By Brian Gosset
X – @gosset41
X – @gmsportsmedia1
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS – Birdville starting pitcher Reagan Jordan didn’t feel any extra weight knowing that the Hawks had to win on Friday night vs Aledo to extend its Class 5A D1 bi-district series.
Jordan came through with 3 hits allowed and the complete game as her offense exploded during its 7-3 win over the Ladycats at home to force a Game 3 at 12 pm Saturday at Kennedale High School.
The winner advances to the area round to take on FW Paschal, which edged out Cleburne 2-1 in a one-game playoff on Friday night.
Aledo beat Birdville 2-1 in Game 1 on Thursday.
“I am most proud of my teammates. It’s a whole team effort, but my mindset coming in was I knew we had them in Game 1. It was a such a close game so I knew if we started out with an early lead then we had it,” Jordan said.
Jordan, who’s committed to Georgetown, gave up a hit but shut down the order in the top of the 1st inning. Then her offense went to work a half inning later. Back-to-back walks for Haley Mennenga and Jordan set up Avery Rodriguez, who took a 2-1 pitch from Aledo starter Lilly Heckathorn to right field for a 2-run single.
“It was a big moment to start like that in the first inning,” Birdville coach Katie Welborn said.
Aledo cut the deficit to 2-1 on a solo home run from Delaney Rosser in the 3rd. The Ladycats had two runners on base with 2 outs, but couldn’t bring in the tying run as Jordan got a pop fly to second baseman Jorden Tompkins.
Tempe Perry replaced Heckathorn after Rodriguez’s big hit and kept Birdville scoreless for the next 3 innings until 2 outs in the fifth.
Mennenga hit a lead-off double before Perry got the next 2 batters out.
But Macie Moore hit a hard infield grounder and reached first base safely with a throwing error to first that scored Mennenga from second that gave the Hawks a 3-1 lead.
MuRae Horn got on with a single to right and Hadley Bright made it 4-1 with an RBI single to right field that scored Moore. Then freshman Hannah Azuelo came up and delivered the 3-run home run to left field for her first career playoff home run that really put the game to bed as the Hawks went up 7-1.
“Hannah’s home run was awesome,” Welborn said. “It gave me chills.”
Perry got a 2-run triple with 2 outs in the top of the seventh that made it 7-3 before Jordan got her final strikeout that ended the game.
“We were sitting on the change and we weren’t swinging at bad pitches,” Jordan said. “We came into the game much more calmer – we weren’t stressed.”
Added Welborn, “Reagan has been doing that for us her entire career. She just stays cool and calm. Reagan Jordan just goes out there and does Reagan Jordan things.”
