The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate baseball team had its four-game winning streak broken Saturday, April 11, at home after Alamosa beat the Pirates in both games of their doubleheader.
The Mean Moose came into the matchup as a top 15 3A team in the state and beat the Pirates 20-0 and 14-2 in the games.
The Pirates now sit at 8-5 on the season and are the No. 24 team.
“I mean, first and foremost, they’re a good team,” said coach Jon Wells. “But, unfortunately, we just didn’t execute in any area of the game, really. Our bats were cold, our pitching was off, our defense was struggling.”
In the first game the Pirates were shut out in just four innings. The Mean Moose scored six in the first, four in the second, nine in the third and one in the fourth to close out the game.
The Pirates tallied two hits and committed seven errors.
Aaron Sowle and Sebastian Gonzalez had the team’s only two hits.
Braydon Landry started on the mound, giving up six hits and 10 runs (five earned) while walking four and striking out two in two innings. Over the final two innings, Kaeden Iguchi gave up six hits and 10 runs (one earned) while walking five and striking out two.
The second game finished 14-2, but the deficit was much smaller for the first six innings.
The Pirates were down 2-1 after the first and it stayed that way until the Mean Moose added three in the fourth. The Pirates responded with another run in the fourth to make it 5-2.
The Mean Moose added one more run in the fifth to make it 6-2. The Pirates allowed Alamosa to tack on eight and extend their lead to 12 runs in the seventh. The Pirates failed to score in the home half of the seventh, leaving the final score at 14-2.
The Pirates amassed four hits and committed seven errors again.
Taylor Wells finished 3-for-3 with a run, and Hudson Davis had the Pirates only other hit. Zach Pouyer scored the Pirates’ other run, and Noah Bellina had the team’s only RBI.
Taylor Wells went the first five and 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and six runs (four earned) while walking three and striking out six. Davis got the final out of the sixth inning.
Pouyer came in in the top of the seventh and gave up eight runs (two earned) on two hits while walking five and striking out one.
“We committed 14 errors over the two games, seven per game,” said Jon Wells. “I mean, we’re never going to overcome that. We only had four kids on the roster that actually had at least one hit. A bunch of kids just flat out didn’t hit the ball on Saturday.”
The coach emphasized that the Mean Moose played great defensively on Saturday and didn’t make the same amount of mistakes that the previous two teams they had played were making.
The Pirates were slated to play a pair of games against 4A Durango Tuesday in Durango, but he games were postponed due to inclement weather. They are now scheduled for April 29.
Now, the Pirates will look to get back into the win column this Saturday, April 18, when they host the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers for a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.
The Panthers are currently ranked seventh in 3A and hold a 7-5 record.
Jon Wells emphasized that defense is the top priority for the Pirates.
The Pirates’ 14 errors against Alamosa led to 21 runs, he noted.
He added the team also has to throw strikes. Of the 17 batters the Pirates’ pitchers walked, 12 came around to score.
“It starts with pitching and defense,” he said. “If we can solidify those two areas, then we’ll have a chance of being competitive against Cortez. We really need all three areas working, though, to have a shot of beating a team like that.”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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