The Bearcats won game one 8-1 and game two 7-2 while playing at Abilene Christian University, as Aledo has yet to lose a playoff game through three series.
The Bearcats came into the series familiar with the Sandies, having played Amarillo last year in the same playoff round. Amarillo was a younger team last year, and Aledo coach Chad Barry expected this year’s squad would have more experience and would be hoping for revenge.
The first game of the series saw both teams start their ace pitchers on the mound. Despite Aledo getting its leadoff hitter on base, the Bearcats could not get anything going offensively in the first inning.
Lucas Nawrocki started for the Bearcats, and an error at first base allowed the leadoff runner to get on base. A single and a walk followed to load the bases with one out before the Sandies hit a sacrifice fly to score a run. Amarillo wanted to score more, loading the bases with another walk, but Nawrocki got out of the jam with a strikeout looking for out three.
Aledo was trailing 1-0 and had no luck getting anything going in the second and third innings, despite scattered hits through the first time through the lineup.
At the start of the fourth inning, the Sandies’ dugout was pumped and feeling like it could pull off the upset.
Landon Barnes and Dylan Duran started off the inning with back-to-back singles, putting runners at the corners with no outs. Following a strikeout, Wilson Sehnem came through with an RBI single up the middle.
Following a balk that put the base runners on second and third base, Will Cayce grounded out at first base, but it drove in another run as both base runners advanced. Next batter Jackson Loos then drove in the lone base runner with a single to put Aledo up 3-1 and back in the driver’s seat.
Amarillo looked poised to answer back in the same inning. A leadoff single followed by two walks loaded the bases with only one out. Nawrocki pitched his way out of the jam with two strikeouts to keep the Bearcats’ lead intact.
That allowed Aledo to add to its lead in the fifth inning. Barnes hit a one-out infield single to get on base. He later advanced to second on a wild pitch before stealing third base. An error on the throw to third allowed him to come in and score.
Following an out, Reid Huffman hit a triple into left field before being driven in by Sehnem on a double. The Bearcats led 5-1.
Garrett Love came in to pitch in relief and allowed only one base runner — on a walk — in the final three innings.
Aledo added to its lead in the sixth inning. Loos and Kyle Poindexter led off with back-to-back singles. A sacrifice bunt from Love moved both runners to second and third base before Luke Gladchuk hit a ground ball to the shortstop that resulted in an error and one run scored.
Barnes followed with a line drive to right field that resulted in another error and allowed one more run to score. Next batter Duran then hit a single that drove in the third run of the inning to increase the Bearcats’ lead to 8-1, which they held on to win.
Sehnem led the team with two RBI, while Gladchuk, Duran, Cayce and Loos each drove in one run. Loos and Poindexter had a team-high three hits each, and Aledo finished with 15 hits as a team.
Nawrocki pitched four innings and allowed one run — zero earned — on five hits while striking out eight and walking four. Love pitched three innings and allowed no runs or hits while striking out five and walking one. The defense committed one fielding error.
Aledo ended up winning comfortably, but those first three innings were rougher than the score would indicate, despite some good play that kept the game close. Barry emphasized to his team things should be different in game two.
“Going into game two, I told our guys if we get a chance to start fast, take advantage and put pressure on them from the beginning,” Barry said.
Luke Sandefur got the start on the mound, and despite a two-out single, he kept the Sandies from doing much in the first inning. The Bearcats took only two batters to score their first run of the game. Sehnem led off with a single. Gladchuk laid down a bunt, but an error by the pitcher allowed Sehnem to come all the way around to score and Gladchuk to reach third base.
Barnes drew a walk before Nawrocki hit a double to drive in both base runners. Duran followed with a single to put two base runners on. A groundout and a strikeout followed before Loos drove in a run with a single as Aledo led 4-0 after the first inning.
Sandefur withstood a leadoff double, a two-out walk and a wild pitch that allowed both base runners to advance to second and third base. He induced a groundout to second base for out three.
The Bearcats added to their lead in the second inning. Gladchuk was hit by a pitch with one out before Barnes hit a double. Nawrocki then drove in both base runners with another double. Following a fly out, Poindexter hit a ground ball to shortstop that resulted in an error. Next batter Cayce then hit a single that drove in one run as Aledo’s lead grew to 7-0 after two innings.
That proved to be all the Bearcats needed offensively for the rest of the game.
Sandefur and the defense held firm until the fourth inning. A leadoff walk and an error at third base put two runners on base. Following an out, a walk loaded the bases before a passed ball allowed one run to score, and a groundout to the shortstop allowed another. Following another walk, Dane Browne came in to pitch in relief and got a strikeout to end the inning with the lead cut to 7-2.
Browne pitched a perfect final two innings, allowing no base runners while striking out three more batters to secure the game and the series for the Bearcats.
Nawrocki led the team with four RBI and two doubles. Cayce and Loos drove in the other runs. As a team, Aledo finished with 13 hits while drawing three walks.
On the mound, Sandefur pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed two runs — zero earned — on two hits while striking out six and walking five. Browne pitched a flawless 2 1/3 innings while striking out four batters. The defense committed two fielding errors.
Barry thought his team had a better approach at the plate than it had in previous playoff rounds, with the results speaking for themselves as Aledo finished with 28 hits over the two games. The spread of the hits throughout the lineup also pleased Barry.
The Bearcats next face El Paso Americas in the Class 5A Region I, Division I final, a best-of-three series. Barry knows the program is used to long playoff runs, so the Trail Blazers won’t be afraid of the moment.
“They do a tremendous job of grinding out at-bats and making pitchers work hard to get outs,” Barry said. “They play really good defense, and their pitchers pound the strike zone. It should be a tightly contested series this week.”
The first two games were scheduled for May 21. If a game three is needed, it is scheduled for 2 p.m. May 23 at Midland Legacy. Look to the Community News social media pages for score updates from the series.
Aledo offense: Wilson Sehnem, two hits, one double, two RBI, one run; Jackson Loos, three hits, one RBI, one run; Dylan Duran, two hits, one RBI, one run, one steal; Luke Gladchuk, one RBI, one run, one walk, one steal; Will Cayce, one RBI; Landon Barnes, two hits, two runs, one steal; Reid Huffman, one hit, one triple, one run; Kyle Poindexter, three hits, one run; Lucas Nawrocki, one hit; Garrett Love, one hit.
Aledo pitching: Lucas Nawrocki (W), four innings, five hits, one run, zero earned runs, eight strikeouts, four walks; Garrett Love, three innings, zero hits, zero runs, five strikeouts, one walk.
Aledo offense: Lucas Nawrocki, two hits, two doubles, four RBI, two runs; Jackson Loos, two hits, one RBI; Will Cayce, one hit, one RBI; Landon Barnes, two hits, one double, two runs, one walk; Luke Gladchuk, two hits, two runs, one hit by pitch; Dylan Duran, two hits, one double, one walk; Wilson Sehnem, two hits, one run; Kyle Poindexter, one walk.
Aledo pitching: Luke Sandefur (W), 4 2/3 innings, two hits, two runs, zero earned runs, six strikeouts, five walks; Dane Browne, 2 1/3 innings, zero hits, zero runs, four strikeouts.
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