Local baseball, softball squads showcase strength in tournaments

March 2.

It was a strong weekend for the area’s baseball and softball teams as earlyseason tournament play continued last week, with multiple squads making early cases as teams to pay attention to in the region.

Elkins had a strong showing at the Cy Fair ISD Tournament March 2-4, going 3-1 overall. Jonathan Moye had three hits while Alex Hale doubled and drove in two runs for the Knights (4-5) in a 4-2 win over Summer Creek on March 4, and Gabriel Ghuneim struck out five in a complete game effort on the mound. Hale also doubled and had four RBIs as part of a 9-7 victory against Cy Creek on March 3, while Myles Jackson had two hits and an RBI in the Knights’ 62 win over Cy Falls on

Clements had a 3-3 weekend at the Lamar Consolidated ISD Tournament March 2-4, moving to 6-3 overall on the season. Fletcher Garcia had five hits, including a homer, and five RBIs while reaching base seven combined times in wins over Bay City and Lamar Consolidated on March 2.

Daniel Trinh had two RBIs in a 4-3 win over Cy Ridge on March 4, while Taylor Brown and Ben Couture had two hits apiece.

George Ranch also went 3-3 at the LCISD Tournament last week, moving to 6-6-1 on the season. Tre Aikens homered and drove in two runs for the Longhorns in an 11-1 win over Katy Paetow on March 4, and Corbyn Womack surrendered just two hits over five strong innings on the mound.

In the Class 5A ranks, Foster had a 4-1 weekend at the LCISD Tournament to improve to 8-4 on the season. Micah Dean had two hits including a double and two RBIs while Chase Batten had two RBIs of his own in an 8-3 win over Shadow Creek on March

2, while Cooper Schwank had nine strikeouts in 6.1 shutout innings of a 20 win over Ridge Point later that day. Kai Kirchheiner doubled and drove in three runs as part of the Falcons’ 11-2 victory against Tomball Memorial on March 3, while Jacob Szafran and Alfonso Lopez also had two hits apiece.

Willowridge also went 2-1 in tournament play March 2-4. Marxquise Hayes, Dustin Goff, and William Goff each drove in two runs apiece as a part of the Eagles’ 16-1 win over Mickey Leland College Prep on March 4, and William Goff had six strikeouts in three innings of work on the mound.

In Class 4A action, the Needville Blue Jays went 3-1 at the Huffman Tournament last week to move to 8-2 on the young season. Brance Farrell homered in the tournament for Needville, and now has a team-leading 11 RBIs on the season.

Softball Ridge Point split a pair of games at the Friendswood Round Rock Tournament on March 2, sandwiched between a 10-0 win over Dulles on Feb. 28 and a 13-3 victory over George Ranch on March 3. Jade Uresti homered twice and drove in four runs for the Lady Panthers (12-4, 40) in the win over George Ranch, while Braelyn Daniels had three hits and Abi Parker had two of her own. Daniels also homered three times in the Friendswood tournament and Bailey Gray had two home runs.

Austin won both games last week, taking down Elkins 16-6 on Feb. 28 before blanking Clements 15-0 on March 3 to move to 4-11 overall and 1-2 in District 20-6A. Sophia Lundstrom enjoyed a 4 for 4 day including a double against Elkins, while Zoe Zamora threw a no-hitter in the run-rule victory over Clements. Hightower was victorious in its only game last week, defeating Bush 13-1 on Feb. 28. Freshman Baylee Bonner homered and drove in three runs for the Lady Hurricanes (7-8, 1-2) in the win, while four players had multiple hits as part of the 12-hit attack. Meanwhile, Ayanna Anthony had eight strikeouts in the circle while allowing just four hits across six innings.

Dulles split a pair of games, taking down Bush 2-1 in eight innings on March 3 following the loss to Ridge Point earlier in the week. Kellan Ton had two hits for Dulles (4-8, 2-2) against Bush, and Makayla Wolfe struck out 13 batters in a completegame effort in the circle.

