Facing tough opponents and struggling offensively, the Dove Creek High School baseball team dropped three of its four games at the Piedra Vista Tournament in Farmington, March 20-21.
Opening against Buena Vista on March 20, Dove Creek benefited from five solid innings from junior starting pitcher Colin Hobbs, but lost 5-0. Hobbs allowed two runs in five innings, but the Dove Creek offense managed just five hits and was unable to score.
“We just lacked our bats,” said Dove Creek manager Curtis Garver. “Colin pitched pretty good and we played pretty good defensively, but we didn’t come out and hit like we should have.”
Soon after wrapping against Buena Vista, Dove Creek returned to the field to face Cleveland High School’s junior varsity (Rio Rancho, N.M.) and lost 16-0 in five innings.
Among the bright spots for Dove Creek was the pitching of junior Jordan Ernst, who allowed four runs in three innings.
“Cleveland is tough,” said Garver. “These New Mexico teams have been playing for a month and a half and we’re trying to play against them with only two or three weeks of practice.”
Playing its third game of the tournament against Bloomfield High School’s junior varsity on March 21, Dove Creek won 6-5 in nine innings.
Ernst pitched the final four innings of the game to record the win and junior Spencer Gatlin singled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
“I was impressed with our willingness to compete,” said Garver. “In the seventh inning, we had a chance to win it, but we made a few base running errors. Bloomfield got up on us in the ninth, but we came back with two runs of our own and won the game.”
Dove Creek played its final game of the tournament against Valencia High School’s junior varsity (Los Lunas, N.M.) and lost 10-0 in five innings. Garver said that the Bulldogs inability to produce quality hits was key in the loss.
With its record now at 1-4 on the season, Dove Creek hit the road to face San Juan High School in Blanding on March 24.
“We’re still working on our bats, but we just haven’t seen enough live pitches to get comfortable at the plate,” Garver said. “We’re playing great defense though and I think that everything will come around.”