By Sam Waller

Depth and quality were two hallmarks of the Albany Lions pitching staff this spring.

An ill-timed injury cut into the depth, and the inability to escape trouble with minimal damage eventually led to the end of Albany’s season.

The Lions (24-5) were eliminated from the Class 2A playoffs, losing 2 out of 3 to fifth-ranked New Home in the regional semifinal series, played Thursday, May 25 and Saturday, May 27. It was the second year in a row the Leopards ousted Albany from the playoffs, following a sweep in the 2022 regional final.

By Sam Waller

Albany coaches are offering two sports camps over the next two weeks for students entering kindergarten through ninth grade for the 2023-24 school year.

The Albany Lions & Lady Lions All-Sports Camp will run Tuesday-Thursday, May 30-June 1, offering instruction by David Fairchild and Ryder Peacock in baseball, football, and basketball.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Rebels 12U softball team finished third last weekend at the USA District 11 tournament, played Friday-Sunday, May 19-21 at Abilene.

The Rebels went 6-2 for the weekend, coming within a game of playing for the championship in the 22-team field.

“Everything those girls had, they left it on the field,” Rebels coach Beth Roysdon said. “Tate Thompson and I are both extremely proud of them. They worked their tails off and deserved every bit of it.”

By Sam Waller

The Feed Store’s second annual Powder Puff flag football game took some juggling of schedules to get in after being delayed because of wet grounds earlier this month, but eventually accomplished its task.

Senior Briley Tabor was involved in four touchdowns as the Pink team (seniors and freshmen) defeated the Purple (juniors and sophomores) 42-31 on Wednesday, May 17 at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.

By Sam Waller

For the second year in a row, the Indians won the Albany Little League’s Majors title as the youth baseball program begins wrapping up its season.

League organizer Paul Hamilton said there are still three rainouts to be made up if scheduling conflicts can be addressed.

“The district tournament was moved up a week earlier,” Hamilton said. “We’re trying to make the games up at the end of this week or the beginning of next week.”

By Sam Waller

Six members of the Albany Lady Lions softball team were honored for the on-field performance this season with inclusion on the All-District 8-2A team.

The Lady Lions, who battled low numbers all spring, finished with a 15-15-1 record and a berth in the bi-district round of the playoffs after placing behind Cisco in the district standings.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions may not have gotten the prize they wanted at the Class 2A boys state golf tournament, but they definitely got a prize.

After starting the final round in second place, the Lions held on to take third in the team standings, finishing a stroke ahead of hard-charging Sonora.

“It feels good,” Lions coach Tate Thompson said of collecting a trophy and medals. “It’s not as good as it would be with a silver medal, but it still feels good.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions extended the 2023 baseball season for another week by sweeping their Class 2A regional quarterfinal series against 10th-ranked Hamilton.

The Lions (23-3) advance to the regional semifinals to take on New Home in a rematch of last year’s regional final. Game 1 of the series is set for 2:00 p.m. Thursday, May 25 (today) at McMurry’s Walt Driggers Field. After a day off for graduation, the series resumes with Game 2 at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, May 27 at Lubbock Christian’s Hays Field.

By Sam Waller

Moran senior Alli Scott duplicated her medal haul from a year ago at the Class 1A state track meet on Saturday, May 13, claiming gold in the 100-meter hurdles and silver in the 300 hurdles, and setting a 1A meet record in the process.

“I was just thinking it’s my senior year, my last high school track meet,” Scott said. “I’ll never be able to run again, so I just gave it everything I had.”

By Sam Waller

Albany golfers will be relying on experience gained last year as they return to the Class 2A boys state golf tournament, to be played Monday-Tuesday, May 22-23 at Lions Municipal Golf Course in Austin.