Azle Christian teams advance in playoffs

Crusaders set team record for wins

The Azle Christian School Lady Crusaders (16-10) continued their amazing turnaround and advanced to the state semifinals of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 1A playoffs in thrilling fashion with a 45-42 victory against Providence Rockwall Academy on Saturday, Feb. 22. Freshman Ski Holts hit a 3-point basket as time expired after receiving a pass from Lauren Goodrich.

The Lady Crusaders won no games last season.

The game was close throughout with Azle Christian leading 13-7 after the first quarter, tied at 17 at the half and the Lady Crusaders taking a 30-25 lead into the final quarter.

Daisy Ramos led Azle Christian with 12 points, followed by Elle Henderson with 10 and Vanessa Malewiski with 9, all seniors.

“These girls have worked together all year to get where we are. They are a selfless team who wants to succeed instead of individual success,” coach Jamie Rust said.

The victory moved Azle Christian School into a state semifinals matchup against TAPPS District 2-1A rival Sherman Texoma Christian at press time. The teams have played three times this season with Texoma winning twice.

The Lady Crusaders defeated Regents Academy in Nacogdoches 50-20 in bidistrict before the win over Providence Academy in.

Holts led the scoring against Regents with 18 points, while Henderson added 9.

“Our No. 1 goal all season was to glorify God and these girls have done that every step of the way, through wins and losses,” coach Jamie Rust said.

AZLE CHRISTIAN BOYS BASKETBALL

The Azle Christian School Fightin’ Crusaders basketball team saw their record- setting season come to an end with a 59-39 loss at Regents Academy in Nacogdoches Feb. 18 in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 1A playoffs.

They finished with a 23-8 record, which is a school record. Leading scorers in the contest were Grayson Smith with 9 points, while Kanon Wyatt and Brody Fairman each added 7.

The Crusaders defeated Dallas Winston School 57-12 in bi-district.

“Very proud of the boys to have that many wins. They did nothing but improve all year long,” coach Ryan Rollins said. “We bring back pretty much everybody next year, so we hope to keep building upon back-to-back 20-win seasons.

“Now we will get out the gloves and bats and go compete in baseball.”

AZLE BOYS SOCCER

The Hornets (1-14-1, 0-9 in District 5-5A) lost 6-0 at home against Saginaw Feb. 21, followed by a 2-0 loss against visiting Keller Fossil Ridge Feb. 22.

The Hornets were playing at Granbury at press time. They host Brewer March 4 and end the season March 7 at Aledo, all games at 7:45 p.m.

AZLE GIRLS SOCCER

The Lady Hornets (9-6-1, 4-4-1 in District 5-5A) fell 2-1 at Saginaw Feb. 21 and 1-0 at Keller Fossil Ridge Feb. 22 as they continue their chase for the postseason. Azle was fourth in the league standings entering this week.

McKenzee Roberts scored Azle’s goal with an assist from Cynthia Gomez.

Azle was hosting Granbury at press time The Lady Hornets travel to Brewer March 4 and end the regular season at home against Aledo March 7.

SPRINGTOWN BOYS SOCCER The Porcupines (3-8-2, 0-51 in District 8-4A) hosted Eagle Mountain and Lake Worth Feb. 21 and 22. They lost in a seven-round shootout against Eagle Mountain after ending regulation tied 1-1 and fell 5-0 against Lake Worth.

Springtown took a 1-0 lead when Eagle Mountain scored an own goal — one of their players kicked the ball into his own goal with 10 minutes to play. Eagle Mountain tied the game five minutes later. Shootout goals for Springtown were scored by Rolando Salas, Bryce Smith and Brody Phifer.

Springtown was hosting Lake Dallas at press time. They travel to Castleberry Feb. 28 for a 7:15 p.m. contest, host Collegiate Academy March 4 at 5:30 p.m. and travel to Lake Worth March 7 at 7:15 p.m. to end the regular season.

SPRINGTOWN GIRLS SOCCER The Lady Pines (9-4-5, 3-1-2 in District 8-4A) had back-to-back home games against Eagle Mountain and Lake Worth Feb. 21 and 22. They won 4-1 against Eagle Mountain and defeated Lake Worth in a shootout after ending regulation tied 0-0.

Alee Stiles, Lily Duvall and Makayla Ballard each had shootout goals, while Esther Balado had three clutch saves as goalkeeper.

Scoring goals against Eagle Mountain were Kylie Weins, Emma Hauprich, Stiles and Faron Buder.

Lake Dallas was visiting Springtown, second in district, at press time, then comes a trip to Castleberry for a 5:30 p.m. start Feb. 28. On March 4, Collegiate Academy comes to town for a 7:15 p.m. contest and the regular season ends March 7 at Lake Worth at 5:30 p.m.

LAKE WORTH BOYS SOCCER The Bullfrogs (5-10-2, 2-3-1 in District 8-4A) lost 5-0 at Lake Dallas Feb. 21 and won 5-0 at Springtown Feb. 22. Scoring goals against Springtown were Elie Mushieni twice, along with Roman Mtabala, Nate Almeida and Joel Osornia, with assists from Antonio Duarte (2), Kevin Soriano and Mushieni.

