After Mother Nature again postponed play for the Pagosa Springs High School Pirate baseball team in Cortez on Saturday, the teams faced off Monday afternoon.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, they returned home with two league losses to the Panthers.
The Pirates, who now own a 7-6 record and are 0-4 in league play, are now looking ahead to a string of home games and the bigger picture as the season nears its end.
“We’re fightin’ for an opportunity to make it to the playoffs because this team is a better team than what we had last year that made it to the playoffs. And we had some ballplayers, obviously, that were very good, but we are sound throughout the lineup ... capability-wise,” coach Ben Garcia said. “We have tons of capability, but we’re not playing as a team for seven innings.”
The Pirates scored first in the first half of the afternoon’s doubleheader, bringing around three runs in the top of the third.
The Panthers tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the inning, and the game remained tied until the Pirates picked up two runs in the fifth.
Pagosa brought around another run in the top of the seventh, leading 6-3 heading into the game’s final half inning.
The Panthers, however, capitalized in the half inning, scoring four to win 7-6.
The Panthers, the coach relayed, knocked a couple of hits and the Pirates then made mistakes that allowed for the bases to be loaded and the Panthers to pull ahead.
“Again, we played well for ... six innings and then the seventh inning we again had some problems,” Garcia said, adding, “I wish I could put my finger on what it ... is. ... It’s just not one situation. We’re our own worst enemy when it comes to tryin’ to close out games.”
Pagosa outhit the Panthers 10-5 in the game.
Taylor Wells went 3-for-4 in the game with a double and three runs scored. He also reached on an error.
Zach Pouyer and Cooper Ralston each had two hits. Pouyer also picked up three RBIs and scored a run. Ralston also reached after being hit by a pitch and logged two RBIs.
Sebastian Gonzalez, Kaeden Iguchi and Kyler Henderson each had one hit.
Charles Washburn picked up an RBI in the game and reached on a fielder’s choice.
Chris Young-Martinez, who reached on an error, scored a run.
Garcia also highlighted Pouyer’s play defensively in the game, noting he played “an absolutely great game,” running down balls and throwing people out at the plate.
Ralston, Wells and Martinez combined to allow seven runs (one earned) on five hits, two walks and four hit batters while striking out six.
Ralston, the coach noted, threw five good innings of “really good ball,” with Wells then coming in and getting the Pirates out of the sixth without any problems.
The Pirates committed nine errors in the game, with Garcia noting another play could have been classified as an error.
“You can’t win ballgames with 10 errors,” Garcia said, especially with hitting batters.
The Panthers committed two errors.
The Pirates fell 15-5 in the day’s second game, though Garcia indicated the team didn’t carry over the issues from the earlier loss initially.
Pagosa brought around two runs in the top of the first before the Panthers countered with four in the bottom of the inning and another in the third.
“Cortez is a good team; we can’t take them lightly, for sure,” Garcia said of the Panthers.
The Pirates scored another run in the top of the third to cut the Panthers’ lead to 5-3.
The Pirates’ momentum was high when they were back in the game, Garcia noted, with opportunities to score runs.
The Panthers, however, scored eight in the fourth.
The Pirates, according to the coach, allowed some walks and had some errors.
“Again, they’re crucial errors because they ... prolong the inning,” Garcia said, adding missed pop flies in the outfield allowed the Panther’s to keep running.
Each team scored two in the fifth to make the final score 15-5 in favor of the home team.
“We’re out of sync. And some of it is youth, but a lot of it is just not thinking a play ahead,” Garcia said.
Pagosa’s five runs came on six hits.
Wells and Young-Martinez each had two hits and two runs scored, with Wells also stealing a base.
Gonzalez and Henderson each logged one hit, with Henderson’s coming in the form of a home run. He tallied two RBIs and a run scored, as well as drawing two walks.
Pouyer, who was hit by a pitch and reached on a fielder’s choice, had on RBI.
Ralston also picked up an RBI. Ry Richie reached on a walk.
Young-Martinez and Wells took the mound in the game, combining to allow 15 runs, five of which were earned, on 10 hits, four walks and two hit batters while striking out three.
The Pirates committed five errors, with the Panthers logging one.
“We as a team deserve better,” Garcia said. “We’re just not clicking from the standpoint of nine players. We’ve always got somewhere where we’re just not taking care of business, and it seems to kind of escalate from there and hurts us.”
The Pirates will host a trio of games this week and will be looking to right the ship over the course of the final seven games of the regular season and go back to playing well as it has against other good teams this season.
“We have a chance to take care of business, but we’re going to have to play individually the best ball,” the coach said, adding the team needs to execute routine plays. “We really just need to play a full game.”
At 1 p.m. on Friday, the Pirates will host the Cedaredge Bruins, who sit as the No. 8 team in Colorado 2A baseball and are 12-1 on the season.
“Cedaredge is a team that could get us back into the rankings of where we need to be,” Garcia said.
The next day beginning at 11 a.m., the Pirates will welcome the Centauri Falcons to town for a league doubleheader.
The Falcons are 1-1 in league play and 5-10 overall this season.
“Centauri is a very good team in our league that’s been playing well, so we need to finish strong,” the coach added.
Centauri sits as the No. 32 team in Colorado 3A baseball, while the Pirates are the No. 29 team.
Garcia added he’s also looking forward to playing at home in front of family and friends, playing in good weather and turning things around.
randi@pagosasun.com
>