Winter-like conditions hit Cortez Friday and Saturday.
But the show went on at McAndrew Field in cold, windy and snowy baseball action.
After a sunny spring break, the Montezuma-Cortez High School baseball team started slow against league rival Grand Junction Central and gave up an early lead to Fruita Monument.
The inconsistent play wasnt enough to overcome, as the Panthers lost 9-6 to Central and 16-5 to Fruita in five innings.
Im just disappointed in the way were playing, Panthers coach Sam Perry said. Were getting outplayed. Other teams effort is better than ours. Its unsatisfactory. We did have some bad breaks and tough plays, but its not an excuse for the lack of effort, desire and competitiveness that were showing.
M-CHS (6-8, 0-6 5A/4A Southwestern League) fell behind Central (9-5, 3-3 SWL) 1-0 after one inning of play and gave up another run in the second Friday. In the top of the third, the Tigers opened up their offense. Much of the offense was because of Panthers errors, but Central took what was given and scored six times to open a commanding 8-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Tigers returned the favor with a generous throwing error from shortstop Jeremy Champlin. The errant toss allowed Panther Major Lackey to be safe at first, while three runs scored for M-CHS. The next at bat, Gerardo Martinez smacked a RBI-single that sent Lackey home and cut Centrals lead in half at 8-4.
From there, the pitching on each side stepped up. Panthers pitcher Dakota Goossen threw three strikeouts in the fourth and fifth. He went 5 2/3, before being relieved by Martinez. Goossen finished with five Ks overall.
Tigers pitchers Ryan Mcivor and Michael Price threw two strikeouts apiece in the fourth and fifth innings. But as the windchill dropped the temperature, so went the pitching.
Martinez gave up a RBI-single to Price in the top of the seventh, which gave Central a 9-4 lead.
However, Martinez responded in the bottom half with a two-run, RBI-single off Price to pull the Panthers within three at 9-6 with just one out. But Price retired M-CHS hitters Elijah Duran and Soren Jorgensen to seal the save.
Mcivor won the game for Central.
Martinez hit 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
On Saturday, the Panthers had a promising 2-0 lead over the Fruita Wildcats (10-6, 4-3 SWL) after two innings. But as the snow continued to fall, so did M-CHS.
The Wildcats hit well and the limited visibility disrupted the Panthers outfield. Fruita reeled off 16 unanswered runs over the next three innings.
M-CHS fought back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, but it wasnt nearly enough. The Wildcats left Cortez with the 10-run, mercy rule win.
Were going to come back on Monday and redouble our effort, Perry said. Well refocus. Its our last home game, then we only have three games left. Were going to go out and try to win them. Were just going to try to figure out a way to win.
Devin Fox and Martinez each batted 2-for-3 for the Panthers. Fox took the loss on the mound going three innings. Manuel Hernandez pitched two innings in relief and had one hit.
We just need to work harder in practice. Practice will always help us out a lot, said Hernandez, a Mancos senior. We just need to come back next week and practice our best. Its going to take a lot better defense and offense for us to win.
M-CHS will host rival Durango (9-5, 4-2 SWL) on Thursday for senior day at 4 p.m., at McAndrew Field. The Panthers will then play the rest of the season on the road.
We have a huge game coming up, Perry said. One of the things that will help us stay motivated, is for our seniors to realize, this is their last home game. Were going to leave it all out on the field, and come back and play as tough as possible. It is a big game for us. Its a rivalry and were going to take it as that.
NOTES: Center fielder Tam Phan pulled a hamstring Friday against Central and did not play against Fruita. His timetable for return is unknown.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at bobbya@cortezjournal.com.