Thursday, April 18, 2024
It doesn’t take a baseball savant to look and see that the future is bright for Gatesville High School baseball.
But the present is pretty darn good as well.
Thanks to two of their most complete games of the season, the Hornets disposed of District 24-4A champion Marble Falls (two games to one) in the bi-district playoff round of the playoffs to capture their first playoff series win since 2010.
The Hornets won Game by a 9-3 margin in Gatesville before traveling to Marble Falls for Game 2, where they lost 6-1. They fell behind early in Game 3, but rallied for an 8-3 series-clinching victory.
It’s just the fifth baseball playoff series win in GHS history. Head coach Chase Smith – a player on the 2005 and 2006 teams – has been a part of three of them.
“It is the reason I got into coaching and teaching. I wanted to help this program grow and give these kids a chance to make memories like I still cherish from my playing days here at Gatesville,” Smith said. “This town and this program mean so much to me. To see these guys' confidence grow and to have the fan support like we have had all year makes me so proud to be an alumni and still a part of this town.”
The Hornets’ growing confidence has been on display over the last month. Since dropping to 0-4 in district and 9-13 overall with a loss to China Spring, the Hornets have won seven of their last nine games. Smith said a day-by-day approach and a commitment to basics has contributed to the growing momentum.
“I feel like we have just had great ‘next day’ practices and have continued to work hard on getting better all year and the past few weeks I have seen us both in practice and games play some of best defense I have ever seen Gatesville play,” he said. “I really feel like that's one of the biggest difference makers for us this year is how bought into defense and situational baseball the guys have been and it's led to us having more success.”
Continued success is undoubtedly on the horizon for Gatesville baseball and future teams will be able to look back at Saturday’s Game 3 win as a pivot point in program history.
In the 6-1 Game 2 loss the Hornets had no hits, managed just three baserunners, and were facing elimination on their suddenly resurgent opponent’s home field. The prospects of a series loss loomed even larger when the Mustangs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
“There was no panic that I could see in any of them. I told them I wanted them to relax and make sure they had more fun than those guys. Play loose but be prepared every pitch and they were,” Smith said.
In the second inning, the Hornets came back with two runs of their own. Ben Mabry delivered a one-out single that was followed by three straight walks – the last of which scored Mabry to make it 2-1. Banner Allman then followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.
Marble Falls jumped back in front 3-2 in the bottom of the second, but would not score again.
In the top of the third Carter Williams reached on an error. He advanced to third on a single from Mabry and scored on a passed ball to make it 3-3. Mabry would later score on a balk to give Gatesville a 4-3 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
In the fourth, Gatesville added two more runs when Bralen Veazey drove in Allman and John Ibarra with a one-out double to make it 6-3. Veazey would strike again in the top of the sixth inning with another double to score Ibarra and push the lead to 7-3.
Later in the inning, Mabry drove in his second run of the game to push the lead to 8-3.
“It just felt different like the confidence was finally getting there. I think they realize they belong in that setting and just how good they can be,” Smith said.
Game three amounted to a bullpen game for the Hornets as they handed the ball to senior Ayden Necessary as their “opener.” Necessary allowed just two earned runs in 1.1 innings of work before handing the ball to Ibarra.
In addition to going 2-for-2 in Game 3 and 4-8 in the series, Ibarra shut down the vaunted Mustangs offense – which came into the game averaging just over 10 runs per game – throwing 4.2 innings of relief. The sophomore used a mix of pitches to frustrate the Mustangs. He allowed just three hits and struck out two in his time on the mound.
“John has kinda been flying under the radar I feel like since district started. He is one of those guys that seems to get a hit every game and is just solid offensively and defensively,” Smith said. “Then to come in when we needed him the most after not pitching a lot this season is just a testament to what kind of competitor that kid is.”
Ibarra’s stellar effort also meant that the Hornets had the option to use Veazey – arguably one of the state’s best and their undisputed ace – to close the door on the series.
Veazey threw just 82 pitches in six innings of work in his Game 1 victory, which meant he could be used in relief if needed. UIL rules allow a pitcher to throw 110 innings in a series before they are required to rest for four days, meaning Smith had Veazey available for 28 pitches in either the second or third game if needed.
In the seventh inning of Game 3, Veazey needed just 20 pitches to get the final three outs and send the Hornets to the area playoffs.
“Bralen is a special talent that Gatesville hasn't seen the likes of for a while and maybe not ever. You feel like you are going to be in and have a chance to win every game he is on the mound for you. He hit two balls really hard that third game and was a huge reason we won that series. I am proud of him because he works so hard at it and deserves every bit of recognition he gets,” Smith said.
Veazey was dominant in Game 1, scattering six hits and striking out eight. He was also helped by a four-run first inning from the Hornets’ offense.
“We had a pretty good scouting report on those guys and we wanted to score early and get a lead. We knew we had Veazey on the mound so if we could scratch a couple early we could hopefully hold onto and build the momentum. We had great at-bats and were able to be really productive at the plate,” Smith said.
The tone for the series may have been set in the first inning of the series opener when Lawson Mooney was hit by a pitch to open the game. He then proceeded to do what Lawson Mooney does — create havoc on the basepaths. The junior catcher stole second base, advanced to third on an error, then scored after baiting the first baseman into a rushed throw. In the series, Mooney walked three times, scored three runs and stole three bases, giving him 26 steals on the season — a GHS program record. Smith has taken to saying that every Mooney single is essentially a double.
Marble Falls mounted its only real threat in the top of the fifth by scoring twice to cut the lead to 7-3. But the Hornets responded in the bottom of the inning when Mooney reached and scored on a double from Allman.
In the Game 1 win, seven different Hornets had hits including doubles from Allman, Ibarra, and Kason Herbelin. Herbelin had a fantastic series with three hits and a pair of walks at the No. 9 spot in the lineup – further evidence of what Smith called a total team effort.
For the first of many times on the weekend, the weather came into play in the bottom of the sixth inning of the first game. A lightning delay forced the game to be finished on Friday as Allman got the final three outs of Game 1, about 19 hours after it started.
Marble Falls made two trips to Gatesville to complete Game 1, while the Hornets traveled to Marble Falls a first time on Friday night only to be delayed. They drove home that night and returned to Marble Falls for the final two games on Saturday.
The Game 2 loss – while lacking in offense – did feature two quality pitching efforts from Hornet underclassmen. Freshman Gehrig Keeton got the start, threw three innings and allowed just one earned run while junior Clayton Gregory contributed an inning of scoreless work.
“So many people have been and were selfless all year and all series. We had guys like Mabry and (Justin) Johnson who played two to four positions Saturday,” Smith said. “It was a total team effort and to see those guys supporting one another both on the field and in the dugout was really awesome.”
The Hornets faced the Giddings Buffaloes in the area round in another best-of-three series. Game 1 and 2 were scheduled for Friday, May 12 with a third game on May 13 if necessary. All three games are being played at Hutto High School.
A win over the Buffaloes – 10-17 on the season and the third-place team from District 22-4A – would send Gatesville to the regional quarterfinals for just the third time in school history.
