The Ladycats won a low-scoring game one 3-1 before dumping on the fireworks in game two, winning by run-rule 17-1 in five innings.
Aledo came into the series as favorites, but not by much as the Lady Plainsmen team could easily win if the Ladycats played did not play well.
The Ladycats were threatened in the first inning with a one-out double and a walk following. Pitcher Tempe Perry and the defense recovered, striking out the next batter before inducing a groundout at third base.
Two Monterey batters got on base again in the second inning, getting hit by a pitch and drawing a walk with two outs, but Aledo got out of the jam without allowing any runs to score.
In the bottom of the second inning, Rylee Marx led off and was hit by a pitch. Next batter Kayleigh Martin then worked to a full-count 3-2 before sending the next ball over the left field fence for a two-run home run. Aledo led 2-0.
The Lady Plainsmen were able to cut the lead in half to start the third inning. Back-to-back singles led off the inning. Following a fly out, a passed ball allowed both runners to advance before a single drove in one run to make it 2-1.
Aledo bounced back despite Monterey having runners at the corners with one out. The next two batters hit a line out and then a pop fly to third basemen Kyleigh Pawlak for the final two outs of the inning to preserve the Ladycats’ lead.
Aledo held that lead, despite two more Monterey players getting on base with one-out hits in the fourth inning, into the fifth inning where the Ladycats extended their lead with more fireworks.
Breleigh Mayer hit a solo home run over the left field fence to lead off the inning, giving Aledo some breathing room with the score 3-1.
Despite Delaney Rosser getting hit by her second pitch of the game and Pawlak later hitting a one-out double, the Ladycats could not get any more runs across the board heading into the final two innings.
Despite a leadoff walk in the sixth inning and two out single in the seventh inning, Perry and the Aledo defense was able to hold firm and secure the game one win with little drama 3-1.
Martin and Mayer got the job done with their home runs, Martin driving in two runs and Mayer being a solo shot. Aledo finished with four hits, three of them being extra base hits, which proved beneficial with the Ladycats drawing three walks and being hit by four pitches.
Perry pitched all seven innings and despite giving up eight hits and walking four batters, allowed only one run, zero earned runs, while striking out four batters.
With a game under their belt, Aledo had a nights’ sleep and a few hours to try and adjust to what went right and what could be better in game two and possibly three the next day.
The adjustments paid off as the Ladycats dominated game two from the start.
Rosser drew a leadoff walk before Perry’s bunt was fumbled for an error, allowing Rosser to reach third base and Perry to get on second base. Pawlak came through with an RBI single before Marx hit a sacrifice fly ball to drive in another run. Aledo led 2-0.
Perry had the pressure put on her in response. Monterey hit a one-out single followed by a walk. After a fly out, another single loaded the bases, but the next batter popped out in foul territory for out three.
The Ladycats added to their lead in the second inning. Kellyn Overturff was hit by a pitch before next batter Mayer hit a two-run home run to double Aledo’s lead to 4-0. This led to the Monterey switching pitchers to start the next inning.
However, the runs really started to come in the third inning for Aledo.
Marx led off with a solo home run shot. After drawn walks from Martin and Brooklynn Taloa, Kennedy Cardenas hit a single. An error from the Lady Plainsmen on handling the ball thrown in from the outfield allowed one run to score and runners advancing to third and second base.
Next batter Overturff hit a sacrifice fly ball to drive in another run. The bases were loaded up with Mayer drawing a walk and Rosser getting hit by a pitch in her foot that had her initially limping before running it off.
Perry followed and drove in two runs with a single before Pawlak followed with a double that drove in two more runs as Aledo’s lead was now up to double-digits 11-0 after having scored seven runs in the inning. Monterey went through two pitchers during the inning before getting its starter back on the mound for the final out.
After a low-scoring, competitive first game, not many saw this kind of blowout coming.
The Ladycats kept the hits coming on offense in the fourth inning. Cardenas led off by drawing a walk. After two outs, a fly ball hit by Rosser resulted in an error in center field, which allowed Cardenas to score and Rosser to reach second base. Next batter Perry then drove her in with a single to improve Aledo’s lead to 13-0.
The Lady Plainsmen showed a little bit of life after failing to get anything going in recent innings after falling so far behind. They hit a solo home run shot with one out to cut the lead to 13-1 and give Monterey something to cheer about as the team saw its season falling away.
Aledo got that run back and more in the fifth inning and final inning. With one out, Martin and Taloa were hit by pitches to get on base. Two batters later, Overturff drove in one run with a single before Mayer put the exclamation point on the series. She hit a three-run home run, her third home run of the series, to improve the score to 17-1.
The only drama to follow was Rosser getting hit in the same foot as earlier that left her visibly hurt and angry, having been hit four times during the two-game series. She came back out to field to finish the game though.
Monterey would have had to score at least seven runs to continue the game and avoid getting run-ruled, but could not get anything going.
Mayer led the team with five RBIs during the game while hitting two home runs. She hit three in the series while driving in six runs to lead the team.
Perry and Pawlak each rove in three runs while Overturff and Marx drove in two. All together, Aledo finished with nine hits while drawing six walks and getting hit by five pitches.
On the mound, Perry pitched all five innings allowed one run on three hits while striking out three batters.
Throughout the series, Coach Heather Myers thought Perry did a great job of attacking the Lady Plainsmen and holding them to two runs through 12 innings’ pitches.
“Originally, they scope their hands out a bit, so we were going to attack away but the umpire wasn’t giving that pitch,” Myers said. “So we had to make adjustments, getting balls more middle-away, where they were on the plate when they were taking them. They were a very disciplined ball club, but our plan today was to run it in on their hands and keep them off balance with her off speed. Tempe is very good at changing speeds and she did a great job both days.”
Myers was glad her team’s bats got hot at the right time. While she and her coaches don’t emphasize hitting home runs, she knew with her lineup having a lot of power through out it and the field being shorter at Holliday worked out in her team’s favor.
“We knew the adjustments we had to make to both the pitcher and the umpire,” Myers said. “We scooted off the line a little bit, took the outside pitches and waited for her to middle-in and we just hit the ball well. They made the adjustment and went and attacked.”
Aledo is next scheduled to play in the 5A Region 1 final against Abilene. It will only be a one-game series, scheduled for 4 p.m. on May 15 at Graham.
Aledo offense: Kayleigh Martin one hit, one home run, two RBIs, one run; Breleigh Mayer one hit, one home run, one RBI, one run; Tempe Perry one hit; Kyleigh Pawlak one hit, one double; Rylee Marx one run, two hit by pitches; Delaney Rosser two hit by pitches; Brooklynn Taloa one walk.
Aledo pitching: Tempe Perry seven innings, eight hits, one run, zero earned runs, four strikeouts, four walks.
Aledo offense: Breleigh Mayer two hits, two home run, five RBIs, one walk; Kyleigh Pawlak two hits, one double, three RBIs; Tempe Perry two hits, three RBIs, two runs; Rylee Marx one hit, one home run, two RBIs, one run; Kellyn Overturff one hit, two RBIs, two runs, one hit by pitch; Delaney Rosser three runs, two walks, two hit by pitches; Kennedy Cardenas one hit, two runs, one walk; Kayleigh Martin two runs, one walk, one hit by pitch; Brooklynn Taloa two runs, one walk, one hit by pitch.
Aledo pitching: Tempe Perry five innings, three hits, one run, three strikeouts, five walks.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here