Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Flooding rains came Thursday and washed a game away. Then a flood of runs came Saturday and washed the Caldwell Hornets away.
After dropping a delayed game one 3-2, Gatesville beat Caldwell 13-3 and then 11-0 on May 11 to capture their second straight area championship and roll into the regional quarterfinals where a familiar foe stands in the way of Gatesville baseball history.
“At the beginning of the season, we talked about expectations for this season and we knew that what we had been building with the guys we have wasn’t just a one year flash in a pan type thing. I think you could ask every one of those guys if they expected to win the first round even when we weren’t picked to win, and they would say yes,” said head coach Chase Smith.
The three-game series with Caldwell was originally scheduled to feature a double-header at Live Oak’s Falcon Park on May 9 with a third game to be played in Caldwell if necessary on May 10. But severe storms in Waco delayed the series opener, and then a bizarre weather-related field issue ultimately suspended it.
After starter Gehrig Keeton retired Coy Becka to end the top half of the third inning, lightning in the area caused a 2 hour and 41-minute rain delay. Fans and players were forced to leave the stadium as torrential rains fell for most of the delay.
When play resumed, Caldwell starter Shane Clements began to throw his warmup pitches but struggled to get solid footing on the wet turf. Clements, a tall right-hander with a big stride, found his front foot slipping on each pitch.
Gatesville head coach Chase Smith, Caldwell skipper Kyle Toney, the umpiring crew, and Live Oak game administrators spent approximately twenty minutes debating whether the field was playable. The lengthy mound conference saw Keeton come out and test the mound, Live Oak staff wiping the mound with a dry towel, then Clements throwing several more warmup pitches with little improvement. The game was then suspended due to the unsafe nature of the field.
On the surface, a suspense of the game would have seemed to benefit Caldwell as Clements had only thrown 23 pitches and would be fresh for a third game. Whether the mound issue was genuinely unsafe or allowed for a bit of gamesmanship was irrelevant to Smith.
“I think it was a little of both. I told our guys after the umpires made the decision it was unsafe to play that we weren’t going to make excuses or get frustrated with things we can’t control. We would show up ready to play wherever whenever, and I think those guys have adopted that attitude and don’t let all that affect them,” he said.
The decision was made to finish game one in Caldwell on May 10, then play a double-header in Salado on May 11. Gatesville opened the continuation of game one with John Ibarra on the mound while Caldwell countered with their No. 2 starter Colby Maresh.
Caldwell scored a run in the top of the fourth to take a 3-0 lead before Gatesville scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Justin Johnson opened the inning with a single then scored on a Lawson Mooney single to make it 3-1. Miles Tull scored on a balk by Maresh to make the score 3-2. Gatesville got the tying run on in the seventh when Tull walked, but he was stranded, and the Hornets dropped the opener.
Despite the loss, Smith had no concerns about his team’s ability to climb out of the 0-1 series hole.
“I told them after we made the last out how good I felt about the next two games and I think they all expected to win Saturday, and those guys showed up more focused than ever,” he said.
For starters, he knew his team had not played their brand of baseball as they walked eight batters and committed an error in game one. They committed three errors in the game two win.
“It is very rare for us to walk eight guys and make three errors in a game. That was just a rare occurrence, and, luckily, we were able to still come out on top. Those guys know that’s not what has made us successful, and that those mistakes had to be cleaned up.,” Smith said. “We know to be successful we can’t give out free passes and make errors like that. It’s nice to have our offense be able to make up for the miscues in game two.”
With Clements set to start game three, the Hornets pounced on Caldwell in what amounted to a bullpen game scoring eight times in the first inning despite just three hits in the frame. They drew two walks and picked up a pair of runs on a Caldwell error.
“We had the opportunity to see three of their best arms in the first game and we still had three of our best four arms ready for games two and three. I thought we were deeper when it comes to pitching and would have the advantage on the mound for both games two and three.
