Aledo took down No. 3 Melissa in the Texas Conference 5A Division 1 semifinals to end the season for the defending national champions.

Melissa (33-3) saw its run at a third straight state championship fall short.

Aledo (31-10) fell behind 3-0 early before Delaney Rosser and Breleigh Mayer hit home runs to give the Bearcats a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning.

Melissa tied it up in sixth with a home run from junior Auburn commit Amariee Bradford.

In the bottom of the sixth, one of the nation’s top sophomores in Brooklyn Taloa stepped to the plate for Aledo against one of the country’s top junior pitchers in Eloisa Maes. Taloa took a big cut on the first pitch and launched the go-ahead run over the centerfield fence for her eighth home run of the season to give the Bearcats a 5-4 lead.

Melissa had two on with two outs in the top of the seventh inning Aledo sophomore Tempe Perry struck out the final batter to close out the game and send her team to the championship. 

Melissa beat Aledo 15-4 a year ago in the semifinals en route to state and national titles. Aledo also reached the state semis in 2024 before falling to Harlingen South with Melissa on the other side of the bracket.

Over the past three seasons, Melissa accumulated a record of 119-6 with two state crowns and a national title. The Cardinals hit 322 home runs over that span including a national record 122 in 2025. Florida signee Kennedy Bradley had a school record 65 of those, junior Arkansas commit Hutton Adrian hit 57 and Oklahoma pledge Finlee Williams has 41 over the past two years.

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