In the Class 5A ranks, the

Fulshear Lady Chargers pulled out a 7-1 win over Lamar Consolidated on Feb. 28 before going 3-3 at the LCISD Tournament March 2-4. Freshman Ava Galaviz hit her first varsity homer, a three-run shot, for the Lady Chargers (137, 1-0) in the tournament. Out in Class 4A, the Needville Lady Blue Jays went 3-1 last week to move to 11-6 overall on the season. Kourtney Carter and Annabell Humbird each homered for Needville in a 4-1 win over East Bernard on March 4, while Makayla Smith and Jessalyn Gregory struck out five batters apiece in the circle. Carter also had two doubles and two RBIs as part of a three-hit effort on March 2 in a 5-3 victory against Fulshear.

The Parish plant is ranked eighth in a table listing 17 plants across the country which the Sierra Club says "are responsible for 1,920 premature deaths per year — representing over half of deaths from the remaining fleet."

“The people of Southeast Texas carry the immense burden of air pollution created by Parish and numerous additional sources,” Bryan Parras, a Healthy Communities campaign representative for the Sierra Club, said in a press release. “All of these risks – especially when

H HOMELESS FROM PAGE 1 coalition, which also includes Attack Poverty!, the George Foundation, and the Henderson-Wessendorff Foundation, in the presentation of the proposal. Stavinhola laid out the scope of the homelessness problem in the county, which has been increasing in recent years. According to Fort Bend ISD, she said, 9.4 percent of all children under 18 are without stable housing. Much of the problem stems from the lack of affordable housing as rental prices in Fort Bend outpace the averages in Texas and nationally, she said.

"Affordable housing is missing in Fort Bend County, and that is a shame," she said.

Many families are living in houses that are unfit for habitations, with no running water or electricity, she said, while other families are "doubling up" or even "tripling up" in homes added together – are more than we should ever ask one community to bear. Yet the state of Texas, and the EPA, continue to let wealthy industrial corporations harm our residents for no other reason than profit. We need stronger rules from federal regulators and state leaders who are fed up with the myth that this industry is in any way good for our people.”

According to the Sierra Club, 70 percent of the people who it says die prematurely due to pollution from the Parish plant live in Texas, and most of them live in Harris County. But, the group claims, many of the remaining people meant for single families. Staninhola laid out the three-phased proposal. harmed live in Fort Bend County, and the harmful effects also impact people in Tarrant, Dallas, and Bexar counties as a result of pollutants carried by winds.

The first phase, to serve immediate needs for 100 families, would require $1.5 million in construction costs, with $500 annually over two years for operating and maintenance costs.

The second phase, in the second and third years, would build an eight-plex facility at $1 million and a 400-unit facility at $5 million.

In the third phase, a multifamily recovery center would be built for $40 million. The facility would offer not just housing but services that would help families achieve financial stability and ultimately long-term housing. This phase would also include a 20-unit project and the construction of 25 "tiny homes."

Stavinhola said the coalition had already identified numerous public and private sources of funding that would allow for the operating and maintenance of the facilities in the long term.

"NRG is one of the most deadly independent power producers in the country, affecting much of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, despite only providing power to the Texas grid." the press release states. "The Sierra Club analysis shows that people of color are exposed to more soot pollution from NRG than any other utility parent company in the country. NRG’s coal plants exposed Lati -

When it came time for questions from the commissioners, there were many as well as a strenuous debate about what the county's priorities should be. The matter was first broached in an earlier meeting.

Newly sworn-in Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy said he was fully committed to addressing the homelessness issue in the county, but was concerned that diverting the federal funds might impeded the county's work in expanding broadband access, one of his top priorities.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales cited longstanding infrastructure needs in some of county's rural areas and smaller cities such as Needville and Meadows Place that the county government has already pledged to address. Morales said the county should fulfill those commitments as a priority.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers, long known as the most ardent deficit