Softball: Aledo, Burleson Centennial win single-elimination games; Carroll wins Game 3

The UIL softball regional quarterfinals are here, and several Fort Worth-area schools were involved in the action. Here is a roundup of games from local teams.

Aledo walks off Joshua in instant classic single elimination game

Aledo came into a single elimination game against Joshua as the No. 8 ranked Class 5A team in the Texas Girls Coaches Association softball poll.

The Bearcats lived up to the high expectations, defeating Joshua 2-1 in a single elimination quarterfinal playoff game at Chisholm Trail High School. Marina Tavares walked it off with a single in the seventh inning.

“I’m very proud of them both offensively and defensively,” Aledo head coach Heather Myers said. “In games like this you see tough pitching. You’re going to have to string hits. That is out thing – discipline and hit the ball together.”

Aledo (31-3) fell to Richland in the area round in the 2023 season and lost in the state semifinal in the 2022 season. In front of rowdy, neon wearing Joshua fans, the Bearcats pulled out the win and are now one step closer to making it back to state.

The game was full of terrific pitching from both teams. Joshua’s Catie Amador threw the entire game, allowing zero earned runs and striking out four batters. Aledo’s winning run got on base due to a defensive error.

Myers said Amador pitched a “heck of a game.”

“She hits her spots and she pounds the zone,” Myers said. “ … We prepared for what type of pitches she was going to throw. But at the end of the day, she’s still a great pitcher. So going up there and executing isn’t always as easy as it sounds, no matter how much you prepare.”

To end the sixth inning, Aledo’s Addie Perry sent a ground ball to second base. The Bearcat bench celebrated what they thought was an RBI base hit, but Perry was called out at first.

“No matter what it is, we always take a deep breath,” Myers said. “So, you’ve got 10 seconds to be upset or elated and then you’re back in it. … At the end of the day, if the umpire is going to decide the game, we can’t let it affect us. We’ve got to change it so the umpire is not deciding the game.”

Joshua (29-10) also had to respond from calls that didn’t go its way. Zaidyn Streeter hesitated and was caught trying to steal home in the fourth inning, and she was also caught stealing second in the sixth inning; both calls could’ve gone the other way.

“One thing we’ve been working on all year is overcoming adversity,” Joshua head coach Ashley Benson said. “Life isn’t always going to go the way you want it to go. Never give up. Just keep pushing through.”

The defensive play of the game came in the fifth inning, when Streeter made a leaping play in center field to prevent multiple Bearcats from scoring. Earlier in the inning, Aledo tied the game with a well placed bunt from Ana Flores.

Aledo’s Brenlee Gonzales and Taylor McKean thrived on the mound. Goznales started and tossed five innings, allowing one earned run, three hits and striking out four. McKean kept Aledo in a position to win the ballgame with two scoreless, hitless innings.

“They were getting out of innings very quick,” Myers said. “ ... They were executing. They were getting them to chase the pitches that we wanted them to chase, and they were hitting the zone when we knew that they were probably going to be taking.”

Benson said both teams played an incredible ballgame. Following the game, she told her team that she is “so incredibly proud” of their season and performance against Aledo.

“Congratulations to Aledo,” Benson said. “They did a great job. Executing -- they did great. It’s definitely not the ending we wanted, but overall it was great softball.”

Burleson Centennial softball blitzes Colleyville Heritage

Burleson Centennial scored early and often and rode the pitching of Bailey Lindemuth to a 9-1 win over Colleyville Heritage in a one-game, Class 5A Region I quarterfinal at Saginaw High School.

Centennial (28-7) moves on the the regional semifinals and will face the winner of the Abilene Wylie (28-8)-Abilene (23-13-1) three-game series that starts on Friday at Abilene Christian University.

Colleyville Heritage (28-11) scored first in the first when Lindemuth hit Panther’s leadoff hitter Myka Riley in the back and Mack Dawson followed with a walk. Riley scored two outs later when Lindsey McConnell hit a ball in the hole at short for an RBI infield single.

