Tuesday, May 7, 2024
A pair of wins over La Vega put the finishing touches on Gatesville baseball’s best regular season since 2012, and they now begin prep for their third playoff appearance in head coach Chase Smith’s four seasons.
The Hornets beat the Pirates 15-0 and 12-0 on April 23 to finish the regular season 18-10-1 overall and 7-3 in district. The 18 wins are the most in the regular season since the Hornets went 18-8 in 2012, and the seven district wins are the most since 2010 when they went 8-2 in league play.
Assured of no worse than third place in District 23-4A, they would finish second pending a China Spring win over Salado on April 26. Should the Cougars win, Gatesville would enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. If Salado upsets the second-ranked Cougars, then Gatesville and Salado would play a one-game playoff for second place.
Regardless of their seeding, Gatesville is assured of a first-round matchup with either Georgetown Gateway or Lago Vista out of District 24-4A.
In the wins over the Pirates, the Hornets pitching did not allow a hit over the two-game stretch. Bradey James threw three innings of no-hit baseball while striking out four in game one, while Bralen Veazey threw four hitless innings in the nightcap.
Veazey struck out nine in the second game running his career mark to 252 strikeouts. He needs four strikeouts to set the program’s all-time strikeout record of 256 currently held by Craig Loerwald.
In the game one win, the Hornets banged out 13 hits with five different Hornets getting two hits apiece: James, Lawson Mooney, John Ibarra, Logan Biggs and Justin Johnson.
They pounded out another ten hits in the game two win. Mooney had three hits and three RBI, while Veazey and John Ibarra had two hits apiece. Since the start of district play Mooney is hitting .483, while Ibarra is hitting .455.
Ibarra, who tied for the team batting title in 2023, has raised his average 114 points during district and has hit safely in all but two-game in league play. Mooney started district hitting at a .299 clip and finishes the regular season with a .354 average.
Riley Watson, a reserve outfielder who got the start on Senior Night, walked twice, scored three runs, and drilled an RBI triple in the bottom of the fourth.
If a playoff with Salado is not necessary, the Hornets could schedule a warmup game prior to starting the postseason the week of May 3-4. Regardless of seeding, the Hornets and Eagles would meet in the regional quarterfinals should they advance out of the first two rounds.
