Ladycats run past North Side, 17-2, to advance to area playoffs

Aledo pitcher Megan Reynolds fires a pitch in the first inning of the Ladycats' 17-2 victory over Fort Worth North Side which clinched a bi-district playoff series Friday night at Aledo. Reynolds allowed only one hit and struck out four in a game called in the bottom of the third inning on run rule.

Posted Friday, April 29, 2016 9:38 pm

Aledo scored 17 unanswered runs, including a 10-run second inning, to come from behind and defeat Fort Worth North Side, 17-2, to sweep the best-of-3 bi-district playoff series Friday night at the AHS softball field.

The Ladycats will advance to the area round and face Azle, a winner Friday night over Fort Worth Carter Riverside. Format, dates, times and location of the area round playoff have yet to be determined. Check this web site over the weekend for details if they become available.

Megan Reynolds was the winning pitcher for the Ladycats. She allowed no earned runs on one hit with two walks and four strikeouts in three innings. The game was called on run rule in the bottom of the third inning.

Aledo swatted 10 hits but took advantage of five wild pitches with a runner at third base and six North Side errors.

However, it was North Side that took a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning courtesy of a pair of walks, an error and a double steal.

The Ladycats got one of the runs back in the bottom of the first. Brynn Hellman led off with a bunt single, stole second and third base and scored on a fielder's choice ground out by Lindsey McElroy as North Side led 2-1 after one inning.

Reynolds came back in the second and retired the side in order, which included her fourth strikeout of the contest.

The Ladycats put the game away with 10 runs in the bottom of the second.

Although Aledo scored 10 runs in the frame, the Ladycats only registered two hits - an RBI triple by Kadyn Kirkpatrick and a run-scoring single from Landri Mays.

Courtesy runner Heidi Fischer scored twice - once on an error and another on a ground out - while Reynolds, Gracie King, Mykayla Stroud and Bailee Whitener each scored on throwing errors. Hellman and Kirkpatrick each scored on wild pitches as Aledo led 11-2 after two innings.

North Side recorded its lone hit in the top of the third but the runner was stranded when Reynolds induced a fly out and a ground out to end the inning.

The Ladycats scored six runs in the bottom of the third to stop the game on run rule.

The big hits in the frame were run-scoring triples by Kirkpatrick and Hallie Smith, and Reynolds scored the final run on a North Side error to end the game.