Plagued by defensive errors and unable to consistently hit the ball, the Dolores High School baseball team lost 6-0 on the road against Shiprock High School on March 17.
Senior Stetson Hamilton started the game on the mound for Dolores and gave up one run in four innings. Defensive errors led to four unearned runs however, and Dolores trailed 5-0 entering the 5th inning.
"Errors hurt us," said Dolores manager Rusty Hamilton. "We had a couple of misjudged fly balls that led to some unearned runs."
Senior Kellen Gatzke pitched the final three innings of the game and gave up one earned run.
Dolores hitters struggled at the plate throughout the contest despite facing what Rusty Hamilton believed to be a hittable Shiprock pitching.
"We've struggled a little bit at the plate the last few games," Hamilton said. "We're going to put some work in on that this week."
After returning to the practice field for a few days, Dolores will travel to Blanding, Utah for the opening game of the San Juan Slugfest Tournament.
The Bears will open the tournament against San Juan High School on March 27 at 9 a.m.
"The (San Juan Slugfest) is going to be a tough tournament," said Rusty Hamilton. "We'll play three games in two days. We've got to get things better by the end of the week."