Gallery by Tina Laney
Hico – Monday night in the Class A Region 3 tournament opener, Midland Trail raced out to a 7-0 lead only to see James Monroe storm back for a 10-9 win.
Wednesday night, the scene was eerily similar for the Patriots, but this time they were determined not to suffer the same fate.
Powered by a one-hit shut-out from freshman pitching sensation Madison Rader, the Patriots evened the best-of-3 series with an 8-0 win in six innings.
The two teams are scheduled to meet in the decisive Game 3 Thursday night in Lindside with the winner heading to the state tournament.
“That is the team that we usually have. We are aggressive on the bags and we like to manufacture runs. That is the team that I wanted to see tonight,” Midland Trail head coach Candace Young said. “We didn’t see that type of team Monday, so we talked about how we wanted to be aggressive. It paid off for us.”
Senior Jenna Stonestreet placed the momentum square in Trail’s corner when she ripped a one-out double in the bottom of the first.
Young’s words came to fruition when Rader stepped in the box and reached on a bunt single. The young freshman then made the turn for second inviting a throw from the James Monroe third baseman.
When the throw did not come, Rader slid safely into second, placing two runners in scoring position.
A bunt from Nevaeh Hall forced another play on the infield from the visitors. When the throw air-mailed the first baseman, both Trail runners scored for a 2-0 lead.
Trail kept its foot on the gas pedal adding three more runs in the second inning.
A walk to Anna Weaver opened the inning before Mavericks shortstop Chloe Bert made a nice play ranging to her right on a ground ball. Bert recorded the out at second, but there was some controversy on the relay attempt to first base for a possible double play.
“There is nothing that says you have to slide, even going to second on that play,” James Monroe head coach Greg Wickline said. “I felt like the girl ran through the bag and made contact with my second baseman. My girl needs to throw the ball and she knows she needs to throw the ball. We talked about it and (the umpire) didn’t see contact. He is the man and what he says goes. I have to do what I have to do sometimes.”
A walk to Trinity Wilson was followed by a ground ball from Hannah Beeson. When Kylie Ramsey beat the throw to third, Trail had the sacks juiced with just one out.
“They were seeing the ball well. We made adjustments from Monday,” Young said. “We hit better in practice yesterday and focused on the mechanics of hitting. Keeping our head down and those type of things. It paid off today.”
Mavs starter Bryleigh Thomas recorded a huge strikeout to put her team one out away from escaping the jam, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Known mostly for her pitching, Rader proved she is also a threat with the stick when she stepped in and drilled a two-out double, clearing the bases for a 5-0 lead.
“We have struggled defensively all year. We have preached making the routine plays, but honestly tonight, it was the mental mistakes that we work on,” Wickline said. “We just didn’t come ready to play. Our bats didn’t come ready to play. That team is better than us and that’s OK. That is why you play the game.”
After struggling some down the stretch Monday, Rader was on point Wednesday to keep James Monroe silent. The only hit surrendered came with two outs on the fifth inning.
“I think she got a little rattled Monday with the tight zone. Sometimes that can get in your head, but tonight she bounced back beautifully,” Young said about Rader. “She made the plays she needed to make. Their four-hitter (Thomas) is tough. We had conversations on whether to walk her or challenge her and Maddie stepped up to the challenge great.”
Monday night Thomas had two doubles and two RBI in the win.
Trail added to the lead in the fifth inning when Jessi Skaggs smacked a one-out single and later scored on a double from Ramsey.
The Patriots walked it off an inning later when Beeson tripled with one away and scored on a wild pitch.
“It’s over with now. They come to our place tomorrow, pending rain, and we will see what happens,” Wickline said. “I have never been a huge fan of anybody can be beat anybody on any given day, but there has been a few instances where that is true. We weren’t supposed to win the other night. The bats came alive and the girls made some plays.”
The game Monday was also an eye-opener for Midland Trail which learned a key lesson about postseason play – it’s never over until it’s over.
“I think we got a little humbled there Monday,” Young said. “We jumped out to that led and we got complacent real quick. I give (James Monroe) credit, 7-0 didn’t mean anything to them. They just kept grinding back.”
“I actually talked about that in the huddle,” Young went on to say. “One mistake doesn’t define us, but seven runs doesn’t define us either. We had to be focused on every pitch when we were up there. We did a better job of that tonight.”
