Over the course of three games last week, the Dove Creek High School baseball team scored 32 total runs.
Unable to match their outstanding offense with equally fine pitching and defense however, the Bulldogs lost to Dolores before splitting a doubleheader with Ignacio.
Playing at home against Dolores on April 17, the Bulldogs smashed the ball around the park, but struggled on the mound, losing 23-12 in five innings.
Struggling to find the plate early, Bulldogs’ starting pitcher Colin Hobbs yielded five first inning runs to Dolores.
The Bulldogs’ offense came back with vengeance however, scoring three runs of in the second inning, two of which trotted home after a key two-out double by Tyson Smith.
Again unable to contain the Dolores offense however, Hobbs yielded three second-inning runs before the Bulldogs’ scored four runs of their own in the bottom of the second inning.
A 12-run third inning by Dolores, keyed by several Dove Creek errors, extended the Bears’ lead to 20-7 however, all but putting the game out of reach.
“We hit the ball pretty good,” said Hobbs. “We just couldn’t back it up on defense. We need to work on fundamentals.”
Leading the Bulldogs’ offensively in the contest were Alex Ogas, who finished 3-4 with one RBI and Smith, who finished 2-4 with three RBIs.
Hoping to rebound from their loss to Dolores, the Bulldogs travelled to Ignacio for a doubleheader on April 19 and enjoyed mixed results, finishing 1-1 on the day.
Playing well during the early innings of game one, Dove Creek carried a 6-5 lead into the sixth inning before yielding nine runs over the final two frames in route to a 14-8 loss.
Taking the loss for the Bulldogs was Smith, who pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed 14 runs, six of which were earned.
Leading Dove Creek at the plate was Beau Hemphill, who finished with two RBIs.
Finishing the day on a strong note, the Bulldogs won game two of the doubleheader by a score of 12-5.
Staring on the mound for Dove Creek was Hobbs, who pitched all seven innings in the win.
Smith and Gatlin each drove in two runs for the Bulldogs, whose season record now stands at 3-11 on the year.
