No. 3 Bearcats tame No. 12 Bulldogs for state title game berth

DALLAS – For the first time since 2015, the No. 3 state-ranked Aledo Bearcats reached the state semifinal round of UIL baseball competition. After taking down Colleyville Heritage in the Region I final, the Bearcats had their sights set on a state semifinal matchup with this year’s Class 5A Division I Cinderella, the No. 12 McKinney North Bulldogs.

The Bearcats and Bulldogs squared off in the high-stakes, best-of-three series at Dallas Baptist University’s Horner Ballpark with Game 1 taking place Thursday night. Following a 4-0 victory there, Aledo put it all together once again in an impressive 6-0 closeout win to punch the Bearcats’ first ticket to the state championship game since 2014 – when they won the program’s lone title.

Now, Aledo (33-8, 10-0 champions of District 5-5A) looks to capture the gold medal in Austin with one more opponent to face in one final contest. The Bearcats will face off against the Region III champions, the No. 24 Smithson Valley Rangers (28-12, 11-5, third in District 26-5A) for the Class 5A Division I title at 7 p.m. Friday at Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock.

“We went into it going, ‘records don’t matter,’ because everybody is 0-0,” Bearcats head coach Chad Barry said. “They came into this thing 10-0 or 8-0 – they are here for a reason just like we are and have won four playoff series just like we have. We knew they belonged and we knew we would get nothing but their best, so we are going to have to go out and beat them – nobody beats themselves this time of year.”

Before facing Aledo, the Bulldogs (19-14-1, 8-6) – who finished third in District 9-5A – eliminated Lufkin, Emerson, Lake Belton and Midlothian to become the Region II champions. However, McKinney North was held without a run in each contest against Aledo for the first time this postseason, and the Bearcats got big games from each of their starting pitchers along with quality play in the field and at the plate.

“No matter how big the game is, our team is ready to play,” Aledo shortstop Nick Foster said. “We compete with the same attacking mindset every day. My defense has been big, but so has everybody else’s on the team. We are ready for the next round.”

Junior ace Devin Miller stepped on the mound for the pivotal Game 2 start. Miller threw all seven innings with seven strikeouts, surrendering just two hits along the way against a narrow, and at times amoeba-like strike zone. He could hear the fan’s disgruntled jeers at the umpire while battling any frustrations he had, but the star pitcher was able to reset and stick to his diligent approach pitch by pitch.

“Not everybody is going to be perfect, especially umpires at times, but I just have to approach things one pitch at a time,” Miller said. “Pitches aren’t going to go your way every time, but you just have to keep working, and it definitely worked out tonight.”

While Miller did his part in keeping the Bulldog bats quiet, Foster and the rest of the Bearcat defense contributed in their own ways as well and did so often. Foster accounted for half of the team’s outs in the second and third innings, highlighted by a nice leaping grab on a would-be Bulldog hit with two runners on the base paths to end the third inning. The synergy between Miller and his teammates proved to be a catalyst in stymying any momentum for McKinney North.

“Every time Devin is pitching, we have a good chance to win,” Foster said. “He’s our guy, he’s our ace with a good three-pitch mix. I know how to react to every pitch, but there’s not that much pressure when he’s doing his stuff on the mound.”

Miller’s curveball was devastating in the later innings of the game, and that was largely in part due to the run support provided by the Bearcat bats.

“It always means a lot to get the ball in my hands, but I have to give the credit to my team,” Miller said. “I asked them to give me two runs at the start of the game and they gave me six, which is more than I could ever ask for. From there, I just went out there and did my job.”

In the top of the second inning, senior right fielder Luke Trager reached second base on an error and was moved to third after a single by first baseman Dylan Duran. With runners on the corners, Foster executed a beautiful sacrifice squeeze bunt that scored Trager for the game’s first run.

Aledo held a slim 1-0 margin until lightning struck again in the sixth inning. A one-out walk drawn by designated hitter Lucas Nawrocki, followed by a single to left by Trager and capped off by another Duran single gave Aledo a prime bases-loaded opportunity. 

Then, Foster and catcher Brennon Evans drew consecutive walks that padded the lead to 3-0. In the next at-bat, centerfielder Brooks Burdine roped an RBI single to right that scored two more runs for a 5-0 advantage. 

Trager added an RBI groundout to the run tally in the top of the seventh inning for good measure and a 6-0 lead. From there, Miller retired the side in the bottom of the frame via strikeout, a fly out to center and a groundout to Miller, who lightly and comfortably tossed the ball to Duran for the decisive out.

Aledo put itself in position for its Friday-night celebration after an impressive Game 1 triumph. In that game, Luke Sandefur took the mound after earning the Game 3 win over Colleyville Heritage in the regional final on short rest. 

Despite that, Sandefur was strong on the mound in his shutout performance, going 5.2 innings with five strikeouts with a handful of scattered hits allowed.

“When Grayson (McKelvey) went down with a shoulder injury, Luke knew since Saturday, on five days' rest, that he was going to be the guy to pitch in the first game today,” Barry said. “We told him we would work around how he feels, but he told me he felt good and wanted the ball. He came out and did a phenomenal job – didn’t have his curveball early – but did a great job of mixing in his changeup and keeping them off balance. He was able to work out of some jams with the help of some really good defensive plays at times, too.”

Sandefur got an early 2-0 lead from his teammates, as RBI hits from Blake Burdine and Landon Barnes provided the early advantage. In the fifth inning, Barnes added another RBI single to his stat line that sent Burdine across home plate. The lead grew to 4-0 in the sixth inning after Luke Gladchuk produced his own RBI single.

With one out left in the sixth inning, reliever Ethan Hodo finished the job with solid work across the final four outs of the game. He needed just one pitch to retire the only batter he faced in the sixth inning. In the seventh, he ended things efficiently with a swinging strikeout, a groundout to shortstop and a groundout to second base.