If not for a poor first inning, the Dolores High School baseball team's latest contest might have ended differently.
After yielding six first inning runs to Nucla however, the Bears never recovered, losing 14-6 at home on April 8.
Struggling to record outs early in the contest, Bears' starting pitcher Stetson Hamilton was hammered, giving up two first-inning home runs before being relieved by Ethen Upton.
Although Upton temporarily stopped the bleeding, the Bears entered the second inning trailing 6-0.
"Our pitching wasn't doing so well," said Upton. "We tried to come back from there, but little mistakes here and there killed us."
Eventually, Dolores did manage some offense however, scoring three runs in the second inning to cut Nucla's lead in half.
A five-run fifth inning by the Mustangs extended their lead to 11-3 however, putting the game all but out of reach.
The Bears did enjoy one last highlight however when Upton hammered a two run home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The majestic shot, which cleared the outfield fence by at least ten feet, was the first of Upton's career.
"It was a pitch down the middle," said the Bears' senior. "I read it all the win, connected with the bat and it was gone."
Even with Upton's big hit however, the Bears were not altogether pleased with their performance in light of the fact that they beat Nucla less than one week ago.
"The pitchers were a little rusty coming off break," explained Bears' manager Rusty Hamilton. "(Nucla) played well and they hit well."
With their record now at 3-6 on the year, the Bears will look to shake off any rust that they accumulated during Spring Break before matching up against Ignacio on the road on April 12.
