ALEDO— For the first time in a decade, the Aledo Bearcats baseball team is beginning a title defense. Fresh off their 5A-Division I title last June, Chad Barry’s squad went into opening day of the Jag Metals Classic at home to face the Arlington Colts and Abilene Wylie Bulldogs.
The bats were hot for Aledo and the lineup saw the ball well as the Bearcats defeated Arlington 13-11 in the opening game of the tournament, and shutout Abilene Wylie 10-0 to end the first day of said tournament.
“Offensively I feel really good,” Barry said after the primetime win over Wylie. “We played six in the first game and played five tonight. We scored in every single inning. Offensively I think we’re doing some really good things. We’re making teams pay for it when they make a mistake. I like the way we’re swinging after day one.”
Aledo played 11 innings on Thursday, and managed to score in every single inning. The one struggle came in the first game when Barry turned to his relievers, which he admitted he was trying to scout arms for the upcoming district season in the next month.
“It’s early, so we’re looking at a lot of different arms,” he mentioned. “It’s a little bit different than a district type ballgame or a playoff type ballgame where you have to plan out six games in advance. In these tournaments, some of your starters are actually going to be top relievers. So we’re having to spread those out and things can go wrong and that’s just how it can go.”
The Bearcats jumped on Arlington early and often. With Lucas Nawrocki on the mound, the Colts were held scoreless through the first three innings. It was then that Barry turned to the pen, and Arlington started collecting runs. However, it was for not, as the 2 hour and 20 minute clock ran out, ending the game with a 13-11 Aledo win.
Two more games were played at Bearcat Ballpark before the home squad took the field again just as the sun was setting.
Teryn Byrne took the mound for Aledo in the Thursday nightcap against the old playoff rival Wylie Bulldogs. He allowed a pair of baserunners but struck out the side to open the game.
Things started well for the Bearcats as Luke Gladchuck drew a leadoff walk. When Nawrocki stepped up two batters later, Gladchuck took off for second as Nawrock drilled one up the middle. Barry sent Gladchuck to the plate and the throw was cut off, giving Aledo a 1-0 lead.
After Wylie walked the bases loaded, Jackson Loos drew another walk to score Nawrocki, making it 2-0.
The Bulldogs were able to get another base hit in the second, but were put away quickly. After a strange series of events, the Bearcats ended up with runners at the corners, but failed on a squeeze bunt. However, they still managed to load the bases on the next at-bat, setting up an opposite field grand slam from Nawrocki, extending the lead to 6-0.
“It puts a lot of pressure on opposing teams,” Barry commented about Nawrocki on his roster. “If our other guys are swinging just as well, we’re going to put them in situations where they have to pitch to him. And that’s what we want.
In the third, Brady Huffman drew the third straight leadoff walk for Aledo. After a groundout moved him to second base, Gladchuck knocked him in on a single to right-center field. After a swiped base and a pair of wild pitches, Gladchuck then came home to make the score 8-0.
In the fourth, Gladchuck made an incredible diving catch in center field that kept Wylie off of the board. In the following half inning, Brady Huffman ended up on third after a misread fly ball to right. Will Cayce then came on as a pinch hitter and drove him in with a single to right, bringing the score to 9-0.
Based on the UIL run-rule, the Bearcats ultimately needed one more run to set themselves up for a fifth inning defensive inning to end it. However, they stranded the runners.
Barry then turned to Wilson Sehnem to pitch the fifth inning. Despite his small stature, Sehnem used his incredibly powerful fastball to fan the Bulldogs in order.
“Sehnem is like a Bulldog,” Barry said about his pitcher. “If you were going to get in a fistfight with anyone on this team, he would be the last one I would choose. He’s kind of a swiss-army knife for us. He can play just about any position. He’s just a ballplayer.”
On the very first at-bat in the bottom of the fifth, Nawrocki ended his career day with a hooking fly ball to let that cleared the fence just inside the foul pole to walk it off with a run-rule.
The Bearcats start the season off hot with a 2-0 record after defeating Arlington and Abilene Wylie, opening up their title defense in strong fashion. They face Denton Guyer at 11 a.m. Friday morning at Bearcat Ballpark, followed by a 4:30 p.m. game with Dallas Jesuit, both of which should be good tests for the Bearcats.
