity wasted a strong pitching performance from Jon McManemin in dropping a 3-0 District 6-5A game to Flower Mound Marcus at Marcus Tuesday night.

   The Hawks were at the short end of two botched calls – one that removed a run off the board in the sixth inning and one that negated a leadoff hit in the top of the seventh inning. But the face of the matter is the Hawks simply did not hit the ball, collecting just four hits – two of those in the sixth.

   And the defense. . .well, you’re not going to win many games with four errors. Three of those came in a meltdown second inning in which the Marauders scored twice after McManemin (6 IP, 4 K, 2 BB, 2 runs but just one earned) had struck out cleanup hitter Cody Kuecke to leadoff the inning. Brode Boyd singled into center, and then the Hawks sort of blundered their way through the remainder of the inning.

   They finally got out of it when catcher Erin McCarver threw out speedy Layne Nelson trying to steal second base to end the inning. McCarver threw out two would-be base stealers in the game.

   Marcus pitcher Tyler Carter was never overpowering – and he gave up some hard-hit outs to the outfield – but he kept the Hawks off the board.

   Hebron looked like it might be in for a big inning in the top of the sixth when Ryan Payne singled down the third base line, and then moved to third on Michael Putman’s double to left. One out later, though, John Allen drilled a ball to deep left field that Layne Nelson caught. With Payne tagging at third and Putman at second, Nelson threw a strike to third baseman Tate Baker who tagged out Michael trying to reach third for the third out.

   The home plate umpire inexplicably ruled that R. Payne had not crossed home plate before Putman was tagged out, thus negating the run. It was an unfortunate call, as Payne had, indeed, crossed home plate in plenty of time and already had taken a full step toward the Hebron dugout when the out was recorded. But in the grand scheme of things, the call simply took a run off the board – it did not lose the ballgame. Not even close.

   In the top of the seventh, needing three to tie, Blake Denton appeared to have beaten out an infield hit. Denton’s hustle down the line beat the throw, but again, Hebron got the short end of the call. Two outs later, the game was over.

   The Hawks will have to play better Thursday night when they host the Marauders at Hawk Field. They will have to find a way to score runs, and they will have to make the plays in the field.

   They’ll get that chance in less than 48 hours.

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After a tough district loss the day before, the Hebron Varsity posted a one-sided 14-2 win over Wichita Falls Rider Saturday afternoon at Hawk Field.

Michael Putman hit his fourth home run of the season, Lance Warren slugged his third and John Allen drilled his first varsity home run as six of the Hawks' nine hits went for extra bases.

Putman and Jon McManemin also tripled, while Warren added a double.

Reid Davis started and earned the win for Hebron. Both Nick Sawyer and Jake Farley pitched in relief.  Hebron gets back to the tight District 6-5A race Tuesday night at Flower Mound Marcus.

   There’s not really a lot to say about the Varsity Hawks’ 2-1 loss at Southlake Carroll Friday afternoon.

   Hebron had only four hits – one of them an infield single – but they also had some hard-hit outs.

   They had a runner thrown out at the plate, but so did Carroll.

   The Hawks also did not commit an error, Carroll had two.

   Ultimately, the Dragons just took advantage of an opportunity in the bottom of the sixth inning to squeak out the one-run victory. Carroll and Hebron now share identical 3-4 district records.

   Ben Neyen started on the mound for Hebron and, although he didn’t have his best command, showed flashes of good stuff and managed to keep his team in what was a 1-1 game when he left with one out in the fifth inning. Ben struck out five, walked four, and hit a batter in getting a no decision.

   In the bottom of the third with Hebron holding a 1-0 lead, Tommy Avers slugged an opposite field home run to lead off the inning, and Ronnie Mitchell walked. Neyen went full-count on three hitters in the inning, but got three straight outs – including a strikeout of cleanup batter Will Watson – to get out of the inning with no further damage.

   After a walk and single in the the SLC fourth, Neyen took control of the inning with two outstanding fielding plays near the mound, one on a bunt, that he turned into outs.

   The Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Michael Putman coaxed a full-count walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, took third on an infield error then scored on John Allen’s hard ground ball.

   Putman and Jake Farley strung together back-to-back doubles in the fourth, but the Hawks could not capitalize when Michael – being waved home by Hawks Coach Steve Stone – was thrown out at home.

   For a brief moment in the Hebron fifth, it looked like the Hawks might break the game wide open. They loaded the bases and, with two out, Hebron second baseman Ryan Payne connected on a hard-hit deep fly ball to right-center that fell into the glove of centerfielder Ronnie Mitchell just in front of the fence some 380 feet away. Another five feet and the Hawks would have taken a commanding lead.

   Reid Davis hurled the final 1 2/3 innings for Hebron and took the loss. Carroll scored one run in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead – a run that proved to be the game winner – and might have added another had Hebron rightfielder Nick Sawyer not gunned down Will Ellermeyer trying to score at the plate. Sawyer’s throw to catcher Erin McCarver was dead-on and beat Ellermeyer to the plate by several seconds.

   Farley had two of the Hebron hits on the afternoon. In addition to Putman’s line double in the fourth, Lance Warren also collected a single.

Here is a list of all games that have been added to your schedules due to rained out tournament games:

VARSITY

April 18 @ L.D. Bell - 1 p.m.

JV BLACK

April 18 @ Hebron vs. L.D. Bell - 2:30 p.m.

April 25 @ Hebron vs. Wylie - 6:30 p.m.

JV BLUE

April 4 @ Hebron vs. Wylie - 5 p.m.

April 18 @ Hebron vs. Frisco Liberty - 10 a.m.

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NEW GAME TIMES FOR APRIL 4 GAMES @ HEBRON:

Noon - JV Black vs. Rider

2:30 p.m. - Varsity vs. Rider

5 p.m. - JV Blue vs. Wylie

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Backed by a big first inning, the Hebron varsity won its third straight District 6-5A game – a 5-2 victory over Southlake Carroll Tuesday night at Hawk Field.

   The Hawks (3-3 in District play, 10-6-1 overall) scored four runs in the first inning then added a fifth in the third on Erin McCarver’s team-leading fourth home run of the season as they handed the Dragons their fourth district loss of the year.

   It was Carroll who knocked Hebron out of the Class 5A playoffs last year, but the Hawks – pending the result of the Flower Mound vs. Marcus game – could find themselves in third place in the district.

   Jon McManemin continued his success on the mound, hurling a complete-game victory while scattering five hits – only two that left the infield. He struck out seven and walked three.

   Hebron got to Carroll pitcher Tommy Altimont early. With one out in the bottom of the first, Lance Warren singled to center field and McManemin walked – one of three bases on balls Johnny Mac received at the plate Tuesday, drawing a walk in each of his plate appearances. One out later, Michael Putman singled to center, scoring Warren and McCarver then stroked a two-run double, scoring pinch-runner Taylor Payne and Putman. Jake Farley then capped the scoring with an RBI single.

   Hebron batters collected six hits over the game's first three innings. . .then none after that. But the early outburst proved to be enough as the Dragons struggled with runners in scoring position.

   Southlake appeared to be making some noise in the top of the fifth when they put two on with no out, and Tommy Avers laid down a near-perfect bunt. The ball was fielded, but the throw appeared to be sailing over the head of Hawks first baseman Lance Warren who jumped, snagged the ball, and made a great play to come down on the bag for the out. The Dragons would only score one run that inning, leaving two in scoring position.

   McCarver led the offensive attack, going 2-for-3 with a double, home run and 3 RBI.

   The same two teams play again Friday, 4 p.m., at Southlake Carroll.

   Hebron senior shortstop Michael Putman has committed to attend Weatherford College on a baseball scholarship, beginning in the Fall semester.

   The lefthanded hitter decided on Weatherford after recently visiting the school and working out with the current team on campus. He is the third former Hebron player at the school, and will join current Weatherford freshmen Ryan Angus and Patrick Kocher on the Coyotes' squad.

   Weatherford competes in the tough North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference which also includes defending National Junior College World Series champion Grayson College as well as North Central Texas College where current Hawks Jon McManemin and Ryan Payne will attend. Another school in the conference, Cisco, has former Hawks pitcher Troy Padmore (2008) on the team.

   Other teams in the conference include McLennan, Ranger, Hill, Vernon and Temple.

   Weatherford is coached by Jeff Lightfoot.

   Michael was a first-team all-district selection last season as a junior and is again producing another solid season at the plate where his three home runs and 14 RBI are tied for the team lead in both categories.

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   As looks go, Hebron’s 10-9 win over Lewisville Friday night could be called ugly by some.

   But for a team trying to pull itself back into the District 6-5 race, it was a thing of beauty.

   Down 8-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth while playing in brutally cold and windy conditions, the Hawks rallied with five runs in the inning to take a 9-8 lead. But that wasn’t enough as the Farmers tied it with two outs in the top of the seventh.

   But a strange turn of events in the bottom of the seventh helped Hebron plate the game winner – that coming on a wild pitch by relief pitcher Mitchell Ripple who had entered the game to open the inning.

   This is how the inning went for the Hawks: Blake Denton (2-5, 3 runs scored) struck out swinging, but Lewisville catcher Dustin Covarrubias could not hang onto the ball and it skipped off his glove. Denton raced down to first without a throw, putting the potential winning run on base with no out.

   Lance Warren (2-for-2) then laid down his second sacrifice bunt of the game, and Ripple helped the Hawks by fielding the ball and throwing low and away for an error that moved Denton to first and pushed Warren to second. Two in scoring position and no outs.

   With the cold wind so strong that caps were flying off heads in the stands, Ripple then uncorked a wild pitch that brought Denton home with the winning run.

   Hebron is now 2-3 in district play.

   While it’s too early to say Friday’s game was must win – it is too early – it was important that the Hawks not drop further back in the district race.

   Ben Neyen, pitching in relief of starter Jake Farley, earned the win, tossing 3 2/3 innings in which he struck out seven (and K’d the side in order in the fifth inning). He allowed three runs, two of which were earned including Bryan Lynn’s solo home run to right-center field in the fifth inning.

   Ben pitched well, the only real mistake the ball he left up to Lynn. But he kept the Hawks in the game and served as an ideal teammate in the cold and wind while his defense broke down momentarily. Twice he verbally encouraged teammates after miscues, keeping the situation positive.

   Neyen was just one strike away from a win in the top of the seventh when Colby Rogers and Balch singled, bringing in the tying run. With two on and the potential for Lewisville to take the lead again, up stepped Lynn who had already doubled and homered. He sent a ground ball up the middle, and the ball seemed to take a little hop near the bag, but second baseman Ryan Payne made a nice play on it, flipping to shortstop Michael Putman who alertly was covering the bag.

   End of inning, and time for the Hebron comeback.

   At the start of the game, Hebron wasted no time getting to starter Clay Balch in the top of the first inning. Denton led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle, and was bunted over by Lance Warren. With two outs in the inning, Ryan Payne (1-3, 2 RBI, run) doubled into the left-field corner for a quick 1-0 lead.

   The third inning brought home another run after Warren had singled, moved up on a walk to R. Payne, then scored on Michael Putman’s RBI-single. Michael had a great night, going 3-4 with a double, two runs scored and 2 RBI.

   Hebron plated yet another run in the fourth as Taylor Payne singled to center and Jon McManemin stroked a two-out single, then added another run in the fifth after back-to-back singles by Putman and Erin McCarver (2-3, run).

   The sixth is where the Hawks might have actually pulled themselves back into the race. Down 8-4, Denton and Warren opened the inning with back-to-back singles. R. Payne’s ground ball scored one run, and Putman doubled in another. McCarver was hit by a pitch, bringing up Farley. The senior hit a hard grounder to short that was fielded and tossed to the second baseman. McCarver, though, slid hard – and cleanly – into second causing the fielder to drop the ball. He was safe, and more importantly, he came around to score the fifth run of the inning on a wild pitch.

   And although the scrappy Farmers tied the game in the top of the seventh, the Hawks found a way to win it in the bottom on what ranks as the coldest night at Hawk Field in at least the last five years.

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   Getting a strong pitching performance from Jon McManemin, and making four runs stand up, the Hebron Varsity beat Lewisville 4-1 Monday at Farmer Field.

   The win was the first District 6-5A victory of the season for the Hawks, and it snapped a five-game skid for the team. McManemin went 5 2/3 innings to earn the win, allowing one run while striking out six and walking two. Jake Farley hurled the final 1 1/3 inning to earn the save.

