Fans in search of fundamentally sound baseball left disappointed, and casual observers hoping for a Bulldogs victory left bereft.
It was just one of those days for the Dove Creek High School baseball team, which lost 9-4 to Pagosa Springs at McAndrew Field in Cortez on April 1.
Hoping to shed Spring Break doldrums, the Bulldogs came out on fire, producing two first-inning hits courtesy of Nick Jones and Jordan Ernst before scoring a run.
The score remained 1-0 in favor of the Bulldogs until the top of the third, when Pagosa Springs scored four times to open up a 4-1 lead.
Keying the inning was a costly error by Bulldogs third baseman Tyson Smith that allowed Pagosa Springs to extend the inning.
“We had a couple of pretty bad errors that cost us.” said Bulldogs sophomore Case Baughman. “We had a couple of pretty bad errors that cost us.”
Hoping to battle back in subsequent innings, Dove Creek was plagued by base-running errors, which led to easy outs and stymied scoring opportunities.
“We talked to them about our base running,” said Bulldogs manager Curtis Garver. “Hopefully they can learn from that so we don’t make those mistakes again.”
Trailing 9-1 entering the seventh, the Bulldogs staged a brief rally in the final inning, scoring three consecutive runs before yielding the final out.
Leading the Bulldogs offensively with one hit and two RBIs was Kyle Schultz.
Bulldogs starting pitcher Jordan Ernst took the loss after allowing five earned runs in three innings.
With their record now at 2-5 on the season, the Bulldogs will continue working to improve on fundamentals in hopes of winning upcoming contests.
“It’s just a matter of focus,” said Baughman. “We’re going to be fine, but we need to keep working hard.”