Panthers bombed; DC, Dolores win nonconference games

Panthers bombed; DC, Dolores win nonconference games

April 5, 2001

Congratulated for hitting a homer

NICK MARTINEZ of the Montezuma-Cortez High School varsity baseball team gets congratulated by his teammates for slugging a solo home run in the top of the first inning against Durango on Tuesday afternoon at Englehart Field.

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

For Montezuma-Cortez High School varsity baseball players, it is the type of game to easily forget and move on.

For Dolores County High School ball players, the third time was the charm.

For Dolores High School ball players, they are keeping the momentum going.

The Panthers were blown out 26-3 in five innings by Durango in Southwestern League play Tuesday afternoon, April 3, at Englehart Field. The Bulldogs, after losing to Bayfield 5-4 in the Cortez JV Tournament and then 25-18 in the championship game of the Shiprock Tournament last weekend, nipped the Wolverines 4-3 in nine innings at Weber Park Field. The Bears continue to play well and beat Ignacio 10-7 in regulation seven innings at Gonzales Field.

Durango set the tone when Cody Bliss slugged a three-run homer in the top of the first inning after Nick McCoola ripped a run-scoring single with the bases loaded. Pitching was the downfall for the Panthers on this day.

The Demons scored nine runs in the second after sending 12 batters to the plate and taking advantage of five walks during that frame alone. McCoola slapped a two-run single in that inning and no. 9 batter Reed Duvall ripped a three-run double. They added five more runs in the third, this time capitalizing on two Cortez errors. Will Siegrist had an RBI single. Durango scored two in the fourth off a two-run dinger by Dustin Moore. The Demons pushed four more runs over the plate in the fifth, highlighted by another two-run homer by Moore.

When Durango had finished their offensive fireworks, its batters had each gone to the plate as many as five times.

Kevin Wayman started on the mound and took the loss for Cortez. Preston Cornett mopped up for three innings. Wayman gave up eight walks and eight hits with just one strike out. Cornett walked three but gave up a few extra-base hits. Eric Crum went the distance in picking up the win. Crum limited the Panthers to just four hits, two of those were solo homers. He fanned 10 batters.

The only bright spot for the Panthers came in the bottom of the first inning. Nick Martinez led off with a homer over the short centerfield fence. After an out, Wayman stepped up to the plate belted a homer. Both of those homers, as well as the ones the Demons’ hit, were definitely wind-aided as a stiff wind was blowing towards center.

The Panthers did come up with a run in the second inning. Cornett cracked a triple down the right field line and scored on a passed ball a few minutes later. The only other time a Panther reached base was in the fourth when Kris Nittler walked and went to second on an error.

First-year Panther head coach Chuck Cotter took his players down the left field line and talked to them for some 30 minutes following the game. He was not immediately available for comment following the game.

The Panthers, who fell to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in Southwestern League play, still have a busy week left with two league games on the docket. They travel to Grand Junction to play Central at 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 6, at Lincoln Park and then move on to Montrose for a game at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 7.

Dolores County scored on an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Class 3A Wolverines. In the inning, Dallas Coker reached first on a fielder’s choice. He swiped second. Coker went to third on an infield single by Chris Kail. Coker scored on a throwing error.

"This was a good baseball game," DCHS head coach Ken Soper commented. "I was proud of the way the kids came back (from the wild game on Saturday). I knew we could beat them. We played well against them in the Cortez Tournament. We had more earned runs than they did at Shiprock. But the third time was the charm."

Bayfield scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning when the Bulldogs committed two errors. They played errorless ball the rest of the game, which pleased Soper.

DCHS took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Keith Pierce ripped a two-run double in the frame. But Bayfield came back and scored twice in the top of the seventh to knot the score at 3-3. The Bulldogs failed to score in the bottom of the seventh so the game went into extra innings.

Offensively for the Bulldogs, Kail went two-for-four, Kyle Krafka went two-for-three, and Brandon Neely went two-for-four with a double. Jon Qualls paced Bayfield by going two-for-five.

Dallas Daves worked eight innings on the mound. He had five strike outs, walked five and gave up six hits. But Terence Gardner, who threw one inning (ninth), picked up the win. Qualls started and Dave Catron relieved and took the loss.

With the majority of the nonconference games out of the way, other than a few here and there, the Bulldogs, 8-2 overall, host Dolores High School in a Class 2A San Juan Basin League contest at 11 a.m. Saturday at Weber Park.

"I feel pretty good right now. With the schedule that we have faced, I thought we would have lost another game or two more. What I’m really pleased about is the pitching we have faced. It has been very good. I think we’re ready for league. I think if we can play errorless ball and hit the ball, we should be okay," he added.

Dolores scored four times in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Class 3A Ignacio.

"Ignacio went ahead 7-6 in the top of the sixth (with three runs) but the kids were focused in our turn at the plate," DHS head coach Jim Everin said. "Our bats came alive after being asleep for three innings. We just kept coming through with big hits and kept the rally going. Then we shut them down in the seventh."

Dolores scored three times in the bottom of the first and added two more in the bottom of the second to go up 5-0. The Bobcats came back with three runs in the top of the third. The Bears added one more run in the fourth before Ignacio scored once in the fifth and three in the sixth.

Kevin Fane started on the hill for Dolores. He worked three innings, gave up three runs on five hits, struck out two but did not give up a walk in picking up the win. Creed Williford pitched an inning and Cullen Zion worked three and was credited with a save. Lawrence Cloud went the distance for Ignacio and was tagged with the loss.

Fane helped himself out at the plate by going three-for-five including two doubles and a run batted in. Williford went three-for-four with an RBI.

Dolores improved to 5-2 on the season.

"I’m feeling pretty good and the kids are feeling good and having fun," Everin commented. "They are playing pretty good ball right now.

"But now we’ve got to step it up a notch. The one thing I’m a little worried about is that we have not faced an overpowering pitcher except for one (Moab). We have always had good hitting teams here. We spent a lot of time hitting. Since we don’t have overpowering pitchers right now, we have got to spend time in other areas to help make up for it," he added.