Today the Granbury Pirates will try to do something that is believed to have happened only once since the 1950s.

Advance to the third round of the baseball playoffs.

The Pirates (17-13) are taking on Wichita Falls Rider (25-6) in the area round at 1 p.m. at Denton Guyer High School.

Unlike many playoffs, it is a one-game winner-take-all contest.

Granbury coach Brad Hart won a coin flip and opted to go for a single game instead of a best-of-three series.… Read the rest

While the Granbury Pirates scored a plethora of runs in finishing off Waco University on the Trojans’ home field Saturday, defense was the outstanding factor in the series sweep.

The 4A bidistrict baseball conquest sends the Pirates (17-13) into an area-round matchup against Wichita Falls Rider (25-6). The Raiders won the 2011 Class 4A state championship.

Granbury is advancing to the area round for the first time since 2009, Brad Hart’s first season as head coach.… Read the rest

AUSTIN – With 265 yards between himself and the green, Austin Kinsey made a gutsy decision.

He pulled out a driver, hit a near-perfect shot, and found himself on the fringe of the green. He pitched and one-putted for a birdie four on the par-five hole.

His play on that hole epitomized the Granbury Pirates’ second round of the 4A State Golf Tournament Tuesday on the Onion Creek Golf Course.… Read the rest

AUSTIN – Granbury golf coach Steve Ward remembered the moment he realized he had something special in Travis Benson.

“He was a freshman, and he shot in the 90s one day in a tournament, then he came right back the next and shot in the 70s,” said Ward.

“It was an improvement of about 20 strokes. I knew right then we were on to something great in days to come.… Read the rest

AUSTIN – What if Elizabeth Morton hadn’t been hungry that particular day in the seventh grade?

Jeff Bramlett has asked himself that question several times since he enticed her to try tennis by offering to buy her a breakfast burrito.

“Yeah, thank goodness she was hungry,” he said with a grin.

“That was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.”

For the purchase of a breakfast menu item, Bramlett and the Granbury High tennis program found themselves on the way to history.… Read the rest

AUSTIN – The Granbury Pirates golf team is back among the state’s best.

They’d like to have had a better opening day at the 4A State Golf Tournament, but after more than a decade of having not been there at all, it’s a sweet ending to a great season.

For the first time since 2002, Granbury competed in the 4A Boys State Golf Tournament.… Read the rest

AUSTIN – Before the score was posted early in the 4A Girls Doubles quarterfinals at state, a Granbury parent leaned over and asked, “I wonder who is the home team?”

About that time, the scoreboard was updated with the first score of the match. Highland Park was declared the home team and Granbury the visitors.

But then, as often as Highland Park has sent players to state tennis, the Penick-Allison Tennis Center at the University of Texas must certainly feel like a second home to the Scots.… Read the rest

While it’s difficult to paint a pretty picture of an 18-3 loss, Granbury Lady Pirate softball coach Chad Kimberling can point to one major difference.

Well, make that 14 major difference – as in 14 unearned runs scored by Burleson Centennial Saturday morning as the Lady Spartans swept their best-of-three Class 4A bidistrict playoff series.

“That’s hard to swallow,” said Kimberling.… Read the rest

“I told him to hit a triple and add to his record,” said Pirate coach Brad Hart with a grin.

And that’s what Wagner thought he had done at first, before he saw the ball sail over the 375-foot mark in center field.… Read the rest

Richardson finished second in the 400-meter dash at the 4A Region I Track and Field Meet at McMurry University.

This qualified Richardson for the 4A State Meet in Austin May 10-11. He’s the first Granbury boy to advance to state since Brad Gardner in 2004, finishing fourth in the 300 hurdles.… Read the rest