Bralen Veazey started game two for Gatesville and allowed just one earned run in five innings of work. He struck out seven and gave up just two hits. The win moves Veazey to 8-1 on the year and gave him the 20th win of his career. He is one win shy of tying the program record of 21 set by Darwin Lucero from 2003-06.
Clayton Gregory paced the Gatesville offense in the game two win going 2-for-2 with a walk, a run scored, and an RBI. In the series, Gregory was 3-6 with four walks and was hit by a pitch. He reached base in eight of his 11 plate appearances.
“Gregory has been consistent and has come up with some big hits for us. I think he likes the big moments, which has made him so good in that closer role and five-hole for us, especially late in games in pressure situations.” said Smith.
Gatesville also got tremendous production from their leadoff man Tull and the nine-hole hitter Johnson.
Tull hit .429 in the series and scored six runs. He’s hitting a torrid .455 in the playoffs. He turned in a 2-for-3 performance with two walks and two runs scored in the series finale.
“He has made a couple slight adjustments at the plate that have really helped him out. He has such a good eye at the plate, too, and doesn’t swing at balls. I think that and his approach have been what has really gotten him going,” said Smith “He is a spark plug for us and when he can get on and give Lawson and our middle-of-the-lineup guys a chance to drive him, it’s really good for us offensively.”
Johnson is hitting .308 and reaching base at a .438 clip in five playoff games this season. He was 3-for-5 and scored three times in the Hornets 11-0 game three rout.
“JJ just gets down the line so fast and hustles everything out. He also hit some balls hard and when he is turning over the lineup like he was Saturday, our offense usually gets rolling and it did in games two and three for us,” Smith said.
In the game three clincher, the Hornets banged out ten hits and drew 13 walks against a depleted Caldwell staff. Clements lasted three innings and walked four while allowing two hits and one run.
Gatesville led 2-0 heading into the top of the sixth inning but busted the game open when Veazey laced a bases-loaded double to right-center field and emptied the bases to make it a 5-0 game. They added six more runs in the top of the seventh inning highlighted by a triple from Keeton.
While Gatesville scored 11 runs in the win, they only needed one thanks to the sparkling performance of Bradey James on the mound. The sophomore slugger won his fourth game of the year thanks to a complete game two-hit shutout. He needed only 80 pitches and faced 25 hitters in the game – one over the minimum.
“He was so great on the mound. He was able to locate his fastball and get his curveball over and keep them really off balance at the plate. He has been getting in his bullpens all year and, even though he hasn’t had to pitch a ton for us this year, he was ready to go and did an awesome job,” said Smith. “I think one thing we learned from last year’s playoff run is that it takes more than two pitchers to win - especially in a series - and our backend guys have worked hard and have been ready to go on the mound.”
It was James’ second dominant start of the year against Caldwell. He threw a two-hit complete game in a 7-1 win over the Hornets on March 18. He has allowed four hits and one run in 14 innings pitched against Caldwell this year.
Gatesville will face district foe Salado in the regional quarterfinals. The Hornets beat the Eagles 2-1 on March 16, then fell at home in the rematch 3-1. Salado features outstanding ace Logan Flores who struck out 12 Hornets in the win on March 19.
The series will be played at Lake Belton and will be a bit of a homecoming for Flores who played for Lake Belton for two years before transferring to Salado prior to his junior season. It will also be a farewell as realignment has moved Salado to District 24-4A for the next two years.
A win would put Gatesville in the regional semi-finals for the first time in program history. Despite the familiarity and existing rivalry and the potential for program history, Smith has seen nothing different from his team in the run up to the series.
“To be honest, it feels like business as usual. These guys have been different ever since the playoffs started. They are locked-in at practice and their preparation has been really good,” Smith said. “We have played a lot of games this season and been put in a lot of different situations, and I think we are prepared for whatever the game throws our way.”
Game one was scheduled for May 16 at 6 p.m. with game two set for 5 p.m. on May 17. A third game would be played immediately after game two if necessary.
