The Ladycats won 13-0 in four and a half innings to beat the Cinderella Lady Eagles in the Class 5A Region I Division I championship game.
Aledo came in as the favorite against an Abilene program that had advanced further than it ever had and was hoping the magic would continue. A one-game series, the thinking went, would keep that possibility alive.
The Ladycats came into the game knowing the Lady Eagles liked to put balls in play and cause havoc on the base paths if allowed to reach base. Pitcher Tempe Perry and the defense had to be flawless to keep the Lady Eagles from getting anything going, especially against an Abilene team and crowd that had traveled to Graham ready to erupt at the first sign of a positive start.
The infield defense made all three plays to start the game off right for Aledo before it batted and applied pressure of its own.
Leadoff hitter Delaney Rosser added to her prodigious season total, thought to be in the high 20s, by getting hit by a pitch to reach base. Following a pop-up, Kyleigh Pawlak hit a single and Rylee Marx was also hit by a pitch to load the bases with only one out.
The next batter grounded out to the pitcher to keep a run from scoring before the following batter hit a fly ball into the wind gusts in right field that helped the ball fall harmlessly into the outfielder’s glove for the third out.
The Lady Eagles’ leadoff hitter started the second inning with a single to center field. The next batter’s line drive was caught by shortstop Rosser, who threw to first base before the runner could get back to complete the double play. Perry followed with a strikeout as Aledo was as fired up as it could be after that defensive sequence.
That energy carried into the batting. Kennedy Cardenas led off, and her ground ball to shortstop resulted in an error that allowed her to reach base. Breleigh Mayer later drew a walk, but there were two outs after two strikeouts from Ladycat hitters.
Perry then stepped up and hit a bomb over the left-field fence, with a little help from the wind blowing in that direction, to put Aledo up 3-0 and give her team another big morale boost.
In the third inning, she and the defense allowed no base runners, helping the Ladycats add to their lead.
Brooklynn Taloa hit a double down the third-base line. Cardenas followed with a single to put runners at the corners before a passed ball allowed one run to score, increasing the lead to 4-0.
Perry and the defense again blanked the Abilene hitters, making the routine plays look easy and allowing no base runners in the fourth inning. That momentum then exploded later in the inning as the Ladycat bats blew the game open.
Rosser led off and was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. Perry followed by drawing a walk. Pawlak’s bunt popped up and over the charging pitcher’s head for a lucky base hit to load the bases with no outs.
Rylee Marx hit a line drive to right field that drove in one run. The ball went between the fielder’s legs for an error that allowed two more runs to score while Marx ended up on second base. Kayleigh Martin hit a single to put runners at the corners. Taloa then hit a fly ball to right field for the first out, but it was deep enough to allow one run to score.
Following a groundout for the second out, Kellyn Overturff hit an RBI single. Mayer followed with a single, and Overturff reached third base safely despite a throw, allowing Mayer to take second base on the play.
Batting for the second time that inning, Rosser hit a two-RBI single. Perry then followed with an RBI double into the gap before Pawlak hit an RBI single.
After putting up nine runs in the inning, Aledo led 13-0 heading into the fifth.
The Lady Eagles would need to score at least four runs to avoid getting run-ruled and keep the game going. Abilene got a one-out single and later drew a two-out walk to try to get something going.
The next batter hit a fly ball to center field for the final out of the game as Aledo secured the win.
Perry pulled double duty, leading the team with four RBIs on a home run and a double while pitching five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and one walk and striking out two batters. Rosser was second with two RBIs, and Pawlak had a team-high three hits to go with one RBI.
As a team, the Ladycats finished with 12 hits while getting hit by three pitches and drawing two walks. Aledo also committed no fielding errors, while Abilene committed two.
The win sets up a rematch of last season’s state semifinal against two-time defending state champion and nationally ranked Melissa. The Ladycats lost last year’s one-game series 15-4 and also fell to the Lady Cardinals 5-0 in a tournament earlier this season.
There is a lot of pent-up emotion from this Ladycat team to try to avenge those losses and reach the state championship game. It will be one of the few times this season Aledo will not be favored.
The one-game series was scheduled to be played on May 20. Look to The Community News social media pages for the final score.
Aledo offense: Tempe Perry two hits, one home run, one double, four RBIs, two runs, one walk; Delaney Rosser one hit, two RBIs, two runs, two hit by pitches; Kyleigh Pawlak three hits, one RBI, one run; Rylee Marx one hit, one RBI, one run, one hit by pitch; Brooklynn Taloa one hit, one RBI, one run; Kellyn Overturff one hit, one RBI, one run; Kayleigh Martin one hit, one run; Kennedy Cardenas one hit, one run; Breleigh Mayer one hit, one walk.
Aledo pitching: Tempe Perry (W) five innings, two hits, zero runs, two strikeouts, one walk.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here