   The Hawks got three of their four runs in the second inning after Michael Putman doubled, went to third on Erin McCarver’s single and scored on Farley’s double into the left-field corner. A sacrifice fly off the bat of John Allen plated a run, and Taylor Payne closed out the scoring in the inning with an RBI single to left-center.

McCarver and Farley also strung together back-to-back singles in the fourth inning, but were left stranded.

Hebron’s four and final run came in the fifth when McManemin coaxed a two-out walk, Ryan Payne followed with a walk and Putman’s high-fly pop-up near the third base line was misplayed for an error, scoring J-Mac.

   Farley entered the game with two outs in the sixth, and was on the mound for two impressive defensive plays: McCarver, bouncing out from behind the plate to toss out Tony Vasquez on a “swinging bunt” to end the inning; and third baseman Nick Sawyer’s diving snag of a liner off the bat of Will Peppers in the bottom of the seventh.

   Of McManemin’s six K’s, three of them were called strikeouts.

    Put the sharp instruments down and come in off the ledge, all is not lost for the Hebron varsity despite a rough patch in the road that included coughing up a lead in what ended as a 5-2 loss to Colleyville Heritage Saturday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

   True, the Hawks have lost five in a row now and need to find a way to close out games, but Saturday’s loss has no bearing on the District 6-5A race. . .which continues next week with Lewisville, a scrappy team the Hawks had to rally to beat in the Lake Cities Classic earlier this season.

   Hits were at a premium for Hebron batters Saturday, although several Hawks did hit into hard outs. But a 2-0 lead heading into the top of the sixth evaporated rather quickly with walks – a real problem for the team so far this season – playing a big role in Heritage’s comeback. Colleyville hit around in the sixth, scoring all five runs in that inning, three on walks. One of two errors in the inning also led to a run.

   But there were bright spots, and more than a couple. After playing errorless ball the night before at Coppell, the Hawks’ only errors occurred in the fateful sixth inning against Heritage. And there were some pitching performances worth raving about, albeit no Hebron pitcher worked more than two innings Saturday. Still, the results of several of those appearances were noteworthy: Starter Reid Davis struck out three and walked none in his two innings. And the only hit he allowed, a single, was promptly erased when he picked off the baserunner.

   Brandon Harris worked the third and fourth innings, walking none and striking out two.

   Ben Neyen worked one inning, striking out two. Heritage catcher Tyler Crouch got an infield single off of him, but he appeared to be out – twice – while running the bases, once at first on a pick-off where Lance Warren quickly applied the tag and again at second base on a steal when Ryan Payne took catcher Ryan McElveen’s throw and applied the tag on Crouch’s arm before he had touched the bag. But, he was called safe. No problem. Ben then struck out the next hitter and coaxed a fly out to rightfielder Jon McManemin to end the inning.

   Warren pitched a perfect seventh inning.

   It’s rare when two runs will win a game in high school baseball, and Hebron’s two-run lead did not last. Both of those runs crossed the plate in the second inning after Ryan Payne opened the frame with a walk, and Michael Putman followed with a line single. Erin McCarver’s deep fly to right moved up both base runners, and Jake Farley’s ground out scored Payne. Blake Denton then lined a single the scored Putman.

Farley later added a double for Hebron, but the Hawks could not capitalize on that.

   Overall, a vey pleasant day at the ballpark.

   And there will be other pleasant days in the near future, too. Both the weather conditions, and the play on the field.

   Stay with them.

(NOTE: More photos from the game posted in PHOTOS section) 

   The Hawks varsity buried themselves in a hole early Friday night in Coppell, found a way to dig out of it, but then could not cash in as Hebron again lost to the Cowboys – this time 8-6.

   It’s the second time this week the Hawks have lost to Coppell, and the second District 6-5A loss the team has dropped by an 8-6 score, the first coming to Flower Mound nearly two weeks ago.

   Hebron is now 0-3 in district play, and the season that showed so much promise coming out of Houston now looks different while the team battles for something good to happen. The Hawks have now lost their last four straight games.

   This time around the Hawks found themselves down 4-0 before an out was even recorded after two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases for catcher Jonathan Walsh, who slugged relief pitcher Jake Farley’s second offering over the left-center wall for a grand-slam home run. Farley then retired the next three batters in order, the last two on strikeouts.

   Taking the mound after starting the game at third base, Farley allowed just two more earned runs to the potent Coppell lineup over the next four innings. He received some help from his defense, particularly in the fourth inning when Coppell’s Jacob Morris led off with a double. With the lefthanded-hitting Adam Toth at the plate and Coppell holding a safe 6-2 lead, Morris perhaps got a little greedy and tried stealing third base. Toth lined out to leftfielder John Allen who came up firing and threw to second baseman Ryan Payne, stretching at the bag like a first baseman would. Morris tried to get back to second but the throw beat him there for a double-play.

   The next batter, Chad Kettler, then sent a ball that appeared headed for the left-center field gap, only to be caught by a diving Blake Denton who was perpendicular with the ground when the ball landed in his glove. And just like that, the Hawks and Farley were out of the inning.

   If there was a positive in Friday’s game for the Hawks it was their defense. The team did not commit an error, and in addition to the glove work in the fourth, first baseman Lance Warren made a diving catch in the third inning and Farley himself snagged two hard grounders back to the mound for outs.

   Hebron assured themselves they would not get shut out a second time by the Cowboys when they pushed across a run in the second inning. Michael Putman doubled, and one out later scored on Farley’s RBI single. They added a second run off Coppell starter Michael Apple in the fourth when Ryan Payne opened the frame with a four-pitch walk, then moved to second when Putman was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on a balk that Hebron Coach Steve Stone had to point out to the two-man umpire crew before they called it, then Payne came home on Farley’s deep sacrifice fly to center field. Farley ended the game 2-for-3 with 2 RBI.

   Then the sixth inning rolled around for Hebron. With two outs, the team pushed across four runs – two on a home run to left by Erin McCarver – and two when Nick Sawyer’s fly ball to right field was dropped, scoring pinch-runner Taylor Payne and Blake Denton who had extended the inning with a line double to right-center field.

   Suddenly, it was a 6-6 tie ballgame.

   However great the comeback, it was short-lived. The Cowboys scored two runs on two hits and a hit batter in the bottom of the sixth before Farley closed it out with strikeouts of Kettler and Jonathan Walsh.

   Hebron appeared as if it might answer in the top of the seventh after Ryan Payne delivered a one-out single and McCarver coaxed a two-out, full-count walk. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, but both remained on the basepaths when the final out was recorded.

   Pressed into a full six innings of relief work, Farley surrendered five runs, struck out eight and walked just one batter.

   Hebron’s 4-0 loss to Coppell Tuesday night dropped the Hawks to 0-2 in district, with another meeting with Coppell set for Friday night.

   The Hawks got a strong pitching performance from senior Jon McManemin – who certainly pitched well enough to win – but the team’s bats disappeared against Zak Hermans, who dominated the Hawks hitters to the tune of a one-hit shutout.

   McManemin’s infield single to open the bottom of the sixth was the lone Hawks hit.

   J-Mac allowed one first-inning run, and struggled slightly with his command over the first four innings (five walks) but was huge in the second and third innings. He closed the second by fanning leadoff hitter Jacob Morris on a curveball, and then in the third – with runners at second and third and no outs – McManemin struck out cleanup hitter Jonathan Walsh, fanned his brother David Walsh and got Austin Elkins to ground out to second base to end the inning.

   It was a seriously big-time performance.

   Jon did offer a mistake pitch to Hermans, and the senior hit it out for a two-run home run in the fourth. But then he struck out the side in the fifth, setting down Chad Kettler and both Walsh brothers in order.

   Meanwhile, the Hawks swung and missed – repeatedly – at Herman’s pitches. Oh, both Lance Warren and Ryan Payne hit balls that looked like they might be home runs when they left the bat, but both fly balls died in the glove of rightfielder David Walsh at the fence. Just long outs, and nothing more. Ultimately, no Hawk would cross home plate.

   Reid Davis relieved McManemin and hurled 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

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   One strike away from a win, and the Hebron Hawks let Frisco Liberty rally for three runs in the seventh inning as the Hawks fell to former varsity assistant coach Scott McGarrh’s team 3-2 Monday night at Hawk Field.

   As has been the case the last week, the Hawks again found themselves on the short end of a questionable – no, outright wrong – call by the plate umpire. What proved to be the winning run should have never crossed. Liberty’s Zach Judd was struck in the foot by a Jake Farley pitch and jogged down to first base, as batters do when they have been hit. In the meantime, a runner at third came in to score.

   Instead of a dead ball, which is the ruling when a batter is hit, the home plate umpire said the ball had not hit the batter and the runner was free to advance and score.

   A lousy call and break for the Hawks, to be sure. But Hebron never should have found themselves in that position.

   The Hawks played uninspired baseball most of the game, leaving runners in scoring position several times. On the mound, four different pitchers threw against Liberty with widely varying levels of success. Farley was the last, and had Daniel Simpson down 2-2 on the count when the first baseman singled sharply out of the reach of diving third baseman John Allen for a two-run single. The blown call then brought in what proved to be the winning run.

   Hebron had just five hits on the night, including doubles by Lance Warren and Farley. They held a slim 1-0 lead through much of the game, that coming in the second when Taylor Payne beat out an infield hit, Blake Denton sacrificed him to second, and then Jon McManemin’s line single to center brought him home. The Hawks added what appeared to be an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Farley led off with a double off the left-field wall, and came around to score on an error.

   On the plus side, Ben Neyen started on the mound for Hebron, tossing three hitless innings that included one walk and one strikeout. He tossed 31 pitches, and got a nifty defensive play from center fielder Blake Denton to end the top of the second. Nick Sawyer came in to pitch the fourth and fifth innings, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth.

   The Hawks host Coppell Tuesday at 7 p.m. They'll have to play better against the Cowboys.

   A win over Flower Mound in the District 6-5A opener Tuesday night was right there for the taking.

   Instead, the Hebron varsity fell just short, dropping to the Jaguars 8-6 at Hawk Field despite a rally in the bottom of the seventh that was thwarted when Lance Warren’s deep fly ball to left with two on and two out was caught right at the fence.

Hebron is now 7-2-1 on the season, and 0-1 in district.

   Down 8-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, Hebron posted a run when Ryan Payne homered to right, his third HR of the year. One out later, John Allen (2-3, double, RBI, 2 runs) walked, moved to second on a wild pitch by reliever Chris Asing, and scored on Jon McManemin’s RBI-single.

   Stepping up as the potential game-winning run, Warren hit the ball hard but it was slowed by the wind and the ball was caught at the base of the fence.

   Hebron will look back at this one and see that they stranded 11 runners on base, including bases loaded in the fourth. Flower Mound pitcher Noah Ringenberger went four innings to earn the win, striking out seven. Jaguar pitchers struck out Hebron batters 13 times in the game.

   Jon McManemin drew the pitching assignment for the Hawks and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first. He was touched for an unearned run in the second, then was charged with two runs in the third although Flower Mound’s James Frappier was clearly out at the plate – but the Hawks inexplicably did not get the call although Frappier slid right into the tag by Hebron catcher Erin McCarver.

   Jake Farley pitched 3 2/3 innings of relief, giving up four runs although – again – a missed call cost Hebron a run in the fifth. This time, Colin Ashley should have been called out on a steal attempt – he didn’t slide and was simply tagged out by Michael Putman – but the field umpire missed the call altogether.

   It was that kind of night for the Hawks with a two-man umpire crew that struggled throughout the game.

   Hebron’s first run came with two outs in the first when R. Payne (3-4, 2 RBI, HR, 2 runs) beat out an infield single deep in the hole at shortstop, scoring McManemin. They added two more and took a brief lead after John Allen singled, Blake Denton laid down a perfect bunt-single and both scored on an error by senior third baseman Ty Wheeler.

   Allen drove in the Hawks’ fourth run with a double off the wall in left field in the fifth inning, scoring Payne who had opened the frame with a single to center.

HAWK POWER!

M. Putman (2 HR w/Grand Slam, triple, 4 runs, 6 RBI), R. Payne (Grand Slam HR), L. Warren (4-5, 2 doubles, 3 RBI) and J. Farley (3-4, HR, 2 doubles, 3 RBI) lead Hawks to lopsided “football score” win

   In a game that featured a combined 34 runs on 31 hits – including three Grand-Slam home runs – the Hebron Varsity beat the Houston Jersey Village Falcons in their final game of the 2009 Clear Creek ISD Tournament.