Lake Worth, fourth in district, was hosting Castleberry at press time. They visit Collegiate Academy Feb. 28 at 7:15 p.m., travel to Eagle Mountain March 4 at 5:30 p.m. and host Springtown to end the regular season March 7.

LAKE WORTH GIRLS SOCCER The Lady Frogs (8-4-3, 2-2-2 in District 8-4A) visited Lake Dallas Feb. 21 and Springtown Feb. 22. They lost the first game 4-0 and the second in a shootout after ending regulation tied at 0-0.

The Lady Frogs, third in district, were hosting Castleberry at press time. They visit Collegiate Academy Feb. 28 at 7:15 p.m., followed by a trip to Eagle Mountain March 4 at 5:30 p.m. before hosting Springtown March 7. They end the regular season at Fort Worth Paschal March 11 at 7:45 p.m.

AZLE SOFTBALL

The Lady Hornets (2-4-1) played in the weather-shorted Mansfield Tournament this past weekend. They lost 2-0 to Mansfield Legacy and 15-0 to Richland. Prior to the tournament they dropped a 3-2 contest at Denton Ryan.

Vs. Ryan: Ema Lehr two hits, walks, stolen base; Coryanne Barone two hits, two RBI; Ryann Baker two hits; Bella Tipton double; Haley Carlson hit, stolen base; Klaire Carlson hit; Lilliana Johnson walk. Pitching: Barone 6.1 innings, six hits, two earned runs, three strikeouts, two walks Vs. Legacy: K. Carlson two hits; Adrianna Wiedeman two hits; Lehn hit, stolen base; Barone hit; Tipton hit; H. Carlson hit. Pitching: Wiedeman 6 innings, six hits, two earned runs, six strikeouts, three walks Vs. Richland: Barone hit; Kaylee Daniels hit; Brynlei Taylor walk, hit by pitch; Brianna Zalesky hit by pitch.

Azle was hosting Springtown at press time and is in a tournament involving Birdville, Northwest and Denton Feb. 27-March 1.

SPRINGTOWN SOFTBALL The Lady Pines (2-5) managed to get in some action in the Weatherford Tournament, which was shortened by cold weather. They lost 7-4 to the host Lady Kangaroos and 4-3 to Jacksboro.

Prior to the tournament, the Lady Pines traveled to Paradise and lost 4-0, getting no-hit. Kylee Spray reached base on a walk. Kaylee Falcon pitched 5.2 innings of 2-hit ball, surrendering one earned run with three walks and two strikeouts.

Vs. Weatherford: Riley Fagan three hits, stolen base; Spray two hits, home run, RBI, walk, two stolen bases; Ava Fernandez hit. Pitching: Falcon 3 innings, six hits, two earned runs, strikeout, three walks; Spray two innings, four hits, two earned runs, walk Vs. Jacksboro: Ryleigh Morris hit, walk; Spray hit; Fernandez home run, two RBIs, walk; Kaylee Moore hit, walk, RBI; Reiss DeLaFuentes hit; Harmony Flores two hits; Bailey Spillman hit by pitch. Pitching: Spray 5 innings, five hits, two earned runs, five strikeouts, walk Springtown was hosting Azle at press time and co-hosts the Mineral Wells/ Springtown Tournament Feb. 27-March 1.

AZLE BASEBALL

The Hornets (2-0) got the season started by hosting North Crowley in a doubleheader Feb. 22. They won both games 5-2 and 6-5 in eight innings.

Azle is in a tournament in the Jet Teague Classic Tournament in Kennedale Feb. 27-March 1.

SPRINGTOWN BASEBALL

The Porcupines (2-1) began the season with a 1-0 victory at home against Graham Feb. 17 before competing in the Kennedale Booster Club Tournament — albeit shortened by weather. In the tournament they defeated Kennedale 4-1 and lost 8-0 to Brock.

Vs. Graham: Trent Solis double, RBI; Kyle Litzman hit; Ryan Kirk walk, stolen base; Layton Murrell, Kason Killian and Nate McDaniel a walk each. Pitching: Keegan Martinez (W) 5 innings, three hits, 11 strikeouts, onewalk; McDaniel (S) two innings, three hits, one strikeout Vs. Kennedale: Kirk two hits, double, two RBIs, stolen base; Murrell two hits, RBI, hit by pitch; Hayden Phillips two hits; Solis hit, RBI; Ridge Lozano hit; Omar Hernandez walk; Litzman hit by pitch, two stolen bases. Pitching: Kaden Howard (win) five innings, hit, no earned runs, eight strikeouts, two walks; McDaniel (save) two innings, strikeout, walk Vs. Brock: Lozano hit, Solis hit by pitch, McDaniel walk Springtown is in the Mineral Wells Tournament Feb. 27-March 1.

LAKE WORTH BASEBALL

The Bullfrogs (0-1) began the season with a 21-2 loss at Haltom. Roger Perez had two hits; Xavier Avila triple; Alex Rentaria hit, walk, RBI, stolen base; Nicholas Carney hit; Kayden Rice hit; Nathan Armendariz walk; Maddox Martinez walk.

Lake Worth was playing at North Crowley at press time and is in the Arlington Seguin Tournament Feb. 27-March 1.