UIL baseball, softball roundup: See results from playoff games in Fort Worth-area

The UIL softball and baseball playoffs continued on Thursday. Here is a roundup of important games in the Fort Worth-area.

Aledo softball escapes Birdville in 11 innings

Aledo pushed over a run in the top of the 11th inning and Bearcats pitcher Brenlee Gonzales was able to close the door in a 3-2 win over North Richland Hills Birdville in a Class 5A area-round game on Thursday at Fort Worth Boswell High School.

It was a one-game series between the two which made the pressure for both schools even greater as Aledo (30-3) advances to the regional round. The Bearcats will face Joshua (29-9) next week after the Owls eliminated Granbury, sweeping the series with a 5-1 win on Thursday after a 1-0 victory on Wednesday.

“I’m relieved,” said Gonzales, who’s headed to Texas Tech in the fall. “Last year we didn’t really succeed as much as we wanted to, we lost in the second round, so making it this far has been a privilege. Last year we couldn’t get out of some of those kinds of jams, but we were able to buckle down and my team was able to back me up.”

Birdville (24-10) struck first in the marathon pitchers duel. Evelynn Swartzlander led off the bottom of the first for the Hawks with a soft liner that was just over the head of the shortstop for a single.

After Aledo starting pitcher Taylor McKean fanned the next two hitters, Coryn Burris launched a towering fly ball to left that one-hopped the fence for a triple, driving in Swartzlander to make it 1-0 Birdville.

Aledo answered in the top of the fourth when Delany Rosser and Liliana Flores led off the inning with back-to-back triples. Marina Taveras followed with a sacrifice fly to right to give the Bearcats a 2-1 lead.

“She (Reagan Jordan) pitched a great game,” said Flores. “With a 3-2 count I knew she was going to throw something in the zone. I knew she was going to try to throw something outside the zone and I literally just stuck my bat out there.”

All three pitchers in the game were stellar. Reagan Jordan for Birdville went the distance, pitching all 11 innings for the Hawks allowing three runs, two earned while scattering six hits with five strikeouts, three walks and one hit batter.

McKean pitched the first five innings for Aledo allowing one run on four hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. Gonzales took over in the sixth and pitched the final six innings for the Bearcats giving up a run on four hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk.

Birdville, dramatically, tied the game in the bottom of the seventh. Burris, who went 2-for-5 at the plate, laced a single to right that was misplayed allowing her to reach third.

Jordan followed with a lined single to left to score Burris, but Gonzales was able to get a ground out and two strikeouts to send the game to extra innings.

Rosser, who went 2-for-5, led off the 11th with a shot to short for an infield single and moved to second when the throw to first went in the dugout. Flores moved her to third with a sacrifice bunt and Rosser scored on an error on a grounder to third by Taveras.

Keller-Weatherford baseball delayed

Keller and Weatherford’s bi-district baseball game at Southlake Carroll Senior High School was postponed due to lightning in the area on Thursday.

Keller (19-11-1) had a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh, and the Indians also had the bases loaded with one out. When play resumes Friday at Weatherford High School at 7 p.m. the Indians will inherit the same situation.

Game two will commence 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.

Weatherford head coach Jason Lee said his main message to the team was to focus on toughness, given they’ll resume play in a tough spot. They use the acronym AAIT, which stands for attitude, approach, intensity and toughness.

“These guys have been resilient,” Lee said. “They’ve been tough all year long. … We’re going to compete until the last out and fight as hard as we can.”

Weatherford (25-6-1) starting pitcher Roy Moon had a strong outing, allowing two earned runs and three hits in 5 ⅓ innings. Moon’s line is not official with runners he let on set to be on base when the game resumes.

“He did a really good job of commanding his fastball,” Lee said. “And his breaking ball, really. He kept them off balance. He’s got really good stuff.”

Moon gave up the first run in the first inning and proceeded to keep Keller off the scoreboard until the sixth inning. His fastball hovered in the low 90s, and his breaking ball kept Indians on their toes.

“I was very pleased with what he did,” Lee said. “I think he hit a wall there at the end. We were trying to extend him there a bit.”

Keller’s Christopher Langley started, allowing one run and six hits in three innings. Levi shaffer thrived in relief, tossing three hitless frames.

Area Scores

SOFTBALL

G1: Keller 1, El Paso Eastwood 0

G1: South Grand Prairie 7, Plano West 3 (8)

1G: Hebron 11, Dallas Lake Highlands 4 - Hebron wins series 1-0

G1: Southlake Carroll 3, El Paso Montwood 1

1G: Flower Mound Marcus 15, Irving 2 (5) - Marcus wins series 1-0

G1: Waco Midway 12, Rowlett 2 (5)

G1: Royse City 5, Mansfield Legacy 2 (12)

G2: Mansfield Legacy 9, Royse City 6

G1: Rockwall 1, Mansfield Lake Ridge 0

G2: Rockwall 5, Mansfield Lake Ridge 4 - Rockwall wins series 2-0

G1: Burleson Centennial 10, Azle 0 (6)

G2: Azle 1, Burleson Centennial 0

G1: Colleyville Heritage 7, FW Brewer 0

G1: Joshua 1, Granbury 0

G2: Joshua 5, Granbury 1 - Joshua wins series 2-0

G1: Sanger 9, Stephenville 7

G1: Snyder 13, Decatur 2 (Delayed in 4th inning)

G1: Aubrey 10, Venus 0 (6)

G2: Aubrey 13, Venus 0 (5) - Aubrey wins series 2-0

BASEBALL

G1: Paschal 3, Keller Timber Creek 2

G1: Boswell 2, Byron Nelson 1

G1: Arlington Martin 6, Lake Highlands 2

G1: Richardson Pearce 4, Arlington Lamar 3

G1: Southlake Carroll 1, Hurst L.D. Bell 0

G1: Dallas Jesuit 7, Arlington 4

G1: Manfield 3, Temple 0

G1: Harker Heights 6, Mansfield Legacy 4

G1: Wichita Falls Rider 8, Trimble Tech 1

G1: Grapevine 6, Mansfield Timberview 5

G1: Justin Northwest 8, Fort Worth Wyatt 0

G1: Arlington Heights 5, Saginaw 0

G1: Argyle 5, Cleburn 1

G1: Aledo 17, South Hills o

G1: Midlothian 3, Colleyville Heritage 2

G1: 4, Wichita Falls 3

G1: Glen Rose 7, Snyder 0 - Delayed

G1: Godley 1, Diamond Hill-Jarvis 0

G1: Kennedale 19, FW Dunbar 1

G1: Waxahachie Life 15, FW Carter-Riverside 0

G1: Benbrook 7, Alvarado 4