   How crazy was the Saturday afternoon game played between the two teams at Clear Lake High School? The Falcons scored 13 runs. . .and lost by the mercy rule. The game was ended in the fifth inning after Hebron scored its 21^st run of the game.

   The final: Hebron 21, Houston Jersey Village 13

   The bats were booming for both teams. Hebron collected 16 hits to 15 for the Falcons.

   Michael Putman had a day to remember, slugging two home runs – one of them a grand-slam – and narrowly missing a third that crashed off the center-field wall for a triple. He drove in six runs.

   Ryan Payne slugged a grand-slam home run right after the Falcons made a pitching change with the bases loaded and no out in the fifth, greeting the Jersey Village reliever with a home run over the right-center wall.

   Jake Farley also had a big day, slugging his first varsity home run - a two-run blast - and also collected two doubles and drove in three runs.

   And Lance Warren was on fire, going 4-5 with two doubles, three runs scored and 3 RBI.

   The huge offensive output overshadowed a difficult day for Hawks pitching, although Brandon Harris pitched well enough to pick up the win in relief, hurling two innings, striking out two and walking just one.

   Another positive to carry into the start of District 6-5A play Tuesday vs. Flower Mound: The Hawks committed just one error in the game.

   Although the bulk of the runs came from Putman, Farley, R. Payne and Warren, Hebron also got timely contributions from Taylor Payne (1-1, RBI), Nick Sawyer (1-2), Erin McCarver (1-3, walk, 2 runs scored), John Allen (1-3, RBI, 2 runs scored) and Jon McManemin (1-4, walk, 3 runs scored).

   The Hawks finished 2-1-1 in the tournament and are now 7-1-1 on the season. They host Flower Mound at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Special ceremonies to honor former Hawk Joey Ryan, who passed away last Fall, are scheduled for between 6:30-6:45 p.m. that day.

   HOUSTON - Even if they aren’t likely going to defend their title in the Clear Creek Tournament, the Hebron Varsity knows this much: They’re never out of a game.

   The Hawks came from behind twice Friday at Clear Brook High School, scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh to beat LaPorte 5-4 in the first game, then turning around and scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh to manage a 9-9 tie against Pearland.

   Erin McCarver’s line single in the seventh proved to be the game winner in the first game Friday. But the Hawks had actually trailed 4-1 heading into the sixth when they pushed across two runs on a Ryan Payne double and an RBI ground ball off the bat of Jake Farley.

   The Hawks’ big seventh started with a single by Blake Denton who then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan McElveen (1-1, walk). Jon McManemin then laced a double in the gap scoring Denton with the tying run. Two batters later, McCarver ended the game.

   Junior Nick Sawyer pitched two-thirds of an inning in relief to get the win. Ben Neyen had started for Hebron, and was relieved by Reid Davis.

   McManemin (3-4, 2 doubles, 2 RBI) and R. Payne (2-2, double, walk, RBI) turned in multi-hit games for the Hawks.

   In the second game Friday afternoon, Hebron jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second after Ryan Payne doubled and Blake Denton singled him home. But that would be the extent of the Hebron highlights for the next several innings as Pearland batted around in the third and by the end of the inning had built an 8-1 lead.

   But again, this is a Hebron team that – as long as they have their at-bats – is never out of it. The Hawks answered with seven runs of their own in the fourth inning, the big blows an RBI double by Denton, an RBI single by John Allen, an RBI double by Nick Sawyer, an RBI double that crashed off the wall by Michael Putman and a big three-run home run by junior first baseman Lance Warren – his second home run of the season.

Although Pearland took a 9-8 lead in the top of the seventh, the Hawks still managed to tie it after Jake Farley singled, pinch-runner Bret Wurzbach moved to second on a ground out and John Allen lined a two-out single to center. It was the second hit of the game for Allen, who went 2-for-4.

   Other multi-hit performances came from Warren (2-4, HR, 3 RBI) and Denton (3-4, double, 2 RBI).

   Brandon Harris pitched a scoreless inning for the Hawks, coming in relief of Sawyer who started on the mound. Farley pitched the final two outs.

   Hebron plays Jersey Village Saturday, 1:30 p.m., at Clear Lake High School. The Hawks are now 6-1-1 on the season.

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   HOUSTON - A potential big seventh inning fell short as the Hebron varsity dropped its first game of the season, a 6-4 loss to the Clear Creek Wildcats Thursday night in the opener of the Clear Creek Classic at Clear Creek High School.

   Wildcat pitcher Ryan Gunhouse picked up the win, striking out 11 Hawks. Jon McManemin took the loss for the Hawks.

   Hebron (now 5-1) found itself on the wrong side of a 6-1 score in the top of the fifth, but scored three runs with two outs. The inning started with a one-out single over the third baseman’s head by John Allen, a four-pitch walk to McManemin, and, one out later, a walk to Erin McCarver to load the bases. Michael Putman was then hit by a pitch to bring in a run and Ryan Payne followed with a two-run single to left field that brought the Hawks within two runs.

   But that would be as close as they would get. They did make it exciting in the top of the seventh after Blake Denton and McManemin opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Lance Warren then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position, but the Hawks could not bring them in. Putman made a bid by hitting a hard grounder to first base that would have driven in both runs, but the first baseman made a nice play to end the game.

   All four Hawks’ hits were singles:

* Allen (1-for-3, run)

* R. Payne (1-for-1, 2 walks, 2 RBI)

* Denton (1-for-3)

* McManemin (1-for-2, run)

   Reid Davis pitched a scoreless sixth inning for Hebron, striking out two.

   Although the Hawks committed three errors, they also turned in an outstanding defensive play to end the fourth inning when rightfielder Nick Sawyer ran to track down a fly ball then threw a laser in the air to catcher Erin McCarver who tagged the runner trying to score from third base.

   The Hawks play two games Friday - 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the second day of the Clear Creek Classic.

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   Jake Farley’s two-out single capped a two-run seventh inning, giving the Hebron Varsity a thrilling 7-6 come-from-behind  win over Flower Mound Marcus Saturday night in the championship game of the 17^th Annual Rawlings/Athletic Warehouse Tournament.

   It’s the first time Hebron has won the tournament. Arlington Martin – whom the Hawks beat Friday night – had won the previous two years.

   Farley singled to right off reliever Jameson Holt, the third Marcus pitcher of the night, scoring Michael Putman with the winning run. Putman was the first batter Holt faced, and the senior pitcher hit him with a pitch. Michael then moved to second on a wild pitch, and then advanced to third on another wild pitch.

   Down by a run heading into the bottom of the seventh, Hebron’s Erin McCarver (2-for-3, 2 runs) singled and came around to score on a wild pitch. That tied the game, setting up Farley’s big hit.

   For the second time Saturday, Brandon Harris earned the win in relief, tossing the final 1 2/3 innings against Marcus that included three strikeouts – the most impressive a punch-out of Brode Boyd who two innings before had killed the Hawks with a three-run double that wiped out what had been a three-run Hebron lead.

   Marcus, batting in the top of the first, scored twice and might have added another had Hawks pitcher Reid Davis not picked off Victor Guerra at first base. Hebron tied the game at 2-2 in the second after Ryan Payne (1-for-3, run) doubled to open the inning, moved to third on an infield error and scored on a wild pitch. Farley (2-for-4, run, RBI) later came around to score on a second Marcus error.

   The next inning, Lance Warren (2-for-4, run) singled, McCarver followed with a base hit and Putman drilled a three-run home run to right that appeared to have given the Hawks a comfortable cushion. The Maruaders, however, kept coming back and scored three runs of their own in the fifth to again tie the game – this time at 5-5.

   A run in the sixth put Marcus up.

   That held until the seventh, when Farley and company wrapped it up.

   Reid Davis, who had earned a save against Lewisville in the tournament semifinal game earlier Saturday, went five innings against Marcus. He closed the second, third, fourth and fifth innings with a strikeout.

   Hebron is now 5-0 on the season and travel to Houston Thursday for the Clear Creek Classic Tournament.

   Hebron jumped out to a commanding lead, lost it, then regained it again late in the game as the Hawks beat District 6-5A foe Lewisville 12 -7 in the semifinals of the Lake Cities Classic Saturday morning at Lewisville.

   The win put the Hawks in the championship game Saturday night against the winner of the Flower Mound Marcus/Arlington H.S. game.

   The Hawks, now 4-0 on the season, took a 5-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to home runs in the inning by Erin McCarver, Ryan Payne and Taylor Payne, along with an RBI single by Lance Warren. Hebron made it 6-0 in the top of the second after McCarver reached on an error, hustling into second base without a throw. He then scored on Michael Putman’s double.

   The Farmers got on the board in the bottom of the second, scoring two runs – one on an RBI triple and another on a passed ball. With runners at first and third and two outs, Warren – the Hawks’ starting pitcher – struck out Lewisville cleanup hitter Will Pepper with a curve that caught the senior looking.

   Lewisville added two more in their half of the third on three singles – one an infield hit and one a misplayed fly ball in the outfield – and appeared to be headed to an even bigger inning, but Warren struck out first baseman Bryan Lynn to end the threat.

   Meanwhile, Lewisville pitcher Mike Swan – who was so rudely treated by the Hawks’ batters in the first inning – settled down and retired seven in a row. In that time, the Farmers also caught the Hawks. . .then took a 7-6 lead in the fourth inning.

But these have been a resourceful group of Hebron batters the last few days, and the team once again found a way to get the job done. Trailing by a run in the top of the fifth, McCarver (2-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 runs) again reached base on an error. One out later, Ryan Payne (3-for-4, HR, triple, 2 RBI, 3 runs) tripled to right-center bringing in the tying run. Jake Farley then singled in R. Payne to give Hebron a lead it never lost.

   The Hawks added five more runs in the sixth: Warren drew a walk after being down in the count; McCarver launched his second home run of the game to bring in two runs; Putman singled sharply to right; Ryan Payne singled to left, and both he and Putman moved up a bag when the leftfielder bobbled the ball; and when ball four to Farley skipped away, Putman (2-for-4, RBI, run) scored easily and R. Payne raced from second and slid under the tag for the final run.

   Junior righthander Brandon Harris entered in relief of Warren in the fourth, allowing one run in 1 2/3 innings of work to pick up the win – his first victory at the varsity level. He turned in a huge effort in the fifth, when, with the bases loaded, he retired Colby Rogers on an infield popup and got Tony Vasquez to ground out to first base to end the inning.

   Reid Davis pitched a perfect inning in the seventh, striking out one while throwing less than 10 pitches in the inning.

   Until Saturday, no Hebron team had ever reached the championship game of the Lake Cities Classic.

THREE HEBRON HOME RUNS IN THE FIRST INNING

#1: Erin McCarver (right) drove a pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run home run, scoring courtesy runner Blake Denton ahead of him. It was the first of two home runs in the game by McCarver, who also hit a two-run blast in the sixth.

   This much is for certain in the 17^th Annual Lake Cities Classic: Arlington Martin will not repeat as tournament champions.

   The Hebron Hawks saw to that, beating Martin – winners of the last two Lake Cities Classics – 10-4 Friday night behind the strong pitching of junior righthander Nick Sawyer and senior Jake Farley.

   Hebron (3-0) is now scheduled to play Lewisville Saturday at 10 a.m. at Lewisville High School. If they win that game, they will play in the tournament championship Saturday at 5:30 p.m. If they lose, they play in the third-place game Saturday at 3 p.m.

   Martin (2-1) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when starting pitcher and three-hole hitter Brian Ragira launched a mammoth triple to deep center field that Hawks centerfielder Kyle Trammell almost reached with a great effort. Ragira then came home on a passed ball.

   Sawyer got behind the count on a couple hitters early, but kept rising to the occasion and, with runners at first and second and two out in the second inning, got Kyle Blackwell to ground out to end the inning – an inning capped by a great play by first baseman Lance Warren.

   Hebron jumped on Ragira for four runs in the second inning after Ryan Payne (1-for-2, two runs, RBI) drew a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, then went to third when Taylor Payne’s (1-for-3, 2 runs, RBI) ground ball was bobbled for an error. John Allen walked to load the bases and Sawyer helped himself by lofting a two-run double down the right-field line that scored R. Payne and T. Payne. One out later, Jon McManemin (2-for-3, 2 doubles, 2 RBI) drilled a hanging curve to deep right-center field that plated Allen and courtesy runner Bret Wurzbach.

