The baseball Gods blessed McAndrew Field with a ray of sunshine and a slight breeze Tuesday afternoon.
Better yet, the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers were blessed with timely hitting, efficient pitching and perfectly executed throws.
In what was a near mistake free game for the home team, the final result was a 13-1 plundering of the Pagosa Springs Pirates in a five inning mercy rule.
Im excited about the way our guys are competing and the every day approach we have to practice in to our games, Panthers second-year coach Sam Perry said. Thats probably the biggest difference weve had than in the past, is our determination to go out and win baseball games. Were going to get to a point where we dont fear anybody and well take on whoever shows up. Im proud of the way were playing right now.
M-CHS (3-1) came off a third-place finish at the Bloomfield Classic in New Mexico last Friday and Saturday. The Panthers had little trouble in a season opening 8-1 win over Kirtland (N.M.) Central.
However, M-CHS was shutout 8-0 Saturday morning at the hands of nearby Aztec. The Panthers fell to the consolation bracket and fell behind 3-0 early to the home Bloomfield Bobcats in the third-place game. But the bats erupted in a six-run, fifth inning for M-CHS. The Panthers hung on for a 6-5 win and carried that momentum in to Tuesday.
This was a must win, said relief pitcher Soren Jorgensen. We had to come in focused, we had to come in ready to play. We got to make up for last year. We have some great expectations.
The Panthers pummeled Pirates (0-1) pitcher Caden Henderson in the bottom of the first with seven hits that scored nine runs. M-CHS quickly had little doubt that a victory was in the making.
Panthers winning starting pitcher Tallon Ralstin threw two near perfect innings and did not give up any runs. M-CHS tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the second for a 12-0 lead. Henderson was relived in the third by Tyson Ross for Pagosa Springs. Jorgensen came in for Ralstin after the second for the Panthers. It was the seniors first time on the mound this year and he didnt disappoint.
Thats what I had to do. I had to step up for the team, Jorgensen said. It turned out in our win, thats what we needed. Tallon pitched a great game. We just came off of him and it felt pretty good. I had to help my team get a win and thats what happened.
Jorgensen struck out four Pirates and only allowed the visitors one hit and one run in two innings. That came on a RBI-triple by Dalton Madden to get Pagosa Springs on the board. But Jorgensen setup freshman closer Randy Haley well in the fifth. Haley retired the Pirates top of the order with the last two by strikeout.
Weve been working since January with our pitchers. We know thats what wins and loses ball games, Perry said. Thats where our focus has been and will continue to be. We want to work ahead of batters. We want to vary our pitches, vary our looks to a point where were going to be effective without dominating hitters. Well let our defense work behind us.
First baseman Gerardo Martinez hit 3-for-3 with a RBI to lead the Panthers. Shortstop Devin Fox batted 2-for-2 with a RBI and designated hitter Stephen Candelaria was 2-for-3 with a RBI.
M-CHS will host the three-game Four Corners Classic on Friday and Saturday at McAndrew Field. Play starts at 3 p.m., Friday with a rematch versus Aztec. The Panthers will suit up at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday against San Juan (Blanding, Utah) and Miyamura (Gallup, N.M.).
Throw strikes, said Perry about winning the Four Corners Classic. Weve shown that we can make the plays on the field. If we dont put guys on and we make them earn it, were going to give ourself a chance to win. Thats our goal right now, is to come out, pitch well, play tough defensively and never give up in the batters box. Were just going to compete as hard as we can and make teams beat us.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at [email protected].
