Aledo takes care of business to repeat as UIL baseball state champion
Aledo baseball had to wait nearly three hours in multiple lightning delays for an opportunity to seize the first championship repeat in program history.
According to head coach Chad Barry, some players played hacky sack while others searched for snacks. But eventually, the Bearcats’ patience was rewarded, as senior pitcher Lucas Nawrocki’s quality start powered the team to a 3-1 victory over Montgomery Lake Creek in the UIL Texas high school baseball Class 5A Division I state championship Friday at Dell Diamond.
“Man, it’s been quite a ride. It’s been so fun,” Barry said of the repeat. “It’s a testament to our kids last year and this year, how much work they put in year-round to put themselves in a position to be able to do this. It’s just a testament to their work ethic and their belief in one another and how well they play.”
Aledo (39-3) won its third baseball state title and played its final athletic contest in Class 5A. In the 2026 University Interscholastic League realignment, Aledo moved up to Class 6A with an enrollment above 2,275 students.
“We’ve been playing a lot of 6A teams the last several years,” Barry said. “We were getting ready for that, but we know it’s a different game. The teams that we’re playing are going to have bigger enrollments than us. They’re going to have more depth than us, probably. So, we’ve got some adjustments we’ll have to make along the way. I think [the state title win] will help springboard us into the right direction as we head into 6A.”
Nawrocki, an LSU signee and potential MLB draft target, was untouchable with a fastball in the mid 90s and a slider that fooled Lake Creek’s offense. Through four 1/3 innings, he allowed no hits and no earned runs after soldiering through the delay.
After the game, he scooped Dell Diamond dirt into a plastic water bottle with a gold medal around his neck while carrying a championship MVP trophy. He said he wanted another way to remember the game, his senior year and his time as a Bearcat.
“[Nawrocki] did what he’s pretty much done all year,” Barry said. “He’s been dominant on the mound, he’s been fierce at the plate and came out and gave us a great performance. I think he kind of ran out of gas a little bit early because of the delay and stuff, but I mean, he fought until he had nothing left in the tank.”
Lake Creek (26-18) made its first title game appearance in the school’s eighth year of existence.
To start the second inning, Aledo got three consecutive hits from Dylan Duran and Kyle Poindexter, and a bunt single from Will Cayce loaded the bases. Connor Whitmore drove a run home with a groundout, but that’s all the Bearcats could muster.
Nawrocki ran into some trouble in the bottom of the second, but not of his own doing. Consecutive errors on a throw from third and a booted ball at first base put runners on second and first with one out, but Nawrocki struck out Kaleb Foster and then got Collin Wiederhold to pop out to short to end the inning.
After the first lengthy weather delay in the top of the third inning, Aledo got rolling. Luke Gladchuk led off with a walk, stole second base and went to third on an error on the throw down. Landon Barnes then hit a hot shot to third, which was waved at for an error, driving home Gladchuk.
Barnes made it all the way to third after another error on the throw back in from right field, and Nawrocki followed with a laser single to right that plated Barnes to make it 3-0.
That chased Lake Creek starter Tripp Riley, a sophomore, and Caden Whitworth came on in relief and promptly induced a double-play comebacker and a pop out to center to end the inning.
Lake Creek threatened in the fifth inning, as Nawrocki walked the bases loaded after getting an out. Dane Browne relieved Nawrocki and escaped the jam unscathed, drawing two pop fly outs.
Lions’ right fielder Peyton Trummell blasted a one-out, solo home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth off Browne, the first hit allowed by Aledo pitching up to that point, to cut the lead to 3-1. Lake Creek got a pair of runners on after the homer, but Browne got out of the inning with a ground out to second on a 3-ball, 2-strike pitch.
To end the game, relief pitcher Garhett Love was put in for the save and delivered.
“This feels amazing,” Love said. “My first time here and just coming out to save a game this big, with the trust my coaches have in me, it just feels amazing.”
In 2027, Aledo baseball will search for three consecutive state championships.
“Oh, man, to do it three times...that would be something,” Aledo junior Luke Gladchuck said. “I’m just glad that we got it done this year. Next year, we’ll have a good team too, so I won’t be surprised if we can do it again.”
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