   Sawyer again worked out of a jam in the third, striking out senior outfielder Eric Jeske to end what had been a big inning for Martin, but a sloppy one for Hebron. The Hawks committed two errors in the inning – one by Nick himself.

   Hebron took the lead for good in their half of the third after Erin McCarver led off with a triple and, one out later, scored on Ryan Payne’s hard ground ball to second base. The Hawks then posted two more in the fourth after a single by Blake Denton and a double by Jon McManemin. Both runners came home when second baseman Ryan Walker could not play Warren’s ground ball.

    Sawyer was at the top of his game in the fourth, getting Daniel Garcia, Kyle Blackwell and Jay Hiller in 1-2-3 fashion, all looking at strike three.

    The Hawks teed off on reliever Stephen Popp in the fifth when Michael Putman, Ryan Payne and Taylor Payne delivered consecutive singles, and Jake Farley brought in a run with a sacrifice fly.

   The Hebron Varsity on Friday afternoon followed the same script they used the night before – fall ahead early, then produce a big inning.

   Friday, the Hawks scored three runs in the bottom of the second in what ended as a 5-1 win over Plano East in the second round of the 17^th Annual Rawlings/Athletic Warehouse Lake Cities Classic at Hawk Field.

   Hebron upped its record to 2-0 heading into Friday night’s game against Arlington Martin.

   Against Plano East, Lance Warren was just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, driving in three runs with a second-inning double and a line-drive home run to right in the fifth – his first-ever high school home run. He finished 3-for-4. Junior outfielder Taylor Payne was 2-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base.

   The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when they touched starter and winner Jon McManemin for three singles. The last of those was an infield hit that Hawks shortstop Michael Putman dove and snagged, keeping it in the infield and preventing a second run for scoring.

   In their half of the first, Hebron quickly tied the score on consecutive singles by Warren and Erin McCarver. Hebron Coach Steve Stone got right after it, calling hit-and-runs and calling for a suicide squeeze with Jake Farley on third base that worked to perfection thanks to a perfect RBI bunt-single by catcher Ryan McElveen.

   After the first, McManemin (1-0) hurled 3 2/3 scoreless innings but ran into minor trouble in the fifth after issuing back-to-back walks to load the bases. Jake Farley then came in and struck out Conner Zmolik on a nasty pitch. Farley faced seven batters in the game and retired them all.

   It took a couple innings to get the kinks out, but once they found the groove the Hebron Varsity posted an eight-run inning en route to a 9-2 win over Frisco Centennial Thursday in the opener of the 17^th Annual Rawlings Lake Cities Classic.

   The game, at Hawk Field, also was the season opener for the Hawks.

   Titans starting pitcher Brett Scroggins had no-hit Hebron over the first two innings until Blake Denton opened the third by beating out an infield single deep in the hole at shortstop. Two innings later, it was all Hebron when every batter in the lineup reached base that inning and the Hawks sent 12 men to the plate, scoring eight runs  - the big hits a two-run single by John Allen (2-for-3, triple, 3 RBI), a two-run triple by Jon McManemin and two doubles in the inning by Erin McCarver.

   Hebron starting pitcher Ben Neyen (1-0) earned the win, going four innings before yielding to Jake Farley with two on in the top of the fifth. Neyen helped himself in the top of the first after surrendering a double to leadoff hitter Ryan Moore, by picking off Moore who had strayed off second base too far. Second baseman Ryan Payne broke to the bag, Neyen wheeled and fired and Payne was waiting with the ball when Moore tried to get back.

   Neyen should have gotten out of the inning unscathed, but a throwing error kept the inning alive and allowed two unearned runs to score.

   When he entered the game in the fifth with no outs, Farley needed just three pitches to end the inning, getting a double-play ball and then a grounder right back to the mound. He pitched two scoreless innings, striking out two and allowing just one single.

   Neyen struck out six in his four innings of work, including strikeouts to end the first, third and fourth innings.

   Even the courtesy runners got into the action in the game, with both Bret Wurzbach and Taylor Payne scoring runs for the Hawks – both crossing the plate in the big fourth inning.

   Hebron (1-0) meets Plano East at noon Friday at Hawk Field in the second round of the tournament. The Hawks then face defending tournament champion Arlington Martin Friday night at 7:30 p.m. It’s a rematch of sorts of the 2008 tournament game between the two teams in which Reid Davis hurled a brilliant three-hit game against the Warriors, but lost.

Senior righthander Ben Neyen earned his first win of the season, going four innings in beating Frisco Centennial Thursday at Hawk Field.

Neyen, an all-district performer a year ago, was touched for two unearned runs in the first, but he ended three of his four innings with a strikeout.

   After being no hit for eight innings, the Hebron Alumni exploded for three doubles and pushed across a run in the top of the ninth inning in a 13-1 loss to the current Varsity Hawks squad.

   The Alumni - with at least one representative from every Hawks team dating back to the very first in 2001 - appeared headed for no runs on no hits until Dustin Tarpley, an all-district player for Hebron last season, doubled deep to center. Although Tarpley was out trying to stretch the hit into a triple, Jon Velez followed with a double of his own and came home on Landon Esquivel's double that rattled off the right-field fence.

   Esquivel (2005), who delivered a game-winning hit in Hebron's huge playoff win over Forney in the 2005 Class 4A playoffs, narrowly missed a home run.

   Aaron Mohle (2004) appeared to have a home run early in the game but his blast to left field was kept in the park by a strong wind blowing in from left. He also hit a fly ball deep to center that Hawks junior outfielder Kyle Trammell chased down.

   Sam Freeman started and pitched three innings for the Almuni, who, while eating doughnuts in the dugout, appeared to be enjoying themselves. And for one breezy and chilly afternoon, several eras of Hawks Baseball merged.

   The game was the next-to-last tuneup for the Varsity, who open the regular season Thursday in the Lake Cities Classic.

MORE PICTURES FROM THE DAY ARE POSTED IN THE PHOTOS SECTION

Last week we asked for updates on former Hawks players. Where are they now? What are they doing these days? We're thrilled to have gotten updates on two former Hawks, and are looking forward to getting more updates. We will post them as we get them. Send the updates to: MJLP23@aol.com

Two former Hebron players from the Class of 2004 will be working internships with the Frisco Rough Riders for the upcoming 2009 season.

Michael Landin, a graduate of Texas Tech and currently pursuing his Master's Degree at UNT, will oversee the ushers, ticket takers, parking attendants and other game-day workers at Dr. Pepper Ballpark.

Landin's former Hawks teammate, Andy Benedict, will work in the Rough Riders' Marketing department. Andy, a lefthanded pitcher, is currently on University of Texas - San Antonio's pitching staff. He has been a member of each of the Roadrunner's last two Southland Conference championship teams.

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EARLY SEASON WORKOUTS

Practice is officially underway, as the Hebron Varsity opened the season with their first practice Friday (Jan. 30) and another the next day. Temperatures cooperated as well, with Saturday's temps reaching into the low 70s.

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   Former Hebron second baseman Matt McManemin (2008) opened his college baseball career with a bang, going 3-for-3 with a double and home run for Tyler Junior College in the Apache’s win over North Lake College at North Lake Friday (Jan. 30).

   McManemin singled in his first official collegiate at-bat, then doubled and drilled a home run over the fence at North Lake in his third and final at-bat in Tyler’s season-opening win. He played second base for the Apaches

   Mitchell Putman, a four-year, first-team All-District catcher while at Hebron and a member of the Class of 2005 Regional Semifinalist team, begins his final season at University of Texas-Arlington, where he and the Mavs opened their season with the team’s first practice Sunday (Feb. 1) – the first day Division I programs could begin practice as mandated by the NCAA.

   Mitchell is a three-year letter-winner at UTA. The Mavs open their season by hosting Arkansas State on Feb. 20 as part of the UT Arlington/Hilton Invitational.

Payden Bravenec (2007) opened his season in style, converting his first save opportunity of the new season in North Central Texas College’s 6-4 win at Cedar Valley College Friday (January 30).

   Payden entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, coaxing a ground out and foul out before striking out the last batter he faced to end the game and preserving the victory for the Lions in their season opener.

   Former Hawks shortstop Jesse Payne (2007) also helped the Lions sweep the doubleheader at Cedar Valley, going 5-for-9 over the two games. But it wasn’t all good news for Payne, however, who broke his right hand during the second game and is out 3-4 weeks.

      If you are a former Hawk playing elsewhere now, we would love to hear from you. Even if you no longer are playing ball, we still are very interested in your whereabouts and what you are doing these days.

   E-mail the web guy at MJLP23@aol.com and provide us whatever details you would like to share. We’ll provide updates as we get them.

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Rankings are nothing more than someone's opinion, especially preseason rankings, but it's still nice to be recognized and the Hawks have been recognized as one of the state's preseason Top 25 Class 5A teams by the Houston 5A Baseball website.

The Hawks are ranked #21 in the poll, released January 15 at www.houston5abaseball.com

How tough is District 6-5A? Four teams from the six-team district are ranked in the top 21 including Coppell (#3), Flower Mound (#5), Southlake Carroll (#12) and Hebron (#21).

2009 BASEBALL USA/H5AB PRESEASON TEXAS TOP 25

1. Plano West

2. Houston Bellaire

3. Coppell

4. Houston Klein

5. Flower Mound

6. The Woodlands

7. Houston Lamar

8. Spring Branch Memorial

9. San Antonio Reagan

10. Brazoswood

11. Katy

12. Southlake Carroll

13. Cypress Woods

14. Wylie

15. Sharyland

16. Klein Oak

17. Socorro

18. Alvin

19. McAllen

20. Georgetown

21. Hebron

22. Atascocita

23. Rowlett

24. Katy J.E. Taylor

25. Forth Worth Paschal

Hebron senior catcher Erin McCarver has committed to Harding University where he will contend for the starting catching position beginning next Fall.

McCarver - whose high school career began with a home run at Plano HS on the very first pitch he saw as a freshman three years ago - was a second-team all-district player in baseball last season and earned first-team all-district honors in football last Fall. In baseball, he's been a three-year varsity player.

Harding coach Dr. Patrick McGaha made an offer to Erin late last week, telling him he was looking for him to come in and compete for the starting catcher's job right away as a freshman. The Bisons' current catcher is a senior. McCarver committed Monday (Jan. 26), and will sign during the next NCAA signing period in April.

Harding is an NCAA D-II school in Searcy, Ark., and plays in the competitive Gulf South Conference which also includes Valdosta State, West Alabama, Montevallo, North Alabama, Alabama-Hunstsville, West Florida and West Georgia in the East Division, and Delta State, Southern Arkansas, Arkansas Tech, Ouachita Baptist, Arkansas-Montivello, Christian Brothers, Henderson State, Arkansas State and Harding Univeristy in the West Division.

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SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE

Two Hawks players recently signed their letters of intent to continue playing baseball in college. Hebron coach Steve Stone was there when Ryan Payne (above,  left) and Jon McManemin (right) signed with North Central Texas College this month.

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For the second straight year, Hebron Baseball players participated in the Miracle League of Frisco baseball program, working as player buddies and helping with two games Saturday, Nov. 1st.

Coach Stone and the players were at it bright and early Saturday morning, helping the special needs athletes play baseball and enjoy their time on the field. They helped the players on the field, and they cheered every hit. . .and every play.

 The Miracle League is now played in 21 states.

Thanks to all the players and Coach Stone for lending a hand to the Miracle League of Frisco.

   Senior third baseman Ryan Payne has committed to play baseball at North Central Texas College beginning in the Fall of 2009.

   Payne, a second-team All-District player in 2008, led the Hawks with five home runs last season, then slugged seven more with DBAT-17 during the summer – two of which were grand slams, including a game-tying, late-inning shot at Arizona State that helped lift DBAT to a tournament win last June.

   Ryan joins Hawks teammate Jon McManemin at NCTC where they will play for Lions Coach Scott Harp. Jon committed to the Lions last week, and could see time in the outfield, on the mound and quite possibly behind the plate. Ryan will likely play third base but may also see some time at second base. Both players will sign their letter of intent in January, the first time Junior College prospects can sign.

   NCTC is a member of the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference, joining 2008 National Junior College World Series champion Grayson, Cisco, Weatherford, Hill, McLennan, Temple, Ranger and Vernon College. NCTC last won the National Junior College World Series – played every year in Colorado - in 2001.

