Gordon’s baseball team celebrates after winning state semifinals
The Gordon baseball team celebrates after getting the final out in a state semifinal contest against Hamlin on May 31, 2025.
After a dominant regular season and five consecutive weeks of red-hot postseason play, the Gordon Longhorns are on their way to the Class 1A UIL Baseball State Championship game.
Gordon (24-5) swept the Perrin-Whitt Pirates in their best-of-three regional finals series and then secured back-to-back wins over the Hamlin Pied Pipers in the state semifinals to punch its ticket to the 1A Texas high school baseball state title game.
The Longhorns will be looking to claim their first baseball state title in school history when they hit the road to face the Fayetteville Lions (18-4) in the Class 1A UIL Baseball State Championship game at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 7, at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
Here are five key details to know about the 2025 Longhorns baseball squad ahead of Gordon’s game against Fayetteville in the Class 1A UIL Baseball State Championship game Saturday morning at Dell Diamond:
Longhorns set to make 1st UIL Baseball State Championship appearance
Gordon punched its ticket to the UIL Baseball State Championships for the first time in school history amid a postseason run unlike any other in Texas high school baseball this year.
The Longhorns — who were already enjoying their best season in program history — were competing for their first ever trip to the regional finals when they collided with Oglesby in the regional semis.
In a back-and-forth, highly competitive series, Gordon outlasted the Tigers to earn an 11-7 victory in the decisive Game 3 of their best-of-three regional semifinal series.
Hardly 24 hours later, a highly destructive tornado touched down in Gordon completely destroying the Longhorns’ baseball field among many other severely damaged Gordon ISD athletic facilities.
The Longhorns, though, have been more locked in than ever before: going 4-0 in playoff games since the tornado left its mark on their town.
In that time period, Gordon outscored its regional final and state semifinal opponents 44-13 and the Longhorns led all teams across the Lone Star State in total runs scored during that stretch.
Junior pitcher Aiden Shank has been sharp in UIL Playoffs
Few players anywhere in the Lone Star State have been as hot on the mound as Gordon junior Aiden Shank in the 2025 Texas high school baseball playoffs.
Shank, Gordon’s ace pitcher, has been extra sharp on the mound for the Longhorns since the Class 1A UIL Baseball Playoffs began in late April.
The junior has made appearances on the mound in all five rounds of Gordon’s playoff run, demonstrating his ability to start games strong and slam the door shut in later innings when he’s been called upon.
Shank has earned a 4-0 postseason record and two saves after tallying 31 strikeouts with 12 hits, 16 walks and 2 earned runs allowed in 18â…” playoff innings pitched.
He’s been especially dialed in since the regional finals. In three total appearances, Shank has struck out six while allowing just four hits and no earned runs through 7⅓ innings pitched during that stretch.
Whether he’s deployed as the Longhorns’ starting pitcher or held in reserve as their late-game arm, expect Shank to see a few innings on the mound and play a big role in Gordon’s pitching plans for the state championship game.
Gordon’s nearly unstoppable offense in postseason play
Gordon has posted a 9-1 record through five rounds of postseason action thus far, topping the 10-run mark in seven separate games throughout its playoff run.
The Longhorns smoked Jonesboro and Blum in the bi-district and area rounds of the Class 1A UIL Baseball Playoffs, respectively, earning back-to-back series sweeps with two run-rule wins in a row.
Gordon showed off its offensive prowess again with runaway, run-rule Game 1 victories that set the tone in both its series against Perrin-Whitt and Hamlin in the regional finals and state semifinals, respectively.
The Longhorns logged a 13-2 win in six innings over Perrin-Whitt to start the regional finals, and secured a 16-1 victory in five innings over Hamlin to kick off the state semifinals.
The scariest part of Gordon’s lineup, though, is its tendency for several hitters at the top, bottom and middle of the batting order to catch fire simultaneously.
Gordon is 9-0 this postseason when at least five players register base hits, and the Longhorns have tallied more hits than their opponent in every game during their current playoff run.
Longhorns have leaned on bullpen depth
One of the aspects of this Gordon baseball squad that separates it from many of the top 1A teams in Texas high school baseball is its pitching depth.
The Longhorns have used six different pitchers in their 10 playoff games so far and shown a willingness to make mid-game pitching changes when leading or trailing throughout their postseason run.
If Shank isn’t tapped to be Gordon’s starting pitcher in the Class 1A UIL state title game, then anticipate senior Maddox Stewart getting the nod.
Stewart has been every bit as good as Shank this postseason, giving Gordon a potent two-man punch at the front of its pitching rotation.
The senior has tallied a 4-0 playoff record and 41 strikeouts with 20 walks, 13 hits and seven earned runs allowed in 27â…“ innings pitched this postseason.
Gordon will likely be willing to lean on its pitching depth beyond just Stewart and Shank too. Juniors Stryker Reed and Gatlin Simmons have provided the Longhorns with several quality innings as relief pitchers throughout the playoffs.
Gordon has also looked to juniors Brayden Walters and Evan Jackson to pitch out of a few jams in pivotal situations this postseason.
The Longhorns will be facing off against a Fayetteville pitching staff that has only given up nine runs in seven playoff games and 2.9 runs per contest this season, meaning Gordon might need to rely on a pitching-by-committee approach to keep it close in a potentially low-scoring state championship game.
Gordon’s high contact rate, small-ball tactics could prove pivotal
The Longhorns have shown their ability to break open games with their power hitting this postseason, logging several key doubles, triples and home runs throughout the 1A Texas high school baseball playoffs.
But Gordon’s biggest offensive strengths — its high contact rate and successful utilization of small-ball tactics — are the factors that could ultimately prove to be the difference against Fayetteville in the Class 1A UIL State Championship game.
Throughout its deep lineup of experienced hitters, the Longhorns enjoy a complimentary crew of elite contact hitters who have demonstrated a consistent ability to get on base.
We can boil that down to three defining characteristics of Gordon’s lineup from top to bottom: 1) patience at the plate, 2) limited strikeouts and 3) constant pressure.
The Longhorns’ patience at the plate translates into lots of long, quality at-bats that lead to many walks and can quickly drive up an opponent’s pitch count too.
Gordon has tallied 100 combined walks and hit-by-pitches since the playoffs began and has drawn at least seven walks per contest in each of its postseason games this year.
The Longhorns have also been putting balls in play, leading to more scoring opportunities and fewer costly strikeouts. They’ve struck out more times than their opponents once in 10 playoff games.
Between its high walk rate and penchant for hitting singles, Gordon has also been pushing runners into scoring position in virtually every inning this postseason to keep the constant pressure on their playoff opponents at an all-time high.
The Longhorns have placed runners on base offensively in 21 of their last 22 innings played and have had at least one player safely reach base in 88.5% (54 of 61) of their total playoff innings played.
Pair that with Gordon’s dangerous ability to create havoc on the basepaths — 70 total stolen bases on 77 attempts (90.9% success rate) this postseason — and the Longhorns could put these small-ball tactics to work against a stellar Fayetteville pitching staff to turn the tide of the state title game in their favor.