STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Everything changed for the Gordon Longhorns just hours after punching their ticket to the regional finals of the UIL Baseball Playoffs for the first time in school history.
Barely 24 hours after the Longhorns won their regional semifinals series against Oglesby, an EF-1 tornado touched down in Gordon on Sunday night. The tornado – with winds speeds of 105 mph – tore through the center of the town of about 500 in the heart of the Big Country.
The tornado ripped through Gordon Independent School District’s campus, ripping an industrial sized A/C unit off the roof of the elementary school building before completely destroying the Longhorns’ baseball and football stadiums, as well as Gordon High School’s fieldhouse, locker rooms and weight room facilities.
The destruction brought a whirlwind of change to Gordon and the Longhorns’ baseball team, which is in the midst of its best season in program history.
In a matter of minutes, virtually all their equipment was gone – either whisked away or severely damaged during the storm.
But despite the curveball dealt to them deep into the postseason, the Longhorns quickly jumped into action to help the community that has supported them so vigorously throughout a historic playoff run.
With assistance from the Tarleton State football team and aid from other school districts throughout the Lone Star State, Gordon’s varsity baseball team went all out last Monday to begin the cleanup and recovery process in their small-town community.
“On Monday, we didn’t practice. … We even got IVs because some of us were out there working for eight hours,” Gordon junior Aiden Shank said. “We wanted to help out because we wanted to come together as a community and show that we are capable of helping out (our community).”
With their home ballpark lying in rubble, the Longhorns hit the road to practice at Stephenville High School’s baseball field on Tuesday and Wednesday.
They were then greeted by the Texas Rangers Foundation on Thursday with a welcome surprise: loads of extra baseballs, gloves, bats and other essential, replacement equipment to help Gordon continue its historic playoff run.
The Longhorns made the most of their momentous return to the field Thursday night against the Perrin-Whitt Pirates. In front of a raucous, sellout crowd, Gordon caught fire instantly and sparked a nine-run rally in the top of the first inning.
It marked the explosive start of a dominant performance for the Longhorns, who raced to a 13-2 run-rule victory in six innings over Perrin-Whitt in Game 1 of the Class 1A regional finals.
“After everything that these kids have gone through this week, not just the tornado, man, but the day after – these kids were out there from sunup to sundown. It looks like they took a nap on the beach, they were so beet red and sunburned,” Gordon baseball head coach Ligon West said.
“I mean, what a testament to their ability to lock in, and in the first inning, I mean, right off the bat, to just lock in and score nine runs. What a testament to these guys.”
Said Shank, “You know, whenever we can come back after something disastrous that happened to our town and come back and perform on a Thursday night, man, it’s amazing. Everybody in the town was talking about it throughout the entire week. We just wanted them to see this game, and we wanted to come out here and perform for them.”
The Longhorns enjoyed an electric night at the plate where every player in Gordon’s lineup attacked the strike zone, putting hard-hit balls in play all night and keeping the pressure dialed up to the max against the Pirates.
Shortstop Maddox Stewart – Gordon’s leadoff hitter – set the tone early on and led the way offensively with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate that featured three RBIs, three runs scored, a double and a walk.
The Longhorns kept their foot on the gas, collecting 12 walks as a team. By the end of the night, every player in Gordon’s lineup with a plate appearance reached base safely at least once.
“It’s huge. And that’s something offensively that we try to preach and hang our hats on,” West said. “No matter what the situation asks you to do, whether it’s bunt, whether it’s put a ball on the ground, whether it’s hit and run – no matter what the game asks you to do, we love to hang our hats on running and putting the ball in play.”
Said Shank, “I feel like that demoralized them from the very beginning, seeing how hyped we were for this game. (Their starting pitcher) went eight straight balls and two walks, and so I think that after that – and then Stryker Reed coming back and getting a hit – it was going to be very tough for them to come back from that.”
Shank, Gordon’s ace pitcher, was especially sharp on the mound.
He tallied one strikeout with three hits, two walks and no earned runs allowed through three innings pitched in a dominant performance to earn the win on the mound.
His command of the strike zone kept the Pirates off-balance all night, and his poise in high-pressure moments when Perrin-Whitt had runners on base helped the Longhorns escape several sticky situations.
“The momentum is just going to help us carry it into Game 2 (and beyond),” Shank said. “I think at a time like this, we’re just ready. We want to win it all. We’re coming for the state championship.”
Gatlin Simmons entered as a relief pitcher and slammed the door shut in Gordon’s Game 1 victory after tossing three strikeouts with one hit, one walk and one earned run allowed in two innings pitched.
The Longhorns carried that mojo into Game 2 as well, earning a sweep in the best-of-three series with an 8-4 win over Perrin-Whitt on Saturday, fueled by Maddox’s 10-strikeout performance on the mound.
Now with their town rallying around them and momentum on their side, the Gordon Longhorns are heading to the 1A UIL Baseball State Semifinals for the first time with more to play for than ever before.
“Coming together and locking in on baseball, it’s huge,” Shank said. “It gives us just something else to look forward to in the day, and we can just praise God for letting us play this great game.”
Added West, “It’s huge for our confidence. It’s huge. Morale is high, our confidence is high, and I’m just really proud.”
Gordon (22-5) will make its state semifinal debut against the Hamlin Pied Pipers (19-3) in a best-of-three series this weekend in the Class 1A UIL Baseball Playoffs.
The Longhorns and Pied Pipers are set to square off in Game 1 of their 1A state semifinals series at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, at Graham High School.
Gordon and Hamlin will return to action for Game 2 at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, at Abilene Christian University’s Scott Crutcher Baseball Field, with a potential winner-take-all Game 3 set to start 30 minutes afterward if necessary.