Softball: McKean no-hitter, hot bats lift Ladycats

The Aledo Ladycats softball team put on a show for their home fans on a slightly breezy Tuesday night (Feb. 25) in a dominant performance against the John Horn Lady Jaguars. After battling the Lady Jags through a couple of scoreless innings, Aledo’s bats began to heat up as the game progressed. In the end, Aledo crossed the finish line with an impressive 11-0 victory in six run-rule-shortened innings that came to an end after junior Delaney Rosser smacked a standup RBI triple to walk it off.

“Softball is such a mental game and no stage is too big,” Ladycats head coach Heather Myers said. “We’ve obviously been on the big stage before, so whenever they take that stuff they learned from last year into this year, they know how to overcome obstacles better. They’re growing and coming together after learning a lot last year, and they are welcoming and teaching a lot to these new faces. Some of the new faces are doing a lot on their own where no one has to teach them because they are just that good.”

Meanwhile, standout junior pitcher Taylor McKean continued to produce bagels on the scoreboard from the mound with a confident defense surrounding her. Not only did McKean eclipse a double-digit strikeout total but did so without allowing a single hit to go with just one surrendered.

“I feel like they’re always really confident behind Taylor (McKean) and Taylor doesn’t miss many pitches,” Myers said. “I call the pitches typically in a game, and I require my pitchers to hit at least 80 percent of their pitches – Taylor usually hits 90 to 95 percent. With that, our defense knows how to set up because they can anticipate where the ball will go based on the pitch she throws. We’re pretty tenured out there, though. They are comfortable and unafraid.”

Despite leaving a pair of runners on in the first inning, the Ladycat offense was able to begin recalibrating the scoreboard in the third inning. Rosser drew a two-out walk and junior third baseman Kyleigh Pawlak singled up the middle to put two runners on. After that, sophomore Marina Taveras smacked a towering RBI double to right center that deflected off the John Horn right fielder’s glove and plated both baserunners to give Aledo a 2-0 lead.

After another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, Aledo’s scorching bats continued to cook in the bottom of the frame.

McKean drew a walk and was replaced at first base by sophomore courtesy runner Rylee Marx, who stole second base and was then moved to third on a sacrifice fly to center by senior Gracie Jones. Marx eventually crossed home plate for the home team’s third run of the game from an RBI groundout by Jordyn Edington. Later in the frame, Rosser smacked a bloop single to shallow right that dropped in for a hit that scored two more runs, the second coming after the speedy senior Addie Perry slid beautifully under the tag at home plate. Holland added another RBI single in the inning with her furry younger brother Rolly, her family’s 9-month-old French bulldog, viewing the action whimsically from the bleachers.

Aledo’s offense continued to roll, adding five more runs to decide the game in six innings. Freshman first baseman Brooklyn Taloa thumped a two-run homer to left – called as she swung by a young Aledo fan – followed by Rosser’s bases-clearing triple. Although the pitching and power hitting were major factors, Myers was pleased to see her team’s small-ball execution this early in the season.

“We have been diligently working on executing bunting on our first try,” Myers said. “Since it’s been so cold, we’ve been focusing on our bunting and they did a really good job of executing their bunts on the first try.”

The Ladycats will begin their district slate at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, at Brewer following a tournament slate at Eaton High School from Thursday through Saturday.