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Hawks senior outfielder/pitcher Jon McManemin, a first-team All-District pick last season, has verbally committed to play at North Central Texas College beginning next fall.

J-Mac visited the school two weeks ago, and again last week where he verbally committed to Lions coach Scott Harp.

McManemin's presence at NCTC next season assures the school that a former Hebron Hawk will be on the roster for a fifth straight year. Currently, shortstop Jesse Payne and relief pitcher Payden Bravenec are at NCTC, and before them were pitcher Sam Freeman and catcher Mitch Putman.

McManemin will sign his letter with the school in January, the first signing period for junior colleges.

In the last six months alone, J-Mac has shown his versatility on the diamond by playing all three outfield positions as well as pitcher and catcher.

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   Hebron senior pitcher Ryan Angus has been selected to play in the fifth annual North Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game June 9 in Grand Prairie.

   Angus was 5-4 with a 2.73 ERA during the 2008 season, striking out 66 batters in 59 innings pitched - the fifth highest single-season strikeout total in Hebron history.

   As an outfielder, Angus hit .270 with a home run at Newman Smith that sent the game into extra innings. He drove in 10 runs.

   The 2008 game is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 9 at Grand Prairie Air Hawg Stadium.

RECORDS SET DURING 2008 HAWKS SEASON

   It was a dissapointing end to the season, but the playoff loss to Southlake Carroll - who then went on to sweep favored Arlington Martin in two games - should not diminish the accomplishments of this team.

   The 2008 Hawks team set five records, including most doubles by any Hebron varsity squad in a single season - 58.

   Indeed, the doubles came in bunches for the Hawks this season as Patrick Kocher had 10 (tied for second most with Mitchell Putman who collected 10 in 2005), 9 from Erin McCarver, Jon McManemin and Michael Putman (tied for third-most in Hebron history with Sam Freeman who had 9 in 2005) and Ryan Payne, who collected eight doubles - tied for fourth-best in Hebron history (with Justin Pitrucha - 2005, Brian Aubuchon - 2006 and Matt McManemin - 2007).

   Those five players accounted for 78 % of the team's total doubles output.

   The pitching staff also set three single-season records.

   Hebron Varsity records set in 2008:

* Most Doubles Single Season Team - 58

* Most Saves Single Season Team - 7

* Lowest Opponent Batting Average Single Season Team - .212

* Most Home Runs Single Season - Ryan Payne (5)

* Most Saves Single Season - Jake Farley (4)

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   With their second five-run inning in as many days, Southlake Carroll defeated Hebron 7-1 Saturday in the second game of their bi-district playoff series, clinching the series in two games and ending the Hawks’ season.

   The scorebooks show that the Hawks actually outhit the Dragons 15-14 in the two games, but it wasn’t enough. Southlake was flawless in the field and Dragon pitchers allowed fewer runs as a result of walks. Five Carroll runs were scored by batters who had walked in the two games, including three on Saturday.

The Hawks, while matching up well against the Dragons, just got outplayed.

   Game 2 started as a pitching duel between Carroll ace Ross Stripling and Hebron’s Troy Padmore, and the game was scoreless through three innings. The Dragons broke through with two in the fourth, however, aided by two Hebron errors and a double by Will Watson – just the second hit Padmore had allowed in the game. The inning ended with Hebron catcher Patrick Kocher throwing out Vincent Winter trying to steal second – the second straight inning ended with Kocher tossing out a baserunner.

   With Stripling and Padmore dealing, the game moved to the fifth before Hebron got on the board. Dustin Tarpley doubled to right, and Kyle Trammell entered the game as a courtesy runner. One out later, sophomore Lance Warren was called on to pinch-hit. Warren was quickly down 0-2, before working the count to full. He then lined a Stripling pitch over the second baseman’s head for an RBI single in his first varsity at-bat.

   That would be the only run the Hawks would score. Jon McManemin added a single in the inning, but after that Stripling retired the final seven Hawks in a row to end the game.

   Carroll broke the game open in the top of the sixth. Although Hebron first baseman Jake Farley made a great unassisted putout to open the inning, the next three Dragons hitters reached base and Hebron Coach Steve Stone summoned Ben Neyen from the bullpen. Still, Carroll showed patience at the plate, coaxing two more walks before Tanner Toal’s double drove in the fourth and fifth runs of the inning.

   Jon McManemin finished 2-for-3 in the game with a double and single. The other three Hawks hits came from Warren, Tarpley and Ryan Angus.

   Padmore took the loss, going 5 1/3, allowing five runs but just three that were earned. He walked four and struck out four in his final high school appearance.

   Hebron finished its season at 18-13-1.

   Playing in their first playoff game in three years, Hebron fell one run short in a 7-6 loss to Southlake Carroll in the first game of their best-of-three Bi-District playoff.

   Outside of a difficult second inning in which Carroll scored five runs on three hits, the Hawks played solid baseball and matched the Dragons hit-for-hit. Ryan Angus started and pitched 5 1/3 innings before the heat and pitch count wore him down. He was touched for nine hits, walked five and struck out six and never stopped competing, working hard to keep the Hawks in the game.

   The loss means Hebron will have to win two games Saturday at Hebron, with the first game starting at noon. They are certainly capable of doing that.

The Hawks jumped on Carroll starter Ethan Cunningham for two runs in the top of the first following an Erin McCarver single to open the game, a one-out double by hot-hitting Michael Putman, and a two-run single by Patrick Kocher (3-for-4, 4 RBI) who had a huge game at the plate for the Hawks.

   Hebron coughed that up in the bottom of the second when Carroll scored five times on two infield singles, a sacrifice fly, a two-run double, three walks and an error. But the Hawks kept pecking away, scoring once in the fourth after Angus opened the inning with a single and Ryan Payne doubled.

   Hebron added another in the fifth when Putman (2-for-2, double, 2 walks, 2 runs) singled to open the inning and later scored on Payne’s single to center. Payne finished 2-for-4 with a double and RBI.

   Carroll coach Larry Hughes removed Cunningham after five innings, but junior righthander Joey Haney wasn’t the answer as he walked the first two batters he faced – Matt McManemin and McCarver. Both scored on Kocher’s third hit, a line-drive single. The Hawks, however, left the tying run at third base.

   Jon McManemin got the Hawks out of trouble in the bottom of the sixth, getting a strikeout and a fly out to end a threat that saw Southlake load the bases.

   Hebron missed a chance to claim a higher seed in District 6-5A, falling to Flower Mound 4-2 Saturday in a one-game playoff to determine which team would be the second seed when the UIL Class 5A playoffs begin next weekend.

   Both the Hawks and Jaguars finished with identical 8-5 district records, and split their two-game season series. Flower Mound claims the second seed while Hebron is the third seed and opens its playoff run against Southlake Carroll next week. Times and venue will be posted as soon as determined.

   In Saturday’s game, played at neutral site Coppell HS, Flower Mound scored once in each of the first four innings. Starter Ryan Angus pitched well enough to win, tossing 107 pitches over six innings while striking out nine and walking two. Hebron, whoever, just didn’t hit enough to win.

   The Hawks’ managed just five hits – two of them from Michael Putman and two from Patrick Kocher – and never really had a lot going on. They did get a man on with no outs in the sixth, but a base-running blunder followed by a strikeout and pop-out ended what little momentum Hebron had mustered.

   With its win over the Jaguars Friday, Lewisville clinched the final playoff spot. Newman Smith had been in the hunt, but lost to Creekview Friday.

   At Turner, junior righthander Ben Neyen came within two outs of a perfect game, but lost that on a double to right by Frankie Velasquez, then lost the shutout moments later on a sacrifice fly, but he and the Hawks will gladly take the final result. The Hawks enter tomorrow’s game with Flower Mound with an 18-10-1 overall record.

   The Hawks scored their first run against Turner in the second inning, after Ryan Payne singled, and eventually moved to third on a fielder’s choice. He scored on Matt McManemin’s RBI grounder.

   Hebron added two more on back-to-back doubles by Jon McManemin and Michael Putman to open the third. They rounded out the scoring with two more in the fifth, getting an RBI single by Ryan Angus that brought home courtesy runner Blake Denton and a sacrifice fly by Payne.

   Putman led the 11-hit attack, going 4-for-4 with a run scored and RBI. Other multi-hit games were turned in by Payne (2-for-2, run, RBI), Jon McManemin (2-for-4. double, run) and Dustin Tarpley (2-for-3, run).

Neyen retired the first 19 batters he faced. He struck out eight in the game.

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   It was close in the final two innings, but Hebron clinched its first playoff berth in three years with a 7-6 win over Flower Mound Marcus Tuesday night at Hawk Field.

   The Hawks scored all seven of their runs in the first three innings, then held on for dear life as the Marauders pecked away scoring their six runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. They left the tying run on third in the sixth when reliever Jon McManemin coaxed an inning-ending groundout, and left the tying run on second in the top of the seventh when McManemin struck out Tanner Shumake to end the game.

   McManemin, who earned the save, was pitching in relief of starter and winner Troy Padmore who pitched well, but ran into some problems in the fifth and sixth innings. Padmore was charged with all six Marcus runs, but just three of those were earned as the Hebron defense was sloppy in the middle innings.

   Padmore would have made it out of the sixth had the home plate umpire not missed a third-strike foul ball into Hawks catcher Patrick Kocher’s glove off the bat of leadoff hitter Taylor Hardin. While Hawks coach Steve Stone questioned the non-call out on the field, even Marcus coach Frank Chumbley – coaching third base for the Marauders – leaned over toward the Hebron bench and quietly said, “I heard that from here.”

   But Hardin walked, and Padmore was lifted after a walk to Layne Nelson loaded the bases. Brodie Boyd greeted McManemin with a two-run single to left and suddenly the Hawks were clinging to a one-run lead.

   It’s not like the Hawks rolled over at the plate. Three straight innings ended with line-drive outs – the fourth when Ryan Angus lined to center, the fifth when Matt McManemin lined to left and the sixth when Michael Putman lined to left. But momentum was definitely changing in the later innings, and Marcus found holes for hits and the Hawks did not get a runner as far as third base after the third, and only one reached second base in the last three innings.

   This was one of the few games in which the Hawks did not have an extra-base hit. All 10 of their hits were singles, and that was enough early. Hebron plated a run in the first after Erin McCarver and Jon McManemin singled to start the first, and McCarver eventually scored on a ground-out.

   Hebron came back for more in the second when, with one out, Ryan Payne singled to center, Jake Farley singled to right and Matt McManemin singled to right to load the bases. McCarver then hit a hard ground ball up the middle that was fielded, but scored Payne. Jon McManemin then brought home two more runs with a single to right.

   The Hawks’ final runs came in the third on a sacrifice fly by Farley and an RBI single by Matt McManemin.

   Padmore did not allow a hit until two outs in the third inning. He struck out four in the game – three of those looking.

   The Hawks Varsity won its final non-district game of the year, coming from behind to beat Duncanville 6-5 Saturday (April 19) at Hawk Field.

   Blake Denton delivered the game-winning hit for the Hawks, who improved their season record to 16-10-1 as they prepare for the final week of district play before the start of the Class 5A playoffs.

• Ryan Payne slugged his fifth home run of the season – a 2-run shot in the fifth
• Patrick Kocher collected two doubles (and his third in less than 24 hours), and Jon McManemin added another double
• Riehle Simkins gunned a runner out at home with a perfect throw from left field
• Sophomore Lance Warren made his Varsity debut, playing first base and came up with a great defensive play.

   Outside of one bad first inning, and the lack of much of anything in the way of timely hitting, there wasn’t much difference between Hebron and Coppell Friday night. Except that Coppell managed to score two runs, and the Hawks couldn’t push across anything.

   Hebron’s 2-0 loss, coupled with Flower Mound’s 11-0 thrashing of Creekview Friday night, drops the Hawks into third place in the district standings with two games remaining.

   Hebron left seven runners stranded in the game, and only once strung together consecutive hits – that in the first on Michael Putman’s infield hit down the third base line, followed by a ground-rule double into the left-field corner by Patrick Kocher.

   Hebron loaded the bases in the first after Dustin Tarpley was hit by a pitch, but could not plate a run.

   Starter Ryan Angus struggled through a shaky first inning, but then settled right down and pitched six strong frames. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk after the first inning. Only one of the two runs he was charged with was earned.

