Baseball roundup: Grapevine, Aledo secure series wins, more from Fort Worth-area
The Aledo baseball team has been calling themselves the “Cardiac Cats.”
The Bearcats (26-11-1) showcased why they earned the nickname at Boswell High School on Saturday, surging from behind to defeat Colleyville Heritage to advance to the UIL baseball regional quarterfinals.
Aledo scored three runs in the seventh inning to take its first lead and held on in the bottom half to complete the comeback. The Bearcats will face Argyle in the area round.
Aledo head coach Chad Berry said Aledo’s seniors want their final season to be a memorable one, and mentioned the group wasn’t satisfied with how the 2023 season ended in the area round. He said they have had a lot of fun together this season, and it translates to the field.
“They play hard for each other,” Berry said. “They do a great job of picking each other up and keeping each other uplifted.”
To start Aledo’s scoring spree, Luke Trager doubled down the line to tie the game. Shortstop Boyd Thompson was the hero, recording a go-ahead, two RBI single with two outs.
Berry said Thompson is the “gas that runs the motor” for Aledo.
“He is our leader,” Berry said. “He is our team captain. He took on a leadership role that the shortstop from last year passed on to him.”
Colleyville Heritage (20-17) starting pitcher Cooper Powell, a Texas commit, kept Aledo’s offense at bay for the first five innings. Aledo outhit the Panthers, but Powell kept making timely pitches to prevent runs.
“I’m feeling relieved more than anything,” Berry said. “We had a really big task with Cooper Powell. It seemed like we had opportunity after opportunity early in the game. ... I was sitting there saying ‘man, missed opportunities are going to come back to bite us.’ But our kids did a great job of persevering through.”
In the third inning, Colleyville Heritage took a 2-0 lead. The Bearcats’ bullpen rose to the occasion, containing the Panther offense the rest of the way. Lucas Nawrocki tossed three scoreless innings.
First baseman Drew Weckel had a big time offensive showing, tallying a team high three hits. He also made a fantastic over the shoulder catch to prevent a run in the sixth inning.
“He had a really good series,” Berry said. “He’s been very consistent in that four spot for us all year. He’s probably been the most consistent hitter in our lineup throughout the season. He did what he normally does. He works at it.”
Berry said his team will have to play “really great baseball” to secure a series win against Argyle in the regional quarterfinals.
“We’re going to have to opportunistic,” Berry said. “We can’t leave runners stranded on base. ... It’s going to take a great effort and a well executed game plan.”
Grapevine takes down Justin Northwest to advance
The Grapevine Mustangs are galloping on to the regional quarterfinals.
Grapevine showcased why its the No. 2 ranked Class 5A team with 10-2 area round victory over Justin Northwest at Boswell High School on Saturday. Following a game two loss on Friday, the Mustangs clinched the series with the win.
“In the playoffs, there is going to come times when you’ve got to fight,” Grapevine head coach Jimmy Webster said. “I appreciated the fight in us today. We certainly weren’t perfect. But we found ourselves in a situation where we had to get some runs and we manufactured that late in the game. That was good to see.”
The Mustangs were propelled to victory by starting pitcher Dasan Hill, who tallied 10 strikeouts. Webster said the performance “wasn’t his best” but it was enough to put Grapevine in a winning situation.
Hill is a 6-foot-4 left hander with a fastball in the low 90s, a curveball, a slider and a change up. The senior star pitcher is committed to play at the next level with DBU.
In 2023, Grapevine reached the regional semifinals and lost to Lubbock Cooper. Now, the Mustangs are looking to keep hopes alive for their first state tournament birth since the 2017 season.
Webster said teams that make deep playoffs have fight, courage and tenacity. He said talent can only take teams so far.
“Just don’t give up,” Webster said. “Believing in each other and supporting each other. It would be too cliche for me to say pitching and defense is the reason. Sometimes, when you make a deep run, it’s got a be a group that’s tight and believes in each other and believes in what you’re trying to accomplish.”
Elite starting pitching has come in handy for Grapevine, who has Hill, Luke Schreyer and JoJo Kubo. All three are capable of taking over a ballgame, and the Mustangs have an effective relief pitcher in Ryan Williams.
“You’ve got to have three to five good ones,” Webster said. “You’re not going to throw a complete game every time. We feel good coming into every game that they’re going to give us a shot on the mound.”
Schreyer shut down Northwest in game one, throwing seven innings and allowing one earned run. In game three, he inherited a bases loaded situation with one out in the fifth inning. He managed to escape with a strikeout and a ground out.
“He’s got courage,” Webster said. “He threw 92 pitches on Thursday. He wanted the ball today. So I thought that was a big part of the game -- for him to give us that chance. And it switched the momentum back a bit. I thought that was important.”
Designated hitter Lale Esquivel led the way offensively with three hits and four RBIs. Jarrett Boswell opened the floodgates in the sixth inning with a two RBI triple.
“Timely hitting,” Webster said. “We were in the air too much today. But when we got guys on, we scored in bunches. We scored in three innings but we got 10 out of it. I thought that was good to see.”
RESULTS
FW Boswell (29-6) d. Midland (23-15)
G1: Boswell 6, Midland 0 G2: Midland 3, Boswell 0 G3: Boswell 7, Midland 5
Arlington Martin (23-12) d. Allen (25-12)
G1: Allen 8, Martin 2 G2: Martin 5, Allen 4 G3: Martin 4, Allen 3 (8)
Southlake Carroll (26-11) d. El Paso Americas (27-8-1)
G1: Carroll 3, Americas 0 G2: Carroll 6, Americas 2
Keller (22-11-1) d. Wolfforth Frenship (27-10-1)
G1: Keller 4, Frenship 1 G2: Keller 6, Frenship 0
Mansfield Legacy (22-13-1) d. Sachse (26-10-1)
G1: Legacy 4, Sachse 0 G2: Legacy 5, Sachse 4
Midland Legacy (20-17-1) d. FW Paschal (13-21-2)
G1: Legacy 5, Paschal 4 G2: Legacy 3, Paschal 0
Rockwall (25-9-2) d. Mansfield (23-9-1)
G1: Rockwall 9, Mansfield 1 G2: Rockwall 2, Mansfield 0
Rockwall-Heath (30-7) d. Mansfield Lake Ridge (19-11-1)
G1: Rockwall-Heath 7, Lake Ridge 2 G2: Rockwall-Heath 5, Lake Ridge 4
Stephenville (23-10-1) d. Burkburnett (17-10)
G1: Stephenville 3, Burkburnett 2 G2: Stephenville 4, Burkburnett 1
Decatur (25-9) d. Brownwood (24-8-1)
G1: Decatur 3, Brownwood 2 G2: Decatur 3, Brownwood 0
Celina (32-5) d. Kennedale (24-7)
G1: Celina 2, Kennedale 1 G2: Celina 11, Kennedale 1
Benbrook (28-5-1) d. Van Alstyne (16-16)
G1: Benbrook 2, Van Alstyne 0 G2: Benbrook 11, Van Alstyne 0 (5)
This story was originally published May 11, 2024, 2:11 PM.
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