Burnet baseball crushes Gatesville; softball loses 8-6
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
GATESVILLE — The Burnet High School baseball team did to Gatesville what it was unable to do against Brownwood.
Find the gap in crushing the Hornets 14-2 on April 8 to improve to 12-8-3 overall and 5-1 in District 8-3A. The Bulldogs lost their first district game 2-1 to Brownwood on April 4.
“This game was more about execution than anything else,” Bulldogs head coach Steven Shipley said. “We put pressure on them and took advantage of mistakes. Our guys did a great job of being patient at the plate and playing as a team.”
The Bulldogs seized control in the third inning, adding two runs after plating their first in the second inning.
After the Hornets (9-14-1 overall, 2-4 District 8-3A) scored a run in fourth inning, Burnet exploded for six runs in the fifth and five in the seventh to put the game out of reach.
“We are at the point where we need to get guys experience in the field and at the plate,” Shipley said. “This was a great confidence builder for us in that regard.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
ON OFFENSE: (Burnet) RBIs – Trent Rockafellow 2, Colton Barksdale 2
ON DEFENSE: (Burnet) winning pitcher — Taylor Barksdale, 5 strikeouts in 4 innings
QUOTABLE: “I think we have yet to peak and are on the verge of it. We are playing great defense and pitching very well. When we start hitting the ball like I think we can, we will be very hard to beat,” Burnet head coach Steven Shipley said.
RECORDS: Burnet is 12-8-3 overall and 5-1 in District 8-3A; Gatesville is 9-14-1 overall and 2-4 in district.
UP NEXT: 7 p.m. April 11, Burnet vs. Liberty Hill at Bulldogs Diamonds, 1000 The Green Mile in Burnet
DISTRICT 8-3A BASEBALL STANDINGS
Burnet 5-1 (def. Gatesville 14-2)
Liberty Hill 5-1 (def. Brownwood 4-1)
Llano 4-2 (def. Lampasas 11-0)
Gatesville 2-4
Lampasas 1-5
Brownwood 1-5
Gatesville softball 8, Burnet 6
GATESVILLE — The Burnet High School softball team lost 8-6 to Gatesville in a District 8-3A matchup April 8.
The Lady Dawgs (14-9 overall, 2-5 district) scored two runs in the first inning and four in the fourth. But the Lady Hornets (13-11 overall, 3-4 district) responded with three runs in the fifth and five in the sixth for the victory.
“We started well, played well for five innings,” Burnet head coach Corey Bledsoe said. “We controlled all parts of the game.
“We just didn’t finish,” he added. “We’re a young team. Need to learn how to finish.”
Part of the challenge, Bledsoe said, is the team is going through some growing pains.
“It’s a hard lesson to learn,” he said. “It comes with experience and confidence. It starts with hard work. Set the bar. Goal is to be great. Don’t settle for average.”
Three games remain in the regular season. The Lady Dawgs must beat Llano on April 15 and either Liberty Hill on April 11 or Lampasas on April 17 to force a play-in game if Gatesville has the same division record.
jfierro@thepicayune.com
ON OFFENSE: (Burnet) RBIs – Rose Bailey 2; (Gatesville) RBIs Shaley Sutton 3, McKenzie Winkler 3, Blayne McGhee 1, Kayleigh Wright 1
ON DEFENSE: (Gatesville) winning pitcher – McKenzie Winkler; (Burnet) losing pitcher – Landree Thompson, 1 strikeout
RECORDS: Burnet is 14-9 overall and 2-5 in District 8-3A; Gatesville is 13-11 overall and 2-5 in district.
UP NEXT: 7 p.m. April 11, Burnet vs. Liberty Hill at Bulldogs Diamonds, 1000 The Green Mile in Burnet
DISTRICT 8-3A STANDINGS
Liberty Hill 7-0 (def. Brownwood 4-0)
Brownwood 4-3
Lampasas 4-3 (def. Llano 12-0)
Gatesville 3-4 (def. Burnet 8-6)
Burnet 2-5
Llano 1-6