   But it was that first inning that haunted Angus. After getting two quick outs, the righthander walked three consecutive hitters. A wild pitch pushed across the first Cowboys’ run that inning. But after the first, Angus found his rhythm and the senior kept his team in the game the rest of the way, twice leaving runners stranded at third base and once at second base.

   He limited an outstanding hitting Coppell team to five hits – the same number the Hawks managed.

   Meanwhile, Coppell’s Zak Hermans pitched an outstanding game of his own, going the distance for the shutout.

   With three district games remaining in the regular season, this is NOT how the Hebron Hawks had hoped to hit the final stretch of the schedule.

   The Hawks’ 4-3 loss to Newman Smith in 11 innings Tuesday dropped the team into a second-place tie with Flower Mound in the district. Hebron has some issues to iron out if they are going to (a) make the playoffs and (b) have a realistic shot of winning games.

   First and foremost, Hawks pitchers are going to have to cut out the walks. Hebron pitchers issued a whopping 11 free passes Tuesday, two intentional after falling behind hitters. Two of those walks scored – a tough statistic in a 4-3 game.

   The Hawks are also going to have to string some hits together. Hebron had just two hits back-to-back in the entire game, and those were 11^th-inning singles by Dustin Tarpley and Ryan Angus.

   Finally, the Hawks have to learn to deal with tough luck. On two different occasions it looked as if the team would break the game open, but Michael Putman’s screaming liner to center with a runner in scoring position ended the eighth inning and Ryan Payne’s frozen rope liner to center with the bases loaded ended the 11^th. Two hard hit balls. . .with nothing to show for it.

   Putman’s home run with two out in the top of the first – his fourth of the season – gave Hebron a quick 1-0 lead. But Smith starter Tyler Mapes kept the Hawks hitters pounding the ball into the ground throughout the game. Indeed, Hawks batters grounded out 12 times in the first five innings alone.

   The Trojans, who at 6-5 in district are very much in the thick of the playoff hunt, took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third off starter Ben Neyen after an infield error and walk scored on a two-run, two-out single by Daniel Kemp. Neyen got Ryan Lamb looking at a called third strike to end the inning.

   Troy Padmore pitched 3 1/3 encouraging innings for the Hawks, ending the sixth, seventh and eighth innings with strikeouts. Jon McManemin, the third Hebron pitcher of the game, entered the game in the ninth.

   The Hawks broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth when Ryan Angus drilled a two-strike, two-out home run over the left-field fence - his first varsity home run. But Smith came back with a run of their own in the bottom of the ninth, and nearly won the game then when another potential run came sprinting home on a single to center. But Angus, playing center, delivered a perfect throw home and Hebron catcher Patrick Kocher blocked the plate and delivered the tag on Kemp, who tried to hop over Kocher in an effort to touch the plate.

   Ultimately, the Trojans won the game on a two-out single in the bottom of the 11^th.Angus finished 3-for-5 with the HR, while Putman was 2-for-5 with a HR and double and Tarpley was 2-for-5.

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   The bats came alive for the Hebron Varsity Friday, as the Hawks pounded out 14 hits in a 13-3 win over Lewisville in a game shorted to five innings because of the run rule.

   The Hawks scored in every inning but the fourth, and drove the ball all over the field. Eric McCarver was 4-for-4 (double, triple, 3 RBI), Ryan Payne was 2-for-3 with an RBI triple and his fourth home run of the season and Patrick Kocher was 3-for-4 with two doubles including the game-winner with one out in the bottom of the fifth.

   Matt McManemin scored two runs without an official at-bat his first two plate appearances, getting hit by pitches each time. Both times he came around to score. Hebron plated four runs in the third with the big hits McCarver’s triple to left-center and a two-RBI double by Jake Farley.

   The Hawks matched that with four more runs in the fifth, with Payne’s RBI triple (he scored on a balk), and three consecutive singles by McCarver, Jon McManemin and Michael Putman (RBI, 2 runs) that set the stage for Kocher’s walk-off, game-winning double.

   Ryan Angus pitched 4 2/3 innings to pick up the win, with junior Reid Davis coming in to get the final out while pitching to just one batter. Angus struck out four – three of those in the fourth inning – but walked five, including three in the fourth. He began to tire, and Coach Steve Stone summoned for Davis.

   The Hebron varsity dug itself into a hole it couldn’t get out of Tuesday night, falling to Flower Mound 6-2 in a game shortened to five and a half innings when lightning and rain hit the area.

   The game started some 40 minutes late because the JV game between the two schools went an extra inning. Those teams tied.

   In the Varsity game, Ben Neyen turned in his shortest outing of the season, lasting one inning while being touched for four earned runs – three on a home run by Jaguars DH Ty Wheeler. Troy Padmore pitched the final four innings and had some success, striking out seven and worked out of a tight jam when he entered in the second with a runner on third and no out. Padmore kept the Jags off the board that inning.

   He also struck out Flower Mound leadoff hitter Chase Durham with the bases loaded to end the fifth.

   The downside of the outing was that two of the three batters Padmore walked came around to score on hits. But that’s not what beat Hebron. The Hawks simply could not get anything going offensively, leaving nine runners stranded. They had the bases loaded in the third with one out and could not push across a run.

   Hebron did plate one run in the third on Patrick Kocher’s RBI single, but wasted a double by Jon McManemin when he was left at third. It was much of the same in the sixth when Ryan Angus led off the inning with a single, and Ryan Payne doubled him to third. Angus scored on Matt McManemin’s grounder – of which Matt reached first base on when shortstop Ryan Akins booted it – but with one out the Hawks could not push across another run as Payne was left stranded at third.

   Hebron, now 6-3 in District 6-4, falls back into a second-place tie with Flower Mound. Newman Smith, which could have kept pace with a win, lost to Lewisville Tuesday.

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   In what never really felt like a close game, the Hebron Varsity scored two runs in the first and two in the fifth and turned the game over to the bullpen in a 4-3 win over Creekview Friday night at Hawk Field.

   Pitching and defense – two hallmarks of this team this season – were somewhat inconsistent at times Friday, although starter and winning pitcher Ryan Angus and reliever Jon McManemin combined for a one-hitter. Of Creekview’s three runs, one scored via a passed ball and one on a wild pitch.

   Angus earned the win, going 5 1/3 innings, with seven strikeouts and four walks. McManemin picked up the save.

   Hebron got on the board immediately thanks to a two-run home run by Michael Putman, after McManemin had singled off starting pitcher Ben Chrisman’s foot. It was the third home run of the season for Putman, who now shares the team lead in that category.

   The Mustangs’ lone hit came in the third when Chrisman lined a single to left. A walk and an error contributed to Creekview’s first run that inning, and the Mustangs trailed the remainder of the night although they pulled to within one run in the sixth when Angus ran into some trouble.

   Hawks Coach Steve Stone went to the bullpen and summoned McManemin, who got two outs to end the Creekview sixth inning – with the tying run on base. McManemin pitched 1 2/3 inning, giving up no hits and striking out three.

   The Hawks final two runs came in the fifth when Erin McCarver and McManemin strung together back-to-back singles, Putman doubled in a run and Angus drove in the final run on a fielder’s choice grounder.

On April Fool’s Day the Hebron Varsity wasn’t kidding. They were serious about stopping the team’s three-game losing streak and did it in high fashion, collecting 12 hits en route to an 11-1 win over R.L. Turner Tuesday at Hawk Field.

   Every Hebron starter has at least one hit and two players – Michael Putman (2-for-2, walk, 2 runs) and Ryan Payne (2-for-2, Home Run, Triple, 2 runs) – had two hits each. The game was halted after the Turner fifth because of the 10-run mercy rule.

Hebron exploded for 10 runs in the bottom of the first, with the first six batters crossing home plate. Even the first out – a deep sacrifice fly off the bat of Jake Farley – was hit well. Putman and Jon McManemin both walked and singled in the inning, and both scored twice in the first inning. Jon also drove in brother Matt McManemin, who had singled and stolen second base in the inning. 

   The Hawks’ final run came with two out in the second on Payne’s home run to left field, his third of the season. The highlights:

* Michael Putman (2-2, walk, 2 runs)

* Ryan Payne (2-2, triple, HR, RBI, 2 runs)

* Jon McManemin (1-2, walk, RBI)

* Patrick Kocher (1-2, walk, 2 RBI)

* Dustin Tarpley (1-2, run, RBI)

* Ryan Angus (1-2, run, RBI)

* Jake Farley (1-2, sac fly, RBI)

* Matt McManemin (1-2, run, walk, SB)

* Riehle Simkins (1-1)

* Erin McCarver (1-4, double, run, SB)

   The Hawks made it interesting Tuesday at Coppell, but ultimately dropped their first district game of the season 6-4 to the Cowboys.

The Cowboys came out swinging against Hebron starter Reid Davis, with leadoff hitter Austin Elkins hitting the first pitch he saw over the right-center fence for a home run. By the end of the second, Coppell had built a 4-1 lead. They added a fifth run off reliever Ben Neyen in the third inning and the game appeared to be slipping away from the Hawks.

   But then came the fourth inning, and the Hawks showed life. With two outs and a full-count on him, Patrick Kocher walked off Coppell starter Erik Nieder. Dustin Tarpley then reached base when Coppell shortstop Chad Kettler bobbled his ground ball. Then came a string of three consecutive RBI singles by Ryan Angus, Jake Farley and Ryan Payne and the Hawks suddenly were within one run of the Cowboys. It looked like Hebron might tie it when Matt McManemin sent a hard grounder between first and second base, but Cowboys second base Greg Higginbothem made an outstanding play going to his left to field the ball and throw out McManemin to end the inning.

   Coppell’s final run came in the bottom of the fifth when D.J. Garber walked after starting the at-bat 1-2, then Matt Reynolds laced a neck-high triple.

   Hebron appeared ready to rally again in the sixth when Patrick Kocher doubled to center, but Coppell coach Don English turned to junior shortstop/pitcher Chad Kettler to put out the fire and that’s exactly what he did. With a fastball that one radar gun-touting scout said topped out at 89 mph, Kettler faced six batters over the final two innings and struck out five.

   Neyen pitched well over four innings. Garber singled off him to lead off the third inning and scored, and Garber walked to lead off the fifth and scored. But Neyen struck out seven in his four innings of work and walked two. A diving play by Kocher at the plate nailed Reynolds who was trying to score on a squeeze attempt, keeping Coppell off the board a second time in the bottom of the fifth.

   Hebron led for half an inning, scoring once in the first when Erin McCarver singled, stole second, moved to third on Jon McManemin's grounder and scored on Michael Putman's RBI ground out.

   The Hawks next play Friday night at Flower Mound Marcus.

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JUST NOT GOOD: Marcus 10, Hebron 7

   Inconsistent pitching, hitting and defense doomed Hebron Friday night, turning a 5-1 lead into a 10-7 loss to the Marauders. 

   The loss puts Hebron at 4-2, with a two-game district losing streak.   Not much went right for the Hawks who walked six batters – four of which scored – and surrendered two home runs, including what proved to be a game-winning grand-slam in the bottom of the sixth when Marcus loaded the bases without a ball leaving the infield.  

   The bats weren’t exactly on fire either, as the team produced just seven hits – although both Jon McManemin (2-for-3, HR, 3 runs scored) and Michael Putman (2-for-3, HR, Double, 4 RBI) did all they could at the plate. For both, it was their second HR of the season. Lapses in the field also cost the Hawks.

   After a shaky first inning, Ryan Angus settled down and pitched Hebron to a 4-3 win over Flower Mound Friday at Hawk Field.

   Angus walked two in the first inning, and the Hawks dealt with a tough break when second baseman Matt McManemin – blinded by a brutal sun at eye level - lost third baseman Ryan Payne’s throw on what first appeared to be a potential inning-ending double play. The Jaguars scored two runs on that play, then added another on a single.

   Flower Mound tried to add to that following back-to-back singles, but Hebron left fielder Jon McManemin hosed Mitch Lehman trying to score on a single, ending the inning.

   McManemin put the Hawks on the board in the bottom of the first with his first home run of the season, a deep shot to right field off Flower Mound starter Shane Henderson. Two innings later, the Hawks took the lead for good after Angus lined a one-out double to left-center, Erin McCarver doubled in almost the same spot, McManemin walked, Michael Putman singled to load the bases and Patrick Kocher lined a 2-2 pitch to right for a two-run double.

   Then Angus went to work on the mound. The senior got strikeouts to end the third, fifth and seventh innings. He struck out eight and walked five, and allowed just four singles over seven innings.

