Friday, March 29, 2024

Gatesville blasts Bosqueville, 14-3 in home baseball contest

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Gatesville High School’s baseball team wrapped up its non-district schedule on Tuesday with a 14-3 run-rule victory over Bosqueville.

The win was a small measure of payback as the Bulldogs – the No. 2-ranked Class 2A team in the state – beat Gatesville (9-9) 6-3 in the Rogers Tournament championship on March 4.

“Our guys have been working their tail off and doing things right and it paid off tonight. That’s the key to keep building and keep getting better and hopefully peak at the right time and that’s when it counts,” Gatesville head coach Chase Smith said. “I’m extremely proud of all our guys putting together a complete game like they did.”

After a 12-0 shutout loss to Class 4A No. 15 Taylor on Mar. 17, the Hornets’ offense bounced back against Bosqueville. Mason Mooney and Brady James had two hits apiece with Mooney driving in three runs. Lawson Mooney, Kason Herbelin, and Justin Johnson also had hits.

The most telling stat in the win was the number of times the Hornets struck out – zero.

“I thought we executed our game plan and that was to be aggressive early in counts and not give in with two strikes. I felt like we were due to have a good offensive game,” Smith said.

Johnson drew a pair of walks (the Hornets walked eight times in the game) and scored two runs. James, Lawson Mooney, Mason Mooney, and Banner Allman also scored two times each.

After a six-game stretch against elite pitching in which they averaged just under two runs per game, the Hornets busted out against the Bulldogs.

Mason Mooney got the scoring started with a two-run single in the bottom of the first inning to give Gatesville a 2-0 lead. Then the floodgates opened in the third when they scored five times then added seven more runs in the fourth.

While they scored 14 runs, they only needed four as Hornet pitching allowed just one earned run. Ace Bralen Veazey allowed just three hits and struck out four over 4.1 innings. Allman closed out the win getting the final two outs.

“I feel like we saw glimpses of the type of team we can and want to be tonight but I still feel like we can be even better in all phases,” Smith said.

After completing a non-district schedule that featured six state-ranked teams, Smith’s squad now turns its attention to trying to secure a second playoff berth in the last three years.

“I felt like it was what we needed to beat a quality team heading into district. We have a few days to fine tune and get ready for a tough district schedule,” he said.

The district schedule will feature back-to-back games between teams. The Hornets will take on Robinson on Mar. 28 in Gatesville, then rematch with the Rockets in Robinson on Mar. 31. A pair of games with China Spring will follow and they are scheduled to face Connally and Salado before finishing the district slate with games against La Vega.  

China Spring is ranked No. 7 in the most recent Diamond Pro/THSB 4A Top 25, while Salado is ranked No. 23.