Days after a tornado ripped through the Big Country and severely damaged many of Gordon Independent School District’s school buildings and athletic facilities, the people of Gordon received a helping hand in their hour of need.
In a statement provided to the Abilene Reporter-News on Wednesday morning, the Texas Rangers announced their intention to donate a substantial amount of new equipment to the coaches and players on the Gordon Longhorns’ baseball team before their next round of action begins in the 2025 UIL Baseball Playoffs.
The Longhorns, who are one of eight teams remaining in contention for the Class 1A UIL Baseball State Championship, lost a significant portion of their team’s gear and equipment when weekend storms and a strong tornado tore through their town of 500.
Gordon’s baseball diamond and several of Gordon ISD’s other athletic facilities were left either severely damaged or totally destroyed in the storm’s aftermath.
“The Rangers Foundation connected with Gordon’s Athletic Director (Mike Reed) and (Baseball) Head Coach (Ligon West) earlier today. The Foundation is working on delivering items that will help the baseball program continue to practice and will look to support the district and its baseball program as they move forward with recovery and rebuilding,” the Texas Rangers told the Reporter-News in a written statement.
“Among the items the Foundation is scheduled to deliver tomorrow: several practice baseballs, over 100 game balls, a pitching machine, and some bats and gloves. The Foundation will also provide gift cards to allow for the team and/or coaches to pick up other items that may need replacement.”
The Texas Rangers are set to deliver the first batch of new equipment — which will include bats, gloves and game balls to help the Longhorns continue their playoff push.
The Rangers Foundation also announced that it is planning to make a financial contribution in the near future to the Longhorn Athletic Association to aid in Gordon’s rebuilding and recovery process. The Rangers added that they hope to finalize the details of that financial contribution to the LAA soon.
Gordon ISD announced Monday that its campus would shut down for the week while the full extent of the storm’s damage is assessed and cleanup operations begin.
The Gordon Longhorns (20-5) will resume their hunt for a UIL Baseball State Championship when they return to the field for Game 1 of the regional finals against Perrin-Whitt (11-7) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, at Stephenville High School.
The Longhorns and Pirates will meet again for Game 2 of the best-of-three series at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, at Weatherford High School, with a potential Game 3 — if necessary — slated to start 30 minutes after the end of Game 2.