   The Hawks next play at Lewisville Tuesday night.

   Ben Neyen was on top of his game, tossing a five-hit victory over Creekview in which he struck out 12 batters as the Hawks won their District 6-5A opener 5-2 over the Mustangs.

Hebron is now 9-3-1 on the season, and 1-0 in district play. The Hawks host Flower Mound HS Friday at 7 p.m.

   The Hawks did not break out against Creekview starter Scott Grau until the third inning when Matt McManemin walked, moved to second on Ryan Angus’ ground ball, then moved to third and eventually scored on wild pitches. They added two more in the fourth when Michael Putman beat out an infield single, stole second, was balked to third and trotted home on Patrick Kocher’s sac fly to center field.

   One out later, Dustin Tarpley drilled a home run to left-center giving Hebron a 3-0 lead.

   But the Mustangs added two of their own in the fourth when Juan Thrasher and Jordan Dallalio beat out back-to-back infield singles, then Grau drove in a run with another infield single that bounced off Neyen’s glove. Todd Braden then drove in what would be the final Creekview run with a sac fly.

   Hebron added two insurance runs in the sixth. Patrick Kocher reached on an error to open the inning, and Blake Denton entered the game to run for him. With Denton at first, Ryan Payne laid down a bunt single putting runners at first and second. One out later, Jake Farley’s hard grounder to second base was mishandled brining home Denton. Payne then scored on Angus’ RBI single.

   Neyen worked out of his only jam in the sixth after Thrasher singled to open the inning and Dallalio reached on an error. But Neyen retired the next three batters in a row to end the threat.

   As impressive as Neyen’s 12 strikeouts were, so, too, was the fact that he did not issue a walk and worked a complete game.

   The Hebron Varsity appeared to have a win, only to see it disappear and turn into a 2-2 tie against McKinney Saturday night at McKinney Boyd.

   The Hawks and the Lions played a single game as a tune-up for district play that begins for both teams Tuesday. The two teams were supposed to play Thursday, but were snowed out and the McKinney Tournament – in its original form – was rained out.

   The game was deadlocked at 1-1 until the top of the seventh, when the Hawks pushed across a run after Erin McCarver singled, Jon McManemin's grounder back to the mound moved McCarver over, and Michael Putman followed with a ground single to left. Patrick Kocher then hustled down the first base line on a ground ball to second that initially appeared to be an inning-ending double play. But Kocher beat the throw while McCarver crossed the plate, giving the Hawks a 2-1 lead.

   With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, however, things began to fall apart for the Hawks. An error and two consecutive walks led to the game-tying run before the final out was recorded.

   McKinney used six different pitchers, including sophomore Zach Lee who pitched the first inning. After walking McCarver, Lee struck out the next three batters in a row. Last August, Lee took the mound for the USA Baseball Youth National Team (16-under), pitching the U.S. over Brazil in the gold medal game of the World Youth Championships in Venezuela. He won two games in that tournament.

   Another sophomore, Matt Lipka, struck out the side in the fourth inning. McKinney pitchers struck out nine Hawks. They walked three, and senior pitcher Alex Baker hit Ryan Payne with a pitch to lead off the second. Payne was erased on a fielder’s choice, and Hebron did not score in the inning that also included a Matt McManemin double.

   Hebron sent five pitchers to the mound, with varying degrees of success. Hebron struck out eight Lions hitters, but walked seven and hit a batter as well. Senior Troy Padmore built on the momentum he had at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington earlier in the week, working two scoreless innings in the cold Saturday night, striking out three and allowing just one hit.

   Ben Neyen pitched a 1-2-3 perfect second inning, striking out two.

Hebron (8-3-1) now travels to Creekview to open District 6-5A play Tuesday. JV Black plays at 4 p.m. with varsity at 7 p.m.

   ARLINGTON - Reid Davis pitched to just one batter Tuesday, but the junior earned his second win of the season as the Hebron Varsity rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Justin Northwest 2-1 at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

That inning opened with Ben Neyen drilling the first pitch he saw to left field for a single. Blake Denton then laid down a near-perfect bunt, and reached when Northwest pitcher J.R. Perry throw high in his haste to throw out the hustling Denton. With runners at first and second, Matt McManemin then laid down a bunt of his own that Northwest catcher Justin Todar dove for but could not come up with and there was no play on McManemin.

   That brought up Ryan Angus, who had one of the few Hawks’ hits early. Angus hit a fly ball to center field, but with no outs the Hawks didn’t try and score on the arm of Tyler Collins. And they didn’t need to. Erin McCarver walked with the bases loaded to tie the game and then Jon McManemin launched a fly ball to left field that easily scored Denton with the game winner.

   It was McManemin who saved a run in the top of the first. With runners on first and second, Northwest’s Tyler Collins singled just out of the reach of a diving Ryan Angus in center field. Angus managed to knock the ball down, and with the Northwest runner sprinting home, McManemin hustled over from left field and threw a one-hop home where catcher Patrick Kocher made the tag for the first out of the game. The play helped shift the momentum of the game, even that early in the contest, and Troy Padmore then struck out the next two batters to end the threat.

   Six Hawks pitchers took the mound including Padmore (four strikeouts in two innings), Anthony McNamara (three strikeouts in two scoreless innings), Jake Farley, Jon McManemin (struck out the side in the sixth), Ryan Angus (1 strikeout in 2/3 of an inning) and Davis, who upped his season record to 2-1.

   Chalk up another first for Hebron Baseball: Winning the championship of the 12-team field in the Clear Creek ISD Varsity Tournament in Houston.

   The Hawks beat Clear Creek 5-3 Saturday morning, then beat Friendswood 4-3 in the championship game Saturday evening. Hebron went 4-1 in the tournament, proving to themselves that they can hang with anybody, and proving that they (a) maybe have more pitching than anyone dared consider and (b) they can hit the ball hard, and very, very far.

   The win over Clear Creek featured some 14 scouts – an unofficial count, but what appeared to be accurate – with radar guns in hand to see Creek righthanded pitcher Jarred Cosart. The senior did, indeed, throw hard, but never really mastered Erin McCarver who drilled his curveball to right-center for a double and hammered his fastball to left for a home run.

   But while the scouts were there to see Cosart, it was Hawks pitcher Ryan Angus who was the star on the mound, outdueling Cosart to pick up the win. Only a nasty, bloody blister on his finger prevented Angus from a complete game. He got one of the biggest wins of the season, going 6 1/3 innings and getting himself out of two-out jams in the fourth and sixth innings with swinging strikeouts. Angus scattered six hits, struck out six and walked three. But he never gave in, a significant trait that seems to be emerging from this Hebron team.

   Jake Farley relieved Angus, and after allowing a single and walk, got Creek sophomore Reid Gordy to ground into a 6-4-3 doubleplay in which Dustin Tarpley made an outstanding scoop to preserve the win, give Farley the save and push the Hawks into unchartered territory: The Championship of the CCISD Tournament.

   In the championship, Hebron jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after two innings, but then stalled the remainder of the game. Ryan Payne’s line-single to left field in the third and Michael Putman’s line-single to left-center in the fifth were the only two Hawk hits after the second inning. The Hawks were their own worst enemies, grounding into double plays to end the second, third and fifth innings.

   Anthony McNamara cruised through the first two innings, but ran into some trouble in the top of the third when he issued a one-out walk, was touched for a double by Jesse Flores and gave up a run-scoring single before striking out Alex Anastas to end the inning. But the Mustangs had cut the Hebron lead to 4-2.

   With one out in the fifth, and the tying run at first, Coach Steve Stone summoned Jake Farley for the second time in the day, and the junior earned his second save of the day with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. He also contributed at the plate, collecting a double and scoring a run for the Hawks.

   Jon McManemin (2-for-3) and Ryan Payne (2-for-2, Walk) accounted for four of the Hawks’ six hits.  

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   HOUSTON - In two games decided in the seventh inning, the Hebron Varsity won one and lost one in the second day of the Clear Creek ISD Tournament in Houston.

   The Hawks downed Pearland 1-0, pushing across the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Hebron lost in bizarre fashion in the nightcap, falling to Clear Brook even after junior Ryan Payne appeared to have tied the game in the seventh with a three-run home run. More on that later.

   Against Pearland, both Hawks’ starter Reid Davis and Oilers starter Kevin Miller were locked in a scoreless duel going into the bottom of the seventh. But with two outs and two strikes on him, Ryan Angus singled to keep the game alive. Then, with Angus at first, Erin McCarver drove a double to left-center field. Angus, running all the way and being waved home by Coach Steve Stone, slid in safely, arriving at the same time as the ball.

   Angus finished the game 3-for-3.

   The Hawks seemed on the verge of breaking through against Miller on a couple of occasions, but had nothing to show for it save some hard-hit outs. With two on and two out in the third, Michael Putman hit a screamer to center that was caught by Pearland centerfielder Tobias Dorsett. That inning, by the way, had opened with Matt McManemin lining hard to right field.

   Dorsett was at it again in the sixth. With one out, Patrick Kocher (2-for-3) dropped a double to right-center field. Ryan Payne then drilled a liner to deep center field that appeared to be sailing over Dorsett’s head. But the senior raced back and made the catch, forcing courtesy runner Blake Denton – who was halfway to third – to sprint back to second. The inning ended one batter later.

   Davis was outstanding in earning his first varsity win, retiring the last seven batters he faced in a row, and 10 of 11. He allowed just four hits – all singles – struck out two and walked two.

CLEAR BROOK 8, HEBRON 7

   The rally fell short, but Hebron’s 8-7 loss to Clear Brook proved one thing: This team is never out of it.

   Trailing 7-1 in the second inning, the Hawks continued to chip away while relief pitcher Jon McManemin did his part on the mound over 5 2/3 innings. In the top of the seventh, and trailing by three, the Hawks again began to rally. Michael Putman coaxed a two-out walk, Patrick Kocher lined a single to center, and Ryan Payne followed with what appeared to be a game-tying home run to left-center field. The ball cleared the fence, but shortly after he touched home plate Payne was called out. The infraction: He and courtesy runner Blake Denton – in their exuberance - high-fived in the basepath, with their arms crossing each other. Baserunners cannot cross the runner ahead of them, or it’s an automatic out.

   The next batter than grounded out to end the game.

   Hawks coach Steve Stone just shrugged after the game, preferring to talk about the positive. “We never quit,” the coach said. “And did you see all those guys after the home run? They all raced out there, and did you see who was first out of the dugout? It was (Troy) Padmore, which shows me a lot.”

   Indeed, Padmore was a footnote to this game, having lasted just 1/3 of an inning while allowing six earned runs. He struggled with location up, but – as Stone noted – never stopped pulling for his teammates.

   McManemin was greeted with a bases loaded double when he entered the game in the first, but then went to work. Over the next 5 2/3 innings, he struck out nine Clear Brook batters and ended three of those innings with strikeouts on called third strikes. He was also 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.

   Hebron began pecking away in the top of the third when Erin McCarver opened with a single, McManemin followed with a single and Michael Putman followed with a third straight single. McCarver came home on a passed ball. Payne then drilled a fastball that hit about two feet below the top of the 20-foot fence in straightaway centerfield for a double.

   They added another run the next inning, with Matt McManemin opening with a walk, and eventually scoring on brother Jon’s RBI single. The team’s next runs would come in the bizarre seventh.

   Patrick Kocher was 2-for-3 in the game, and 4-for-6 in the two games. 

   HOUSTON – Hebron Varsity hitters scored in every inning, and collected 13 hits en route to a 14-1 thrashing of LaPorte Thursday afternoon in the Hawks’ opening game in the Clear Creek ISD Tournament.

   Ben Neyen earned his second win of the season, going four innings before time ran out.

   The Hawks plated four in the first inning, the big blow a two-run home run by Ryan Payne.

   Hebron added seven more runs in the second, sending 13 players to the plate in the team’s biggest offensive explosion of the young season. All but three Hawks had at least one hit, and four starters – Payne (2-3, HR, 2 RBI), Jon McManemin (2-2, triple, 2 RBI), Patrick Kocher (3-3, Double, RBI) and Dustin Tarpley (3-3, Double, 2 RBI) – had multi-hit games.

   Riehle Simkins batted in the third inning, and delivered a sharp single for his first Varsity hit.