But that was it for the Panthers as Lindemuth slammed the door the rest of the way. Lindemuth allowed the one earned run on three hits with two walks and a hit batter while striking out seven.

The Spartans countered in the bottom of the first starting with a leadoff walk to Lindemuth. After two were out, Madison Haynes lofted a ball to deep left field that went off the glove of the right fielder and into the corner for an RBI double.

Hannah McCurry followed and reached on a fielder’s choice and Madelyn Hickey walked to load the bases. Lexie Arthur plated two more to make it 3-1 with a looped liner to right.

“It was great, especially since it was a one-gamer,” said Lindemuth, a Texas Tech commit. “Our hitting was amazing and our defense made some great plays. I have a lot of faith in this team.”

Centennial sent 12 hitters to the plate in the bottom of the second and scored six times on seven hits. Ava Ellis doubled just inside the left field line to drive in two to make it 5-1.

Following the double by Ellis, Haynes and McCurry both single to load the bases. Hickey then unloaded them with a triple over the head of the right fielder to up the lead to 8-1.

Hickey came home on a ground out by Rylee Brown to cap the second inning.

“Honestly, all we’ve talked about is just doing our jobs and executing,” said Centennial coach Natalie Mullin. “If we can do our jobs and the little things then big things happen. And that’s what we do.”

Southlake Carroll downs Timber Creek in Game 3 to advance

Keller Timber Creek had all of the momentum heading into Game 3 of its Class 6A Region I quarterfinal with Southlake Carroll. The Falcons had defeated Carroll starting pitcher Sinclaire Robinson 3-1 on Thursday, after Robinson had pitched the Dragons to a 6-2 win in Game 1 on Wednesday.

Robinson was shaky early, but settled in to get the win, 5-3, on Friday to win the series two games to one over the Falcons at Trophy Club Byron Nelson High School.

Carroll (32-8) advances to the Region I semifinals and a date with Denton Guyer (33-2) next week. Guyer defeated Flower Mound Marcus 7-2 in a one-game series on Wednesday.

The Dragons and Wildcats will be meeting in the regional semifinals for the second time in as many seasons. Guyer, a state finalist last season, swept Carroll in 2023.

“I was really proud of the girls how they came out and responded today after yesterday’s loss,” said Carroll coach Tim Stuewe. “I thought we played pretty well yesterday, but it just didn’t go our way. We came back ready to go today and they did a great job.”

Carroll jumped on Timber Creek starter Cheyenne Wardell from the get go, scoring three times in the top of the first. Sammy Petkus led off the game with an infield single to short and Olivia McCarrick followed with a lined single to left.

After an out, Scarlett Kuhn laced a double to center field to score Petkus and McCarrick for a 2-0 lead.

After another out, Emmy May launched a ball over the head of the right fielder for an RBI triple to give the Dragons a 3-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last long, however, as Timber Creek responded. Izzy Bojkovic reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the first for the Falcons.

An out later Wardell laced a single up the middle to put runners at first and second. Riley Kuiper followed with a towering shot that just made it over the left field wall to tie the game 3-3.

“My first innings are always rough for me,” said Robinson. “I seem to have to go out and get used to the atmosphere. I gave up that home run, but I came back and settled in after that.”

Robinson was nails from that point. The sophomore allowed one hit in the final six innings and retired the Falcons in order in four of the final six frames.

The Dragons took the lead for good in the fifth when the first four batters all reached on singles. McCarrick started the rally with a looper to center, followed by Jordan Stewart who line a base hit to right.

Kuhn, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored, drove in McCarrick with a liner to left. Ava Ordaz plated Stewart with another lined hit to left to make it 5-3.

“Our team has been working really hard this season to prove people wrong and all the work has paid off,” said Kuhn, a junior shortstop who has committed to the University of Minnesota. “We didn’t take the loss yesterday that hard and we just saw it as a challenge.”