On the surface, there are two ways to look at the Aledo Bearcats’ performance in this past weekend’s Drew Medford Memorial Tournament. They dropped three of four games, or they were just a play or two away from going 3-1.
Aledo coach Chad Barry, however, summed it up in a single word, “inconsistent.”
The tournament, played at various sites around Fort Worth, including these four games in Aledo, is named in memory of former Paschal pitcher Drew Medford, who died in a car accident in the summer of 2016, shortly after graduation. He had committed to play for TCU.
The tournament also features a scholarship given to a player on each team deemed to embody the characteristics of Medford, a drive to succeed, humility, empathy for others and leadership. From Aledo, senior Garrett Rester was chosen.
As for the contests in the tournament, they included a pitchers duel in a 1-0 loss to Hurst L.D. Bell, a 12-2 win over Fort Worth Nolan Catholic, a 9-8 loss to Prestonwood and a 5-1 loss to Weatherford.
The victory against Nolan Catholic was something of an anomaly. The Bearcats only managed a pair of hits, but capitalized on receiving 14 walks from Vikings pitching.
The opening day of the tournament on March 7 was rained out.
“Couldn’t get little things done in the loss to L.D. Bell. We had problems getting bunts down and moving runners,” Barry said. “Pitching and defense was good, but we have to be able to hit with our guys on base. Too many fly ball outs as well.
“Saturday was better at the plate, but our defense was terrible. We dug ourselves out of early deficits only to make errors and fall behind by large amounts again. We were our own worst enemy on Saturday.”
The Bearcats (8-7-1) were playing at Godley at press time. They open District 5-5A play after returning from spring break, playing at Brewer on March 19 and hosting the Bears on March 22, both games beginning at 6:30 p.m.
L.D. Bell 1, Bearcats 0 - March 8
R H E
L.D. Bell 000 100 0 - 1 6 0
Aledo 000 000 0 - 0 5 0
Aledo hitting: Boyd Thompson 1-3; Luke Trager 1-3; Brennan Evans 1-3, 2B; Johnny Ruflin 1-2, BB; Jake Bumgardner 1-3.
Aledo pitching: Devin Miller 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 2 BB.
Bearcats 12, Nolan Catholic 2 - March 8
R H E
Nolan Catholic 020 0 - 2 3 3
Aledo 140 7 - 12 2 0
Aledo hitting: Brooks Burdine 1-2, BB; Rhett Spiers 1-2, 2B, BB, 3 RBI; Noah Graham 2 BB, 2 RBI; Jackson Parker 2 BB, RBI; James Cloke 2 BB; Zeke Garcia 2 BB, 2 RBI; Miller 2 BB; Luke Sandefur BB, RBI; Reese Hetherington BB; Trager RBI.
Aledo pitching: Sandefur 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 9 K, 4 BB.
Prestonwood 9, Bearcats 8 - March 9
R H E
Prestonwood 240 03 - 9 8 2
Aledo 002 24 - 8 6 2
Aledo hitting: Thompson 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Drew Weckel 2-3, 2B; Ryan Jones 1-1, 2 BB; Trager 2-2, BB; Lucas Nawrocki 2 BB; Ruflin BB, RBI; Spiers 1-1, 2 RBI; Evans HP.
Aledo pitching: Jenson Huffman 2 IP, 4 H, 6 R (4 ER), 1 K, 2 BB; Bumgardner 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 K, 4 BB; Spiers 0.1 IP.
Weatherford 5, Bearcats 1 - March 9
R H E
Weatherford 200 003 0 - 5 6 1
Aledo 000 010 0 - 1 2 2
Aledo hitting: Graham 1-3, HR, RBI; Spiers 1-2, BB, 2B; Br. Burdine BB; Jones BB; Weckel BB.
Aledo pitching: Ethan Hodo 0.1 IP; Nowrocki 1 IP, 2 K, 1 BB; Luke Saunders 5.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R (3 ER), 8 K, 3 BB.
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