   Despite the one-sided score, this was no weak LaPorte team the Hawks faced. The Bulldogs (24-10 last year, reaching the Area playoffs in Class 5A) welcomed back 13 players that had varsity experience last season, including first baseman Kendrick Perkins who batted .420 with 8 HR last year. 

   “We really hit the ball, and hit it hard,” Hawks coach Steve Stone said, in what could be considered a bit of an understatement. “Even our outs were hit hard.” _____________________________________________________

   The Hebron Varsity split its two games on the final day of play in the 2008 Rawlings/Athletic Warehouse Lake Cities Classic Tournament, falling to Midland Lee in the morning but coming back to defeat Arlington Lamar in the afternoon.

   The Hawks finished 3-2 in the tournament, placing seventh among the 16-team field.

   Hebron collected six hits against Lee, but couldn’t push across a run falling to the Rebels 3-0 – the second straight shutout loss for the Hawks.

   But the team came right back against Lamar, again collecting six hits in the game – but five of them were doubles, as they held on for a 7-5 win over the Vikings. Hawk doubles came off the bats of Dustin Tarpley, Ryan Payne, Erin McCarver, Jon McManemin and Jake Farley.

   Pitching in his first varsity game, senior lefthander Anthony McNamara got the win for the Hawks while Farley recorded his second save in as many days.

   Hebron’s next game is Thursday against LaPorte in the Clear Creek ISD Tournament in Houston. The team will play four games down there – five if they reach the championship game Saturday afternoon.

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   In the championship game of the Group B bracket of the 2008 Rawlings/Athletic Warehouse Lake Cities Classic, the Hebron Hawks were no-hit by Arlington Martin pitcher Mike Hill who beat the Hawks 2-0.

   But in the loss, a new pitcher emerged for Hebron: junior Reid Davis, promoted to the varsity earlier this week.

   Arlington Martin, ranked No. 1 in the western part of the metroplex by the Fort Worth Star Telegram, managed just three hits off Davis over seven innings – although one of them was a sixth-inning solo home run by Jordan Imhoff, about the only mistake Davis made the entire game. Imhoff, who slugged 16 home runs last year as a junior, is headed to the University of Oklahoma to play ball in the Fall.

   Davis kept the Hawks in the game the entire evening, but Hebron hitters could never master Hill, a senior righthander who struck out nine Hawks batters. The Hawks’ only scoring threat came in the second inning when Erin McCarver was hit by a pitch with two outs, then sprinted to third when Hill threw away Dustin Tarpley’s ground ball back to the mound – Martin’s only error of the game. Both Hawks runners were left stranded, and no other Hebron hitter reached base until the sixth inning when Jon McManemin drew a two-out walk.

   Even in defeat, Davis was masterful, striking out eight. More importantly, he did not issue a walk, showing outstanding poise against a power-hitting lineup. He hit two batters, both with off-speed pitches and one with two strikes.

   Hebron was 2-1 on the season, heading into play Saturday as the second seed of its  four-team bracket.

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Troy Padmore pitched five solid innings, and Michael Putman and Ryan Payne led the hitting attack as the varsity Hawks posted a 5-1 win over Amarillo Friday afternoon in the 2008 Rawlings/Athletic Warehouse Lake Cities Classic at Hawk Field.

   Padmore, making his first varsity start, hurled 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win. He struck out six, but did walk four. None of those walks accounted for any runs, however. The senior did work himself out of a jam in the third inning when – with runners on first and second with two outs – he got Amarillo DH Brandon Bennett to swing and miss a full-count pitch.

   The game was a 0-0 tie until the third when Matt McManemin and brother Jon McManemin reached on back-to-back infield hits. Both moved up on a double-steal and, with two outs, Payne singled to center scoring both and giving the Hawks a lead they would never relinquish.

   Putman continued his hot hitting in the early part of the season, going 3-for-3 with his first home run of the season – a solo shot over the right-field wall in the fourth inning.

   Erin McCarver and Jake Farley also contributed back-to-back doubles in the sixth, but it was on the mound where Farley also contributed. Coming in relief of Padmore in the sixth with one out and runners at first and third and the Hawks’ holding a slim two-run lead, Farley got an inning-ending doubleplay by throwing just one pitch to earn his first save of the year.

   In his first true Varsity start, junior pitcher Ben Neyen pitched four scoreless innings to pick up the win as Hebron downed Frisco 5-1 in the chilly opener of the 16^th Annual Rawlings/Athletic Warehouse Lake Cities Classic Thursday night at Hawk Field.

   The game was scheduled to start at 5 p.m., and both teams were ready to take the field then, but there were no umpires on site as the local Umpires Alliance had failed to schedule umps for the Hebron bracket. Hawk Field is one of four sites for the 16-team tournament.

   Neyen’s first pitch was a strike, and the rest of the outing was on target, too, as he struck out two, walked two and allowed just six singles – and three of those were infield hits.

   Hebron plated two runs in the bottom of the first after Matt McManemin walked and moved to second on an errant pickoff attempt by Racoons pitcher Tyler Noesser. Patrick Kocher reached on an error, moving McManemin to third. With two out, Michael Putman (2-for-3, 2 RBI) singled scoring McManemin. Before the inning ended, Blake Denton – running for Kocher – scored on a passed ball.

   Hebron added a run in the second following consecutive singles by Jake Farley (2-for-3) and Ryan Angus, who laid down a perfect bunt. One out later, Jon McManemin lined an RBI-double to right-center. In the fourth, Erin McCarver and Dustin Tarpley opened with back-to-back singles and Farley drove in McCarver with a ground out.

   The Hawks’ final run came in the fifth when Ryan Payne lined a single to center, moved to second on a wild pitch and then raced home on Putman’s second RBI single of the night.

   Jon McManemin pitched the final two innings, allowing just one unearned run. He walked two and struck out three, including two batters looking in the sixth.

   Hebron (1-0) plays Amarillo at noon Friday at Hawk Field.

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JV at Southlake Carroll: The JV Black squad played an abbreviated scrimmage at Southlake Carroll before weather conditions forced the end of play.The JV Hawks got doubles from John Allen and Lance Warren, and an infield single from Jon Lueders but could not scratch across a run. According to eyewitness accounts, the JV Black lost 3-0.Brandon Harris, Nick Sawyer, Taylor Payne and Reid Davis also pitched for the Hawks.

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  Unlike the home run extraveganze of the 2007 Meet the Team day, the 2008 version - played Feb. 2nd at Hawk Field - featured six triples in the morning session comprised of juniors and seniors, and a seventh in the afternoon.

  In the morning, triples were hit by Ryan Payne (2), Erin McCarver, Michael Putman, Matt McManemin and Jake Farley.

   The afternoon session featured a triple by Taylor Payne and also included the day's only home run - that coming off the bat of sophomore Stephen Roberts. 

See more pictures in the Photo Gallery

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  The lid was put on the 2006 season Thursday (May 25) at the annual Hebron Baseball Banquet held at Prestonwood Baptist Church.
  It was a night to recognize the three Hebron teams and coaches, and say goodbye to assistant varsity coach Scott McGarrh who is now officially the head baseball coach at the brand new Frisco Liberty High School.
  Coach Steve Stone stressed how something positive can be taken from each and every day and game played, and how important it is to live up to the challenges faced on the field and in everyday life. “Success is not winning every game or having no problems in life,” Coach Stone said, “success is not giving up or giving in.”
  JV coach Jim Farley recognized the Junior Varsity for an outstanding season in which they finished with 20 wins – only the second JV team to reach that figure at Hebron - and scored “a bunch of runs.”
  Freshman coach Mike McBride praised the Freshman team for its 24-1-1 record this season and for its ability to rise to the occasion. “I’ll go ahead and say that I think this is the best Freshman team we’ve ever had,” Coach McBride told the crowd, which is saying a lot considering the last two Freshman teams were outstanding.
  Before the night was through and before he left Hebron, McGarrh received a huge Handicap Parking sign - with a pair of toy handcuffs to hang it from his car mirror - as a final nod to his mistaken arrest two years ago during practice for an unpaid parking ticket (for parking in a handicap spot - it was later discovered McGarrh had paid the ticket, or so that was his story).
  Coach McGarrh thanked his fellow coaches and told them how important they were in shaping his coaching career, and how important they are to the future of Hebron baseball. He also recognized the players - both past and present - for their contributions to building the program.
  Several players were recognized with awards. The complete list:

ALL-DISTRICT AWARDS

Academic All-District:

Brady Nix

Mark Putman

Stephen Swan

Honorable Mention All-District:

Brian Aubuchon

Patrick Kocher

Mark Putman

Stephen Swan

Second Team All-District:

Jon Bartlotti, pitcher

Brady Nix, outfielder

First Team All-District:

Cameron Bara, infielder

Jesse Payne, infielder

HAWK AWARDS

Hawk Hustle Award: Eric Clayton

Silver Slugger Award: Cameron Bara

Gold Glove Award: Jesse Payne

Outstanding Pitcher Award: Jon Bartlotti

Most Valuable Player Award: Mark Putman

SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

Booster Club: Eric Clayton

Coaches: Mark Putman

  The rains wiped out the final day of the Top of Texas Fall Baseball Tournament, but not before all three Hebron teams had been ousted from the two-day event.
  Before exiting, however, the Hebron Varsity and the Hawks JV both posted victories in their opening-round games before losing in the next round.
  The Varsity beat The Colony 7-1, then lost to McKinney 3-1 in the single-elimination tournament. The JV beat McKinney 7-4 before losing 4-3 to Prosper-1.
The JV-2 squad comprised of Hebron freshmen players, dropped a 3-2 decision in extra innings to Prosper-2 in their only game.
  In the Varsity's win over The Colony, senior Adrian Rubalcava collected two hits and scored two runs, Matt McManemin delivered a two-run single and Ryan Kelley pitched a complete game for the victory.
  The Varsity faced McKinney senior righthander Tom Mitzner, a first-team All-District pitcher who beat the Hawks by one run in the bottom of the seventh inning last spring. The Hawks jumped on Mitzner in the bottom of the first when Jesse Payne - a former teammate of Mitzner's in summer ball - doubled to right-center, and moved to third on Jon McManemin's perfectly-executed bunt single. Payne then scored easily on Patrick Kocher's sacrifice fly.
  That would be the only run they scored.
  The Hawks did threaten again in the sixth inning after Payne and McManemin collected back-to-back singles. With one out and after Mitzner was removed from the game, Jon Bartlotti's deep fly ball to right moved Payne to third but he was left stranded.
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Snapshots of Varsity Returners:

Patrick Kocher – His 37 hits and 25 RBI led all Hawks batters last season, and he rarely strikes out, fanning just seven times in 97 AB – amazing for a cleanup hitter. Behind the plate, he improved dramatically at throwing runners out attempting to steal, helping thwart several opponent rallies last season. Was named a First Team All-District player last season.

 Matt McManemin – Played an outstanding second base last season as a junior, and was versatile enough to hit at the top of the order as well as the middle. Easily led all Hawks batters by getting hit by a pitch an uncanny seven times last season.  His 27 hits last season ranked fifth on the team, while his 25 runs scored led all Hawks players in ’07. Can play either second base or shortstop.

Jon McManemin – Batted .333 over 93 AB last season as a sophomore, where his 31 hits ranked fourth on the team. Tied brother Matt for team high in walks (17) and his 8 doubles ranked second on the 2007 Hawks. Scored 17 runs, ranking fourth on the team in that category. In the outfield, finished with a .987 fielding percentage, committing just one error in 74 chances. On the mound, was 3-1, 4.96 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 24 IP.

Ryan Payne – Started games at third base and first base last season as a sophomore, but will likely settle in at third in 2008. Batted .320 for the season with 2 Home Runs and 12 RBI in 50 AB. His three triples also tied for the team lead and 9 of his 16 hits were for extra bases. Finished with a .982 fielding percentage, committing just one error in 56 chances.

Erin McCarver – Valuable outfielder/runner last season whose 14 stolen bases ranked second on the 2007 team. Logged 42 AB with the Varsity, and delivered a home run in the Western Hills Classic Tournament and tied for fifth on the team with 16 runs scored. Can play corner outfield, centerfield and can catch. Collected 9 RBI last season as a sophomore.

Michael Putman – Saw some action with the Varsity last season as a sophomore, but got lots of at-bats at JV in preparation for the upcoming season where he’ll be expected to contribute at the plate and as a middle infielder in the field. The lefthanded hitter slugged a home run over the right-field wall at Hebron that helped the JV win the Hebron JV tournament last season.