The No. 5 Aledo Ladycats aimed to create further distance between themselves and the field with another district showdown Friday night, March 29. In front of their home fans, Aledo faced off against a respectable Brewer Lady Bears squad, which is jockeying for postseason positioning against Fossil Ridge and Azle – all currently looking up to the Ladycats in the District 5-5A standings.
In the end, Aledo used timely offense, consistent defense, and brilliant pitching from a rising freshman star to secure a 9-0 win that went all seven innings – Aledo’s first seven-inning contest since their league road-opener at Brewer nearly a month ago.
“Having somebody standing there and making us go seven innings is good,” Ladycats head coach Heather Myers said. “It makes us stay up in the dugout, we can’t fall asleep on defense and we have to continue competing at the plate. Honestly, they like to go seven innings to get more at bats – they like playing the long games – and it’s even more fun when it is competitive.”
Standout freshman pitcher, Tempe Perry, took the mound in her first district home outing of her varsity career. With a road victory already under her belt, Perry, younger sister of senior outfielder Addie Perry, retired the opening side with relative ease that helped energize a quick strike on offense in the bottom of the same frame.
The elder Perry led off with an infield single, and she went on to steal both second and third base during Delaney Rosser’s first plate appearance. Then, Rosser drove her across home plate with an RBI triple, and junior third baseman Kyleigh Pawlak mashed a two-run shot to left that increased the lead to 3-0.
“I’ve always been told that we are in our spots in the lineup for a reason, and she (Coach Myers) trusts us with everything,” Pawlak said. “She is going to put each of us where she thinks is best for the team. I’ve been performing in the last few games, my bat has been hot and our coach gives us a lot of information that helps us mentally prepare for our at bats.”
As Pawlak’s bat continued to sizzle, Tempe Perry’s arm continued to deliver, and her competitive energy kept increasing. Perry recorded another quick 1-2-3 inning in the second and continued rolling even after she allowed her first hit in the third inning. Despite that, the Ladycats’ production did not slow for long.
“Typically freshmen get rattled, she does not get rattled,” Myers said of her freshman ace. “She thrives off the energy. If someone gets a hit, it just makes her want to strike out the next hitter that much more. The intensity she brings is insane – everyone in the field and the dugout feeds off of it. I can’t speak enough about her command. She’s one of the top-ranked freshman pitchers in the nation – I think she’s ranked 23rd. She’s legit and she’s just going to get better. She showed tonight everything she could do.”
Aledo tagged on another run in the fourth inning for a 4-0 lead, courtesy of heads-up base running by Jordyn Edington. Perry faced her first jam in the fifth inning with runners on first and second with two outs, but Perry’s competitive fire set the field ablaze after she let out a passionate, ‘Let’s go!’ after a strikeout looking ended Brewer’s scoring threat.
“Growing up with an older sister, we always worked out together consistently,” Perry said. “I was consistently on the field doing drills, working out and I think the consistency now comes from those reps and the work that was put in behind the scenes. Knowing that my teammates have my back, I know that I can let a girl get a hit and that my defense will get the out. There’s no need to stress about throwing so many strikeouts when I have the defense I have.”
The freshman’s fire then began to spread and became contagious – in the best way.
Pawlak first caught the spark as she blasted a triple to right to open up the action in the bottom of the fifth. After noticing an off-target throw to third base, Pawlak raced home to make it a 5-0 lead. Then, star senior Taylor McKean showed her talent at the plate with a loud double to left-center and junior catcher Breleigh Mayer defied gravity once more with a towering RBI triple to right that pushed the lead to 6-0.
“Last time against Brewer, I didn’t do too hot, but our team picked me up,” said Pawlak, who was a single short of hitting for the cycle. “This time, I felt like I needed to do it for my team because I do have a big role on this team of leadership and bat in the meat of the lineup. I knew I had to step in and step up against the best competition in our district. We love to see good pitching on the other side because we hit well off good pitching and situational hitters. I feel like I did and a lot of others stepped up against Brewer.”
As Perry retired the next six batters in a row across the final two innings, Aledo’s offense added three more runs to its total – all in the sixth inning – as Pawlak had an RBI double and senior shortstop Marina Taveras crushed a two-run homer to right.
Perry, who received praise from Myers for her and her older sister’s mental acuity and game knowledge, is relishing the opportunity she has with the group of teammates surrounding her.
“Coming into this program and knowing that it’s good, I knew I had to step up, but knowing my teammates would have my back and let me do me was so uplifting,” Tempe Perry said. “Knowing all of this has really added to my energy on the field. Between every single pitch, hearing my teammates tell me something like, ‘Hey, I’ve got you, don’t worry about it,’ and that definitely helps.”
Perry impressed with a complete-game shutout. Across seven innings, she tallied seven strikeouts without a walk while giving up five hits scattered across the contest. Pawlak was a force at the plate with three hits, three runs scored and three RBI while Rosser was stalwart as well with three hits to go with two runs scored and one RBI. Taveras went 2-for-4 with two RBI while McKean finished 2-for-4 with one run scored. The Perry sisters recorded one hit apiece while the elder sister stole two bases. Mayer also contributed with an errorless performance behind home plate to go with her fifth-inning RBI triple. Edington also chipped in with one run scored and one stolen base.
The Ladycats (18-3, 7-0) will take the field again at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Chisholm Trail in search of their 12th win in the last 13 games overall.
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