Thorndale

By MARIE BAKKEN

Champion Sports

It took Thorndale digging deep two days in a row to do it, but the Bulldogs managed to sweep No. 9 Evadale (19-11) in the region quarterfinals round, defeating the Rebels 3-1 in nine innings on Friday night and 3-2 Saturday afternoon.  The series was played at Rice University’s Reckling Park in Houston.

Thorndale (25-4) will now face No. 1 Refugio (25-14) in the Class 2A Region IV semifinals.  The Bobcats were winners of District 31-2A.  The Bulldogs are 27-2A champions.

Thorndale and Refugio will play a best-of-three series starting on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Weimar.  Game two is set for 2 p.m. Saturday in Weimar, with a third game (if necessary) to follow after.

Refugio swept Mason in best-of-three series over the weekend.

By MARIE BAKKEN

Champion Sports

The Thorndale Bulldogs (21-4) swept their first playoff opponent and is set to take on the next.

Thorndale will face Iola in the area round of the Class 2A state baseball playoffs.  The Bulldogs beat Iola 10-0 Wednesday night at Bryan High School. The second game of the series is set for 7 p.m. Friday, back at Bryan.  If needed the third game will be Saturday at 2 p.m. back at the same place.

Iola is the second place team out of District 26-2A and defeated Deweyville in the bi-district round.

Thorndale was champion of 27-2A.

In their bi-district series, the Bulldogs defeated Ganado 9-2 on Friday and 7-0 on Saturday.  Both games were played at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin.

Thorndale head coach Kelly Kuhl said his team had some first round nerves in the opening game, but overcame and was able to take the series.

The Thorndale Chamber of Commerce held its Awards Banquet on May 3. Winners from Awards Night were: front row, Senior Recipient Angelica Avalos, Scholarship Recipient Kristen Barho, Intermediate Recipient Natalie Garcia, Junior Youth Recipient Jenna Frias; back row, Miss Thorndale Caitlin Garcia, Scholarship Recipient Brandon Williamson, Citizen of the Year Jeni Anders, Agribusiness Person of the Year Stan Lawrence, Farmer of the Year Harold Biar and Business Person of the Year Josh Sanders.

By MARIE BAKKEN

Champion Sports

The Thorndale Lady Dogs (24-3) made quick work of their bi-district opponent on Wednesday night at Schulenburg, as they shut out Ganado 12-0 in just five innings.

Mary Leopold and Riley White combined for the shut out, with Leopold earning the win with her four innings of work.  She allowed no runs; one hit, struck out three and walked one.

White tossed one inning, striking out two.

The Lady Dogs move on to face No. 3 Normangee in the area round of the state softball playoffs.  The best-of-three series will be held starting at 5:30 p.m. at Franklin High School on Friday. The second game will be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.  If a third game is needed, it will be played at noon Saturday, back in Franklin.

Normangee is the winner of District 26-2A, while Thorndale was the second place team from 27-2A.

Thorndale ISD voters will decide on a $12.5 million bond put forth by TISD on Saturday.

Voting on May 6 will take place at the Thorndale Senior Citizens Center, 200 S. Cornelius, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Thorndale residents have several City Council races to decide.

In the race for Thorndale mayor Ryan Davenport and George Galbreath Jr. will face incumbent Allen Hejl.

Incumbent council members Larry Drabek and Stephanie Churchman have both filed for their current positions on the council. Charles Barnhill is running for a spot on the council.

Kim Biar was re-elected to her spot on the Thorndale ISD school board due to being the only person who filed for the spot. The TISD board is still making a decision on what to do with the position currently held by Trey Felton, as no one filed for the position.

By MARIE BAKKEN

Champion Sports

The Thorndale Bulldogs baseball team is now 18-4 on the season and remains undefeated in District 27-2A play. 

Thorndale has claimed the league title and already knows its first round opponent for the state playoffs.  They will play Ganado in bi-district action starting at 7:30 p.m. May 5 in a best-of-three series.  The games will be played over May 5-6 at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin.  Game two is set for 4 p.m. on May 6 and game three, if needed, would follow 30 minutes after the completion of game two.

The Bulldogs defeated Bremond 10-0 on the road Tuesday night, with pitcher Ashton Albert tossing the shut out in the run-ruled game.

Albert allowed just two hits by the Tigers on the night.  He did five innings worth of work, striking out one.

Thorndale batters collected 10 hits in the game.

Early voting for city and school elections will begin on Monday, April 24.

Thorndale residents have several City Council races to decide while everyone will decide on the Thorndale ISD’s $12.5 million bond election.

In the race for Thorndale mayor Ryan Davenport and George Galbreath Jr. will face incumbent Allen Hejl.

Incumbent council members Larry Drabek and Stephanie Churchman have both filed for their current positions on the council. Charles Barnhill is running for a spot on the council.

Kim Biar was re-elected to her spot on the Thorndale ISD school board due to being the only person who filed for the spot. The TISD board is still making a decision on what to do with the position currently held by Trey Felton, as no one filed for the position.

 The Thorndale ISD School Board held it’s regular monthly meeting on April 17.

The board discussed several items including what to do with the storm-damaged weight room at the stadium and approved a contract with Collier Construction to serve as Construction Manager At Risk for the upcoming bond election.

The board began by recognizing TISD’s boys and girls basketball teams for their excellent seasons.

Coach Dickerson began by recognizing his team for their playoff birth and bi-district championship. He announced the all district honors, which included: Offensive MVP - Kylie Buchanan; Newcomer of the Year - Madison Smith; First Team All District - Elise Biar, Peyton Anastas and Presley Anastas; Honorable Mention - Devin Dickerson and Blair McDaniel; Academic All District - Elise Biar, Kylie Buchanan, Devin Dickerson, Caitlin Garcia and Blair McDaniel.

Candidates for Thorndale mayor and city council took part in a Candidate Forum sponsored by the Thorndale Area Chamber of Commerce on April 11 citing communication between the city and residents and water issues as the major concerns the city faces in the coming years.

Mayoral candidates Ryan Davenport, George Galbreath and incubent Mayor Allen Hejl and city council candidates Charles Barnhill and incumbent City Councilman Larry Drabek participated. Stephanie Churchman is also running for re-election to her City Council position but did not attend the forum.

Davenport, a lifelong Thorndale resident, said he wants to see Thorndale thrive and said he would host Town Hall meetings at businesses around town as mayor. He said that the issues facing the city with water and wastewater and the cities coming growth will be issues upcoming. 

Thorndale residents will have several things to decide on come May including a $12.5 million bond package put forth by Thorndale Independent School District.

There are also several races for spots on the Thorndale City Council up for grabs.

Three people have filed to run for Thorndale mayor. Incumbent Allen Hejl is joined on the ballot by Ryan Davenport and George Galbreath Jr. 

Three people have filed for two spots on the City Council. Incumbents Stephanie Churchman and Larry Drabek will be challenged by Charles Barnhill.

Kim Biar was the lone person to sign up to run for Thorndale ISD school board.

Voters will also decide on a $12.5 million bond put forth by Thorndale ISD.    

The scope of the bond includes a variety of projects that cover all campuses and departments in Thorndale ISD.