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Courtesy Photo/Bandera Athletics
April 9, 2025
Bandera baseball falls to Navarro in district road game
By Brady Keane
The Bandera Prophet
After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, the Bandera baseball team settled in and fell to second-place against Navarro in a hard-fought 5-1 finish.
Payson Mangold had an impressive night for the Bulldogs, going 3-for-3 at the plate while going five innings on the mound and allowing six hits and three earned runs. Bandera had five errors in the loss, allowing the Panthers to gain an early advantage they were able to protect down the stretch.
“We put ourselves in a hole early with some mistakes, but I’m proud of the way our guys battled and stayed competitive,” Bandera Head Coach Cody Fields said. “Payson gave us a chance, and we had opportunities to break through. We just couldn’t quite get the big hit when we needed it.”
Cooper Gunderman finished 1-for-4 at the plate, Caleb Hohon was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk and Brady Trussell was 1-for-4. Gunderman scored the Bulldogs lone run in the top of the seventh inning on a wild pitch. Navarro’s Matthew Villanueva made things tough on Bandera at the plate, going six innings on the mound while racking up nine strikeouts. Closer Elijah Farley, who reached 95mph with his fastball, closed out the game in the 7th.
“Navarro is a really good team, and their pitching staff did a good job of keeping us off-balance,” Fields said. “But games like this show us that if we clean up some things defensively and keep competing at the plate, we can play with anybody.”
The Bulldogs dropped to 9-9-1 on the season. Bandera will host the Panthers Friday night before taking on Davenport in a two-game series next week.
“We get another shot at them Friday,” Fields said. “We’re excited for another chance to bounce back in front of our home crowd.”
Payson Mangold had an impressive night for the Bulldogs, going 3-for-3 at the plate while going five innings on the mound and allowing six hits and three earned runs. Bandera had five errors in the loss, allowing the Panthers to gain an early advantage they were able to protect down the stretch.
“We put ourselves in a hole early with some mistakes, but I’m proud of the way our guys battled and stayed competitive,” Bandera Head Coach Cody Fields said. “Payson gave us a chance, and we had opportunities to break through. We just couldn’t quite get the big hit when we needed it.”
Cooper Gunderman finished 1-for-4 at the plate, Caleb Hohon was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk and Brady Trussell was 1-for-4. Gunderman scored the Bulldogs lone run in the top of the seventh inning on a wild pitch. Navarro’s Matthew Villanueva made things tough on Bandera at the plate, going six innings on the mound while racking up nine strikeouts. Closer Elijah Farley, who reached 95mph with his fastball, closed out the game in the 7th.
“Navarro is a really good team, and their pitching staff did a good job of keeping us off-balance,” Fields said. “But games like this show us that if we clean up some things defensively and keep competing at the plate, we can play with anybody.”
The Bulldogs dropped to 9-9-1 on the season. Bandera will host the Panthers Friday night before taking on Davenport in a two-game series next week.
“We get another shot at them Friday,” Fields said. “We’re excited for another chance to bounce back in front of our home crowd.”