After capping most successful regular season in over a decade, the Montezuma-Cortez High School baseball team will play in the Class 3A Region 5 Tournament in Parker, Colorado, on May 13.
Taking the field against the Panthers will be Lutheran High School, which finished the season with an 18-1 record and is currently ranked No. 2 in Class 3A.
Figuring to take the mound for the Panthers will be junior ace Jasen Engel, who finished the season with a 5-2 record and a 3.50 ERA.
Over the course of 48 innings, Engel struck out 66 batters and walked just 14.
Likely to oppose Engel on the mound will be sophomore Corbyn Seymore, who finished the season with a 4-0 record and a 1.45 ERA.
Top hitters for Lutheran include Tyler Essegian, who finished the regular season with a .508 batting average and a team-high 33 hits. Nash Nickle could also prove to be a handful for the Panthers as the senior batted .408 over the course of the regular season and drove in a team-high 22 runs.
At the plate, M-CHS will be led by Caleb Compton, who batted .500 during the regular season and cranked out a team-high 29 hits. Engel also figures to provide some plate for the Panthers and will look to add to his team-best 27 runs batted in.
With a win over Lutheran, the Panthers would advance to a Regional Championship matchup against the winner of a contest between Eaton and Manitou Springs.
The winner of each of the state’s regional tournaments will advance to the 8-team Class 3A state tournament, which will take place in Greeley, May 26-27.