Cowboys pick up a pair of wins

After starting the season with four straight losses, the Gunnison High School baseball team picked up their first two wins of the season last week at the two-day tournament they hosted. 

All the teams made their way to Gunnison for the tournament with games starting on Friday, March 27. The Cowboys started off the tournament with games against Steamboat Springs and Meeker on Friday. 

The Cowboys dominated in their first two games, beating Steamboat Springs 10-0 and Meeker 17-0 for their first two wins of the season.

Pitching was the big story in the first win over Steamboat Springs. Jorge Perez started on the mound for the Cowboys and pitched a complete game. 

“We made a few plays here and there, but really that one was pitching,” said head coach Tom Percival. “Jorge did a great job attacking the strike zone.”

Perez threw roughly 65 percent of his pitches for strikes, a goal that Percival had for the team heading into the tournament, gave up just one hit, walked one batter and struck out eight in five innings of work.

The offense accounted for 10 hits and 10 runs, despite leaving some guys on base throughout the game and turning in some empty at-bats, noted Percival.

Asher Woytek finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, Cody Casebolt went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Cesar Marmolejo went 1-for-4 with an RBI and two runs, Ethan Pierce went 1-for-3 with a run and two RBIs, Ryder Vincent went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, Perez went 1-for-4 with two runs and Nolan Frymoyer went 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs.

The second game of the tournament was much of the same for the Cowboys, as they shut out their second straight opponent, beating Meeker 17-0.

“Ethan Pierce started on the mound,” said Percival. “He gave up one hit, threw a clean, four-inning game. Defensively, we probably played as clean a game as we've played in a long time. We made lots of plays behind him and then swung the heck out of the bats.”

The Cowboys finished with 16 hits and committed no errors in the game.

Four Cowboys finished the game with multiple hits. Perez went 4-for-4, scored three runs and had four RBIs, Casebolt went 2-for-3 with four runs, Pierce went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Frymoyer went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Woytek went 1-for-3 with one run and two RBIs, Bennett Miramon went 1-for-1 with an RBI, Parker Vick went 1-for-2 and scored a run, Marmolejo went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, Vincent went 1-for-2 with an RBI and Jack Stone went 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Pierce pitched four innings of scoreless ball, attacking the zone throughout his start and allowing just one hit while striking out four.

Percival emphasized that his pitchers had the mentality of a bulldog coming into the tournament which is why they were able to get ahead of hitters, attack the strike zone and ultimately pitch two straight shutouts. 

The Cowboys played one final game on Saturday, March 28, against Battle Mountain high school. The boys lost 11-10 after their comeback bid was cut short.

The Huskies got out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning, but the Cowboys tied it up after the second with a run of their own. The Huskies took the lead back after a four-spot in the third inning and extended their lead by two runs in the fourth. 

Each team scored three runs in the fifth and then the Huskies scored one more to extend their lead to 11-5 heading into the bottom of the sixth. The Cowboys scored five runs, but their comeback effort was ultimately cut short and they lost the game.

What had propelled the Cowboys to victory in the prior two games became the reason the boys dropped their final game of the tournament. The boys struggled to command the strike zone early, got behind in counts and struggled a bit on defense.

They still swung the bats really well, emphasized Percival.

Perez went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs, Woytek went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, Casebolt went 1-for-3 with two runs and an RBI and VIncent went 1-for-3 with one run and a double.

Frymoyer started on the mound and gave up five runs (three earned) on four hits, while walking five and striking out two in 2 1/3 innings. Marmolejo came in in-relief, allowing five hits and six runs (three earned), while striking out two and walking one in 3 2/3 innings. 

“They're starting to come together and understand what kind of ball we're going to play,” said Percival after the tournament. “We're going to run the bases. We're going to swing the bat.”

The Cowboys will continue to be tested as they host Alamosa for a game on Tuesday, March 31, and Coal Ridge, the defending state champions, on Saturday, April 4, for a double-header.

“We're excited for the opportunity to go see some upper-edge teams,” said Percival.

In the meantime it is all about cleaning up little things. The Cowboys will be working on trying to eliminate big strikeouts, attacking the strike zone and playing better positional defense before these upcoming games.