Battling chilly wind and smatterings of snow, the Montezuma-Cortez High School baseball team split a home doubleheader against Alamosa on May 29.
Leading the Panthers to victory in Game 2 was Caleb Compton, who pitched five innings and allowed three earned runs on three hits. The junior hurler struck out five batters and walked five.
Junior Cutter Mathews relieved Compton in the sixth inning and pitched two scoreless frames to secure the victory.
“I felt all right going into the game, but after the third inning, I had some mechanical stuff that I couldn’t fix,” Compton said. “That’s why I had all of the walks.”
Matthews was ready in the bullpen.
“We had a good lead on them, so I knew if I was able to get ground balls, we’d be all right,” he said.
Three players led the Panthers at the plate. Matthews bashed a two-run triple, Jasen Engel went 2-4 with a double and 2 RBIs, and Coby Baer went 2-4 with one RBI.
The Panthers victory followed a sluggish offensive performance in the first game of the doubleheader, which resulted in a 4-1 M-CHS loss.
Alamosa junior Chance Strand pitched Game 1 for the Mean Moose, and although he yielded six hits and allowed several M-CHS runners to traverse the base paths, the Panthers were unable to score.
“(Strand) had a really weird motion,” Matthews said. “He came set, and then he delivered really fast. We had some also base-running errors that cost us, so this week, we’re really going to have to work on base running.”
The Panthers’ final regular season game will take place at home against Ignacio on May 6.
The Bobcats defeated the Panthers 3-2 in Ignacio on April 27 in a game in which M-CHS starting pitcher Coby Baer pitched all seven innings and did not allow an earned run. Cordell Baer and Engel both drove in runs for the Panthers.
“Coby pitched well, but we had two errors in that game,” M-CHS manager Tim Passell said. “Those errors are what cost us.”
Currently 9-9 overall and 7-3 in the Intermountain League, the Panthers will likely travel to Bayfield on May 13 to begin their playoff run.
Although players admitted that they are looking forward to the playoff experience, Compton pointed out that his team must take things one game at a time.
“(Ignacio) beat us on their home field, so when they come here, we’re going to be ready to fight and hopefully get a win,” Compton said.