Ladycats suffer heartbreaking loss

It was not the weekend the Aledo Ladycats (33-3) had hoped for when they arrived in Austin for the University Interscholastic League Class 5A state championship tournament. Despite making the trip as the second-seeded team, Aledo’s season came to an unexpected end when they fell to the Georgetown Lady Eagles (34-4) 3-2 in extra innings.

The game was the second consecutive time the two teams met in the semifinal, with Georgetown successfully avenging its 8-5 loss to the Ladycats in 2021. Despite outhitting the Lady Eagles 9-5, Aledo struggled on the base paths throughout the game and was unable to score until the seventh inning.

“They’re good kids,” head coach Heather Myers said after the game. “They’re going to fight. It’s a tough loss. It’s a tough loss when you feel like you’re the better team. The girls did their jobs for the most part. We just waited a little too long to wake up.”

After a dropped third strike allowed a Georgetown baserunner to get on base in the second inning. A passed ball got the runner to second, and an error resulted in her scoring the first run of the game. Sophomore pitcher Brenlee Gonzales quickly settled back in and held Georgetown off the board as much as she could, striking out 11 in the process.

The Lady Eagles led 1-0 throughout the rest of the game, until a late rally tied the game when Claire Byars drove in Presley Hull from second base. It appeared the Ladycats had seized momentum, but Georgetown was not finished.

A wild play resulted in a Georgetown runner in a rundown between third base and home plate. An off-line throw allowed the go-ahead run to score. The third and final run for the Lady Eagles scored on a double in the next at-bat.

Aledo had its back against the wall yet again, and was determined to either come back again or go down swinging. Mississippi State signee Macy Graf singled to give some life to the Ladycats. Texas Ray singled her home two plays later to pull back to within one run. Unfortunately, the next play saw a ground ball make contact with Ray as she was running from first to second, for the final out, effectively ending Aledo’s season.

Despite losing a strong corps of seniors, Myers is convinced that the next players up will benefit from the two years of making it to Austin.

“It is definitely a huge experience for the girls,” she emotionally stated. “They got to see what it looks like to fight. So it’s a great experience just being here for them. It’s just a tough loss.”

Georgetown advanced to the final game the following day, but fell to Montgomery Lake Creek (40-0) by a score of 7-0, giving Lake Creek the title of UIL Class 5A State Champions for 2022.