Bullard baseball/softball teams to play SE Texas schools in next round of playoffs
May 7—BULLARD — The Bullard Panther Baseball team will carry a 23-8 record into its Class 4A, best-of-3 Area series later this week.
The series will pit the Panthers up against Vidor's Pirates (21-6-1), the District 19-4A champions.
The series will take place in Lufkin, with Game 1 scheduled to get under way at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Game 2 is set for 6 p.m. on Friday evening, and if a third game is needed, it will start at noon on Saturday.
Bullard, the District 18-4A second place representative, and Vidor are both playing well. Since April 1, the Panthers are 8-2. The Pirates have won 7-of-9 since April Fool's Day.
Bullard, who is coached by Robert Ellis, swept Kilgore in a Bi-district series late last week to advance while Vidor went 2-0 against Hamshire-Fannett in its Bi-district series.
The Bullard-Vidor series winner will play either Carthage or Huffman-Hargrave in the regional quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
The No. 1-ranked Bullard Lady Panther softball team punched its ticket to the regional quarterfinals by ringing up a 6-2 victory over Huffman-Hargrave on Thursday.
The Lady Panthers (33-3) have drawn Hamshire-Fannett (28-9-1) as its regional quarterfinal opponent. Hamshire-Fannett swept Vidor in the bi-district round and topped Spring Hill 2-0 in an Area series late last week.
Game 1 of the regional quarterfinal series will start at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Lufkin High School Softball Complex. Game 2 shifts down to Jasper High School, and will get under way at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Should a rubber game be needed, it will be played beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday in Lufkin.
Bullard, who is coached by Julie Murry, is the District 18-4A champion while Hamshire-Fannett ended up in second place in District 20-4A, finishing behind Liberty.
The Bullard-Vidor series winner will face either Waco Robinson or Georgetown-Gateway College Prep in the regional quarterfinal round.
