Another stellar pitching performance by Taylor McKean ended up being the difference in the Aledo Ladycats’ 4-3 road win in Azle on Tuesday, April 16.
McKean struck out 14 while not allowing a single earned run in the affair to keep Aledo’s District 5-5A record unblemished at 11-0 (26-2 overall) with just a single game left on the regular season schedule.
Not many teams in District 5-5A have given the Ladycats softball team, ranked third in the state, much competition. Aledo’s gone the distance in a district game just once prior to Tuesday night.
The Lady Hornets did something no one else in District 5-5A has figured out how to accomplish, including themselves. When the Lady Hornets came to Aledo on March 22, the Ladycats won via run rule, 10-0.
On Tuesday, the Lady Hornets did the unthinkable, holding Aledo to just four runs.
Uncharacteristic errors by the Ladycat defense helped the home team make it a one-run game with an opportunity to steal a win from the top seed in District 5-5A in the bottom of the seventh.
With ice water in her veins, McKean toed the rubber in the bottom of the seventh with the game on the line. As she’s done so many times this year, she struck out the side, bringing the dramatics to an end in the process.
When Brewer came to town on Friday, April 12, the Lady Bears coaching staff stressed making the Ladycats feel pressure as the crux of their game plan. That worked for all of about an inning-and-a-half.
Behind a two-home run night by Ana Flores, the Ladycats put their offensive prowess on full display as they sent Brewer home on the heels of a 15-1 loss.
A single and a defensive error allowed the Lady Bears to tie the game up at 1-1 in the top of the second. As much as Brewer talked about pressure to that point, Ladycat hurler Brenlee Gonzales began to turn up the pressure on the Lady Bears.
For the next three innings, Gonzales tormented the Brewer batters. Leaning on her fastball-changeup combination, the Aledo southpaw kept the Lady Bears off balance like a table with a broken leg. Batters were consistently way behind her fastball, or way out in front of her changeup, resulting in her accumulating 10 strikeouts in just five innings of work.
At the plate, it was a completely different story for Aledo. The Ladycats collected a dozen hits in the game, with seven of those hits going for extra bases.
Flores hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning, lifting the Ladycats to a 4-1 lead at that point. She repeated the feat in the bottom of the third inning, as Aledo jumped out to a commanding 9-1 lead to put Brewer in danger of being closed out early. A six-run bottom of the fourth solidified the win for Aledo, as the Lady Bears were left to lick their wounds on the way home.
The Ladycats close out their regular season schedule on Friday, April 19, when Granbury’s Lady Pirates come to town on Senior Night. First pitch for that game is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Aledo vs. Azle – Tues, April 16
R H E
Ladycats 003 001 0 - 4 5 2
Azle 000 003 0 - 3 1 3
Aledo hitting: Addie Perry 1-for-4, R, 2 BB; Marina Taveras 1-for-4, SB; Kennis Marx 1-for-3, HBP; Maddy Flora 1-for-3, R; Brenlee Gonzales 1-for-2, R, SB, BB; Jordan Edington BB.
Aledo pitching: Taylor McKean 7 IP, H, 3 R (0 earned), 3 BB, 14 K.
Aledo vs. Brewer – Fri, April 12
R H E
Brewer 010 00 - 1 2 3
Ladycats 144 6X - 15 12 1
Aledo hitting: Perry 2-for-4, 2B, SB, 4 R, 3 RBI; Delaney Rosser R, RBI; Ana Flores 2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 6 RBI; Taveras 3-for-4, R, RBI, SB; Kyleigh Pawlak 2-for-3, 3B, 2B, R, RBI; Gonzales 1-for-2, BB, RBI, 3B; Austyn Marriage 1-for-2, 2 R, RBI; Edington 1-for-2, 2 R, BB, 3B.
Aledo pitching: Gonzales 5 IP, 2 H, R (0 earned), 0 BB, 10 K.
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