The Ignacio Bobcats clinched the San Juan Basin League title on Thursday by sweeping the Dolores Bears in a doubleheader.
The Bobcats (13-4, 7-1 SJBL) slapped hits all over the field on their way to scoring 18 runs to thump Dolores (0-15, 0-7 SJBL) in the five-inning opener, 18-1.
But the wide margin of victory wasn’t because Dolores played terribly.
“They just hit the heck out of the ball,” explained Dolores head coach Rusty Hamilton. “Both games, they just hit well. The second game we played really good ball. Just, like I said, they hit the heck out of the ball.”
Ignacio jumped out to a 7-1 lead after two innings, and then the Bobcats poured on nine runs in the third to pull away.
They also got a stellar pitching performance from senior Tucker Ward, who went all five innings and struck out seven, allowing just three hits and one unearned.
Dolores was better at the dish in the second contest and finished with seven hits, with four of them coming in the bottom of the first inning.
Dakota Smith and Brandon Ward each singled and drove in a run in their first at-bat, and the Bears had a 2-1 lead after one inning.
Tel Hamilton singled in the third inning, and later, Ward and Beck Anderson singled in the sixth. But the home team failed to score again and Ignacio’s offense stayed hot, as the Bobcats won, 12-2 in seven innings.
The games wrapped up the regular season for both teams, and they finished on opposite ends of the spectrum.
The wins secured the San Juan Basin League title for Ignacio, while Dolores finished its season winless, at 0-15.
“The kids – for one thing – they haven’t really gotten down this year,” Hamilton said of his resilient bunch. “We know we’re young and we know next year is going to be a better year.”
And as they head into the Class 2A District 2 Tournament on Friday in Cortez – the Bears know that anything can happen, regardless of record.
“We’re saying ‘Cinderella’ and we’re going to see what we can do,” Hamilton said smiling. “We’re always shooting for that first win and if we can make it past that we’re good to go. Cinderella.”