Sunday, May 5, 2024
Gatesville baseball turned in a 2-2-1 record in the prestigious Stephenville tournament last weekend – a result that was both pleasing and frustrating for head coach Chase Smith.
Three of their five games were against teams ranked in the state’s top 20, and they went 0-2-1 including a 4-3 walk off loss to 4A No. 14 Stephenville, a 4-3 loss to 3A No. 17 West, and a tie against 4A No. 16 Godley.
Heading into the tournament, a 2-2-1 mark seemed like a solid showing. In retrospect, Smith lamented the ones that got away.
“Going into that tournament, I knew we were playing really good teams, and that it was going to be really tough,” he said. “But I look back at it and think that we really should have gone 5-0.”
The Hornets (6-4-1) opened the tournament with a 6-4 in over Snyder that featured the best of what the Hornets can be with excellent pitching and a late offensive explosion.
Sophomore Bradey James and sophomore Kaleb Howie combined to scatter seven hits and allow just two earned runs in the game with Howie getting the win. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Gatesville scored four runs with two outs to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead.
James started the rally with a two-out double, then Bralen Veazey walked. Lawson Mooney ripped a triple to right that scored James and Veazey. Then sophomore Gehrig Keeton launched his first career homer to left to give Gatesville a lead that they would not relinquish.
In their 6-6 tie against Godley, Miles Tull threw six innings and allowed four earned runs. He also had a pair of hits, drove in one run, and scored another on his own. Mooney had two hits in the game and James had two RBI.
The Hornets did late damage in that game as well taking a lead in the top of the seventh inning when Tull’s single scored Kaleb Howie and Cayden Brister. Godley came back for one run in the bottom of the seventh to force the 6-6 tie.
In their 4-3 loss to West, the Hornets got a sparking pitching performance from senior Clayton Gregory who allowed just one-run through five innings before West broke through with one-run in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Gatesville was held scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when they scored three runs. Gregory drew a one-out walk and moved to second when John Ibarra reached on an error. Jastin Muegge groundout scored Brister to make it 3-1. Then James singled to cut the lead to 4-3.
Keeton and senior Justin Johnson teamed up for a six-hit, four run pitching performance in the 4-3 loss to Stephenville and were backed by three hits from Mooney and two from Gregory. The Hornets scored all three of their runs in the top of the fifth inning thanks to RBI doubles from Gregory and Mooney.
Mooney tore through just about every pitcher he saw in Stephenville picking up nine hits and driving in five runs over the five-game stretch and raising his average to .390 for the year.
Gatesville wrapped the tournament with a decisive 6-1 win over Iowa Park. Veazey struck out six over five innings of work and did not allow a run. The senior Temple College commit has fanned 24 hitters in three starts this season. Mooney and James had two hits each, and Ibarra had a two-run single.
Smith’s message after the tournament – and since the start of the season – has been very clear and very direct as he continues to harp on the elimination of mistakes – in the field, on the bases, and in his player’s heads.
“I was always taught that you coach the best teams hard, and that is what I am doing with this team. I keep telling them how good we can be if we just eliminate the mistakes,” Smith said. “There is no reason for us not to be sitting here undefeated and in the top 20 in the state ourselves. We have a really, really good program, but I keep telling our guys that people still might not respect us. And, if we want them to, then we are going to have to clean up the mistakes and finish games.”
The Hornets travel to Franklin this weekend for their final tournament of the year. They open with games again Cameron (6-4) and Smithville (2-6). Then they face Waxahachie Life (7-4) and Lorena (5-6).
They will return home to host Palestine on March 13